Via Daily Southtown: “Tinley Park trustees have repealed an unusual annual bonus that rewarded elected officials for staying in office and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, ending a controversial perk exposed by the Tribune. In 2004, Tinley trustees…
Via Aurora Beacon-News: “East Aurora School District 131 has been paying for one board member’s home Internet service for the past four years. The district has spent more than $2,800 for Richard Leonard’s home Internet service since he joined the…
Via NBC News The indictment of Dennis Hastert, the former House speaker, on charges that he tried to conceal cash withdrawals to keep “prior misconduct” secret stunned some political allies. Republicans elevated Hastert from obscurity when they gave him the…
Via Fox 32 CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) – You probably remember that old movie line: “We don’t need no stinking badges.” Well, you won’t hear that from some Illinois politicians. FOX 32 News has learned that a former elected official…
Via Chicago Sun-Times While blasting Gov. Pat Quinn’s record on ethics reform as “just wrapping paper to cover up corruption,” Bruce Rauner unveiled his ethics reform plan at a press conference Wednesday in Chicago. If elected governor, the Republican candidate…
From the Pantagraph CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors responding to a new argument in Rod Blagojevich’s appeal say the former governor’s lawyers have misrepresented a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in another case. Blagojevich’s lawyers say an April ruling by the high…
From the Chicago Sun-Times Natasha Korecki Sydney Lawson Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s office has offered an expansive college internship program during his tenure, giving more than 100 students tens of thousands of dollars in summer pay — and a plum…
By Jason Meisner Tribune reporter 10:31 a.m. CDT, May 28, 2014 As the final days of the state Legislature’s spring session wind down, lame duck state Rep. Derrick Smith finds himself in a federal courtroom in Chicago today as his scheduled trial gets…
Kim Janssen A retired City Hall official took huge bribes — including an Arizona condo and a used Mercedes — to steer the Chicago’s lucrative red light contract to a since fired firm, the feds say. John Bills, 52, ran…
The boast rotates at the top of his campaign website: Gov. Pat Quinn “restored integrity to Illinois government.” Aides say that after taking office in 2009 he vanquished a climate of corruption, the legacy of his criminal predecessors. Did he?…