By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game over. We win,” AT&T Illinois […]
Category: 1-Draft
Posted in1-Draft, State News
Contractor’s unsecured databases exposed sensitive voter data in over a dozen Illinois counties
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Around 4.6 million records associated with Illinoisans in over a dozen counties – including voting records, registrations and death certificates – were temporarily available on the open internet, according to a security researcher who identified the vulnerability in July. The documents were available through an unsecured cloud storage […]
Posted in1-Draft, State News
Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On Valentine’s Day in 2017, then-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza got some good news: After years of trying to push for legislation in Springfield that would save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan had agreed to a […]
Posted in1-Draft, State News
Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms. James Ronkainen, a former engineer […]
Posted in1-Draft, State News
State Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett’s effort to overturn conviction
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in actor Jussie Smollett’s appeal to overturn his conviction on disorderly conduct charges for falsifying a hate crime. Smollett, who was an actor on the TV show “Empire,” was improperly charged with the same crime twice, his legal team […]
Posted in1-Draft, State News
Gun expert says assault weapons ban ‘describes the most popular firearms I’m involved with’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A firearms expert testified Wednesday that the weapons restricted under Illinois’ assault weapons ban include many of the most common firearms that American consumers use for self-defense. Steven Randall Watt, a combat veteran and retired law enforcement officer who now owns a private firearms […]
Posted in1-Draft
Bills and Business in Peotone
By Andrea Arens A new business for Peotone unanimously was approved by the Peotone Village Board at its September 9 meeting. Emil’s Tires, from Grant Park, plans to operate an additional location at the Peotone Travel Center. Dominique Dettmering attended the last board meeting and expressed a desire to do business at the Travel Center […]
Posted in1-Draft
Manhattan School Board Addresses Unfounded Threat
By Stephanie Irvine The Manhattan School Board District 114 took the opportunity at its monthly board meeting to discuss in more detail an unfounded safety threat made by a Manhattan Junior High student earlier that day. Superintendent Ron Pacheco began the meeting with a statement, explaining what had transpired earlier that day without explicitly stating […]
Posted in1-Draft
March Seeks Second Term
By Karen Haave Peotone Village President Peter March is running for another term in the April 2025 election. “I am running for re-election as Village President (Mayor), as I love my hometown, and I want to see it continue to thrive as a great and safe place to live and raise a family,” he said. […]
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Old Mill Fall Fest a good sign for the future of the Mill
By Karen Haave Things are changing around the Peotone Mill. The once-elegant structure on Corning Avenue has suffered some setbacks recently, with unexpected damage that left it stripped to its basic core without its sails or grinding gear, as well as the second floor balcony. On the plus side, though, all that has brought new […]