The results of the presidential election were shocking, not just because of Donald Trump’s landslide victory, but also because of the seismic shift in the electorate. Almost every demographic moved to the right; most strikingly, the working class and minority voters abandoned the status quo in masses.
This should have been a neon warning sign for Gov.
Traffic flows along Interstate 90 in Chicago as a Metra suburban commuter train moves along an elevated track.
Associated Press File Photo
The headline from a discussion last week of the prospects for Metra in the coming years was certainly attention-getting: “Metra could drop 40% of trains in 2027.”
The potential for a reduction of service approaching half of what the suburban commuter rail line offers now demands the attention of the public and government policymakers, though there is at least one statistic that can take some of the sting out of Executive Director Jim Derwinski’s estimate to the Metra board of directors.
The day after one of Michael J. Madigan’s top door-knockers won a seat on the Cook County Board in October 2016, he placed a call to lobbyist Jay Doherty and explained that, “the Speaker wanted me to reach out.”
Longtime Madigan precinct captain Ed Moody had collected $144,000 since March 2014 from ComEd through Doherty’s firm, records show.
(The Center Square) – Prosecutors on Monday took the jury in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan through nearly a decade of payments to subcontractors who they allege did little or no work for the state’s largest utility despite getting paid.
Jurors watched as Madigan associate Jay Doherty’s lobbying contract with Illinois electric utility Commonwealth Edison grew from $200,000 a year to more than $400,000 a year as he added subcontractors – without explanation – to his longstanding lobbying contract with ComEd.
(The Center Square) – With millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on electric vehicle incentives, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced the state’s first deployment of an EV charging station funded by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA.
The governor joined elected officials, utility and union leaders in Joliet Monday to celebrate the new charger at Inwood Athletic Club.
November 18, 2024
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton – State of Illinois
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton proudly represents all 13 million Illinois residents with compassion and empathy. She actively brings people together and takes a community-centered approach to solving problems. She firmly believes that the solutions to Illinois’ most pressing challenges can be found by tapping into the wisdom that already exists in our communities.
By ELIZABETH DONALD
Illinois Correspondent
A hard night for Democrats didn’t leave Illinois untouched, despite its primarily Democratic leanings.
Nick Raftopoulos lost his bid to unseat state Rep. Amy Elik for the state House District 111 after more than a year of campaigning and working with local unions. Raftopoulos received 18,621 votes to Elik’s 29,840, according to final yet unofficial results.
JOLIET, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was in Joliet Monday morning to celebrate the opening of the first electric vehicle charging stations funded by the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA).
The fast charging ports were partially paid for by a $480,000 grant from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and were installed by a veteran-owned business, Veterans Energy Team, in partnership with the Joliet Park District.
Some of our fellow Illinoisans don’t like us. They want nothing to do with their compatriots in northeastern Illinois.
These folks are in seven Downstate counties who in the Nov. 5 election voted to secede and form the 51st state. Specifically targeting Cook County, they apparently don’t know that Lake, DuPage, Kane and Will counties should be in their secession sights as well.
Wind Creek Chicago Southland said Monday more than 50,000 people had visited the casino in its first few days of operation, exceeding its expectations.
Southwest of Halsted Street and Interstates 80/94 in East Hazel Crest, the casino opened to patrons Nov. 11, with hundreds of people lining up in advance of the 11 a.m. opening.
The Illinois Gaming Board reported a September handle of $1.31 billion, up 21.3% year-over-year and 50% month-over-month.
Nov 18, 2024 • 15:28 ET
• 4 min read
Photo By – Imagn Images.
The return of the NFL sparked a new record for adjusted gross revenue and the best wagering September that Land of Lincoln sports betting has ever seen.
(The Center Square) – The Nov. 5 General Election was two weeks ago, but Illinois continues to count vote-by-mail ballots. An election integrity group says the practice could be reigned in.
Carol Davis, chairman of the Illinois Conservative Union, said a recent federal appeals court ruling will likely result in states, like Illinois, not counting mail-in ballots that are cast and postmarked by Election Day but arrive five days later.
Out of all the electronics, emails, and other documents seized by the FBI in a raid on the downstate Quincy home of Michael McClain in May 2019, one item stood out.
Inside a tote bag in McClain’s silver Toyota Avalon were handwritten notes scrawled on stationery from a Chicago boutique hotel, listing the names of allies of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan who’d gone on to lucrative lobbying careers.
Monday, Nov 18, 2024 – Posted by Rich Miller
* From a legislative letter addressed to Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes…
Dear Director Hughes,
In light of calls to suspend or electronically scan incoming mail for residents in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), we urge you to allow people who are incarcerated to continue to receive their original physical mail.
(The Center Square) – A federal judge told a Chicago jury Monday that the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan could continue through mid-January.
The trial was initially expected to wrap up before the end of the year, but is now projected to run into 2025.
Judge John Robert Blakey said he wanted to let the jury know about the timeline so no one planned a January trip to Florida to escape the city’s cold winter weather.
A clarification to Illinois’ biometric data privacy law made by state lawmakers earlier this year limits the size of damages that can be claimed in lawsuits over Biometric Information Privacy Act violations, a federal judge ruled last week.
It’s an early indication that the courts are willing to apply a recent amendment to the biometric privacy law – once viewed as the strongest in the nation – to cases that are already in progress.
* Background is here if you need it. ABC News…
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday confirmed he would declare a national emergency to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.
Overnight, Trump responded to a social media post from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who said earlier this month there are reports the incoming administration is preparing such a declaration and to use “military assets” to deport the migrants.
The 3 p.m. bell at Telpochcalli Elementary marked the start of students’ and teachers’ favorite hours. Students played instruments under the guidance of their musically talented educators and swirled paint on canvases, eventually graduating to create murals that adorned the school’s walls and ceilings.
For the first time in 20 years, the once lively halls are silent at the school in Little Village, with unfinished murals standing as poignant reminders of the after-school program’s closure.
If you believe Illinois road and bridge projects are taking longer to complete, you are not imagining anything. The data is clear: Fewer Illinois infrastructure projects are being completed, at a much higher cost to the taxpayer.
Historically, highways, roads and bridges in Illinois have been proudly designed, maintained and improved by Teamsters Local 916 civil engineers and engineer technicians.
