Chris Warden, one of the parents who filed the lawsuit, said he’s concerned about the long term effects this could have on student athletes. “It would be outstanding if some of the politicians in this state would be willing to step up, make a difference for these kids, long-term, and allow them to live their lives.”

Gov. Tony Evers said that although cases are being reported in schools, they are not to blame for the surge. He remained committed to letting schools decide whether to remain open rather than issuing a statewide order shutting them down, like he did in the spring. “We can solve this with the tools we have in place.”

The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago said in a statement that its opposition to the proposal is “based on the state’s decades-long history of fiscal mismanagement….The result will be further loss of jobs and people, long-term cuts in critical social services, a shrinking tax base burdened with growing debt and a guarantee that Illinois will continue to have the worst credit rating of any state in the country.”

The American Civil Liberties Union called for the reduction of penalties for all drug offenses, but White County States Attorney Denton Aud said downgrading drug charges would not give offenders an incentive to seek help.

The Golden Apple Accelerator Program will train teachers in 15 months for central, western and southern Illinois communities in hopes candidates will fill teaching vacancies and settle down.

Jim Dey: “It’s an entitlement attitude — too many politicians who say they want to do good for others are more interested in doing well for themselves. It’s the way the game has been played, is being played and will continue to be played. Ryan didn’t invent public corruption in Illinois. He just did what came naturally, as his successors in public office continue to do.”

“… When other parts of the region (Region 4) are not complying with the governor’s asks then I think there needs to be an exception that’s made for a county that is complying and whose numbers are reaching those areas to allow businesses to at least go back to where they were a month ago,” St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern said Monday.

District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill said they’re saving money this year when it comes to some transportation and substitute teacher costs. but more money is also being spent on technology and personal protective equipment.

With the heightened awareness about multiple cases of corruption and alleged corruption in state government, Saint Xavier University Professor David Parker said people aren’t looking for perfection. “Sometimes it’s a matter of it could be legal but that doesn’t mean it’s ethical and there’s some more focus on ‘OK, we’ve had enough of playing the loopholes, we’re looking for some personal integrity.’”

State Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, said there’s no reason students should be denied a chance to safely return to school when a convenient option exists to do so: “It hits my gut the wrong way that, because TV network money was on the line and there was this huge cry for college football, that it got done faster than everyday citizens trying to do the same thing.”

This marks the first conviction in a long-running bribery and patronage scandal. If Marquez cooperates, prosecutors will seek probation – a major break in the penalties that could have added up to 34 years in prison and a $300 million fine, the Tribune reported.

Reform for Illinois, which is nonpartisan, said the the issue is bigger than just the Rummel duo. “The concern is if this goes unanswered — if the State Board of Elections doesn’t act in this case — then how many more candidates and elected officials will decide, ‘Well, why should I have a candidate committee and deal with these smaller contribution limits? I could just have a PAC and take in twice or three times the amount of money.’”

Rob Smith, contributor to youth conservative group Turning Point USA, disagreed with defunding police, mentioning that a policeman escorted him when he spoke on the University campus in October of last year. “As a Black man, I am repulsed by this transparent and all too obvious attempt to co-opt a movement to pursue a divisive political agenda.”

“We calculated the per-capita annualized increase in transfer payments, and many Democratic-run states received nearly double what GOP-run states did: New Jersey ($14,033), Illinois ($9,223), New York ($9,030), California ($8,673), Washington ($8,511), Oregon ($8,258) and Connecticut ($7,879) versus Texas ($6,450), Indiana ($6,085), Tennessee ($5,430), Florida ($5,399), Georgia ($5,353) Arizona ($5,326) and Utah ($5,184). Those seven Democratic states hauled in 24% more in transfer payments relative to their share of the U.S. population while the seven GOP states collected 23% less.”

Since the law went into effect three years ago, 119 companies that had more than $150 million shaved from their tax bills have not submitted any such reports. And of the 61 firms that did file the required reports, nearly three-quarters reported none of the data the law was intended to gather.

“We’ll be watching the Marquez court appearance closely to see if there is any additional information that comes out of that,” said State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, who serves as the top Republican on the bipartisan committee investigating Madigan.

“The staffer attended events with the governor on Wednesday in Chicago, Thursday in Marion and Sunday in Marseilles. Both the governor and the staffer were wearing masks during the entirety of their interactions,” according to the statement.

Fidel Marquez is accused of of working “to obtain jobs, contracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and contracts from ComEd and its affiliates, even in instances where such associates performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired to perform for ComEd.” A judge at the Dirksen Federal Building will take in his guilty plea Tuesday afternoon, according to court records.

Welch may be even closer to Madigan than most in the House Democratic caucus, judging by the job recommendations and resumes that the speaker’s chief of staff sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s office in early 2019, shortly before the ComEd scandal burst into public view.

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday announced the rate of positive test results had reached 8 percent in Region 1, which extends from DeKalb and Boone counties west to the Iowa border

House Speaker Michael Madigan said this summer that he would sponsor a resolution in the House to remove a portrait of Douglas that hangs in the chamber, saying it should be replaced with the portrait of someone who reflects the modern positions of the Democratic Party such as former President Barack Obama.