Jim Dey: “For those keeping score, four current or recent members of the Illinois Senate have pleaded guilty to corruption charges or are facing trial. Last week’s federal indictment of former state Sen. Sam McCann demonstrates again that when it comes to allegedly pursuing self-interest, Illinois’ rough-and-tumble politics is more bipartisan than some might think.”

Janie Ross, a teacher in Windsor, agreed to participate in the lawsuit if it comes to that. “I think it’s very dangerous to pick an ideology to teach in our public schools,” she said.

“Once a claim has actually been filed and everything’s processing, it provides the user with an opportunity to change that direct deposit method,” said Crane Hassold, the Senior Director of Threat Research at Agari, a business email security firm. Translation: it makes it easy for the thief to steer stolen funds to an accessible account.

One of the most significant changes from the Madigan era is a new rule that limits any individual to serving no more than five biennial sessions, or 10 years, in either the office of speaker or minority leader.

Acting Director Kristin Richards said individuals still wait between one to two weeks for a callback from the agency, depending on the subject of the call. “But I need to stress that if an individual has, for example, reached out to us about the status of their adjudication or appeal it could take four to six weeks because it’s working its way through the process and we need to connect with the right professional to help them. We realize that is less than ideal for individuals dying for an answer from IDES.”

Acting Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Kristin Richards said, “One of these very public incidents was when a trailer hitch was thrown through our Springfield location on 9th Street.”

“The combination of the cuts that we’ve proposed, the fact that we have a flat budget to last year, and the fact that the economy has done better is what’s allowing us to balance the budget,” Pritzker said. The budget Democrats passed last year was billions of dollars out of balance. Pritzker also said that budget was balanced.

Rabine said he thinks the legislature will continue to evolve from the one involved in the budget impasse under the Rauner administration after being freed from the grip of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Kentucky Congressman James Comer, a ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, issued a statement condemning the proposals: “Democrats’ plan to bail out locked-down, poorly managed liberal states is unfair to American taxpayers and is ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse.”

“Our number one item that has to be addressed. It needs to be in the largest font on that piece of paper. And it needs to be bold. And it needs to be underlined. And it needs to be, ‘Help us address the pension,'” said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis.

“As party chairman, Madigan has made protecting the Democrats’ House majority his top goal, says former state representative John Fritchey…That focus on the House has prevented the party from investing in local races to build a ‘farm team,’ and from demonstrating to voters that the Democrats stand for something beyond winning elections.”

The state expects to increase eligibility beginning Feb. 25, allowing for people with “a high-risk medical condition” or comorbidity to be vaccinated. The list includes those with cancer, diabetes, obesity, women who are pregnant, and those with several other conditions.

If enacted, it would provide a tiered tax break for businesses who give raises to their workers. “After the minimum wage increase last summer, I had heard a lot from small business owners in my district,” State Rep. Maurice West said. “This is my hope to help our small business owners who are in compliance.”

Although COVID-19 caused real gross economic output to decline in the second quarter of last year by 30.6 percent, annualized, what’s concerning are the pre-pandemic cracks that left Illinois extremely vulnerable to a downturn and its most vulnerable citizens even worse off. The arrival of COVID-19 meant Illinois’ Black families suffered even more than Black Americans in other states, and the state was too weak to help.

Illinois’ vaccination efforts to date only reinforce negative perceptions of the state, adding another blemish to our tarnished image. Millions across Illinois who are desperate for vaccinations don’t know where or when they’ll get protection from a virulent pathogen that has killed 20,000 in the state. Many don’t even know how to find answers to those questions. Vaccine quests have been likened to the “Hunger Games,” frantic scrambles that reward only superhuman tenacity, or dumb luck.

“You can tell power in Washington has changed hands because of the muted response as the Biden White House ousts U.S. Attorney John Lausch of the Northern District of Illinois.”

“No other law enforcement official is doing the corruption work here in Illinois, not Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, not Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, or other county state’s attorneys, and not police or sheriffs’ departments, which are ill-equipped for high-profile corruption cases. Lausch is all we have.”