In Mr. Lincoln’s hometown, in the museum dedicated to telling his story, 75 people from 37 countries became United States citizens.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
‘My client is the speaker’: Jury hears wiretapped calls of Madigan co-defendant, longtime friend
By early 2019, Mike McClain had been a fixture around the Statehouse in Springfield for the better part of 50 years, first as a Democratic lawmaker in the 1970s and then for decades as a high-profile contract lobbyist.… MORE
ComEd exec testifies utility prepared for bankruptcy before 2011 law threw it a lifeline
In 2006, electric utility Commonwealth Edison was riding out the last year of a decadelong state-mandated rate freeze, which had put the company in “dire” financial straits.… MORE
Ameren Illinois offers power line safety tips during National Teen Driver Safety Week
This week is National Teen Driver Safety Week. Ameren Illinois is reminding teen drivers of the very important, life-saving protocol when dealing with downed power lines.… MORE
Feds ‘turned over heaven and earth’ in Madigan probe but found no real bribes, co-defendant says
It was a day of déjà vu at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse Tuesday as veteran Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain sat at a defense table listening to opening statements in his second corruption trial in 19 months and prosecutors called their first witnesses.… MORE
17th District looms large in tight battle for U.S. House
With less than three weeks remaining before voting ends in the 2024 election, polls have been showing Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump running virtually neck-and-neck, especially in “battleground” states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.… MORE
4 decades after rising to power and nearly 4 years since his fall, former Speaker Madigan goes to trial
On a late October day in Springfield nearly five years ago, then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan exited a private caucus meeting and strode up to a group of waiting reporters in one of the state Capitol’s vast marble halls. … MORE
Questions remain over whether Sangamon County followed policy in deadly pursuit
As the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office led a multi-county pursuit last month that ended in the death of a 43-year-old Kansas man, Illinois State Police directed troopers not to participate.… MORE
In final public transit hearing, downstate operators join chorus for more state funding
Public transit agencies in downstate Illinois are joining Chicagoland rail and bus operators in asking the state for help balancing their budgets. … MORE
Jury selection in Madigan trial stretches into second week
The jury that will determine the fate of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is nearly complete after three slow days of jury selection this week. … MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…