Jim Dey: “Noland’s and Clayborne’s claims of selflessness are irrelevant, mere routine political dishonesty that is meaningless in the face of the Illinois Constitution’s prohibition on lawmakers changing their pay — apparently both up and down — during their terms of office. The litigation represents a stunning and brazen display of political hypocrisy by former legislators who think they are beyond the reach of voters.”

While the measure does not prohibit landlords from conducting credit and background checks on applicants, Rep. Deanne Mazzochi said such checks cost landlords and they should be allowed to ask for processing fees upfront.

The Southwest Side Democrat is no longer the speaker of the Illinois House, a state representative or leader of the state Democratic Party. But he’s still Public Official A, the name given him in a federal document that continues to be a boon to lawyers.

Lawmakers like State Rep. Amy Elik said this act of alleged partisan suppression denies Republican-backed initiatives, like proposals that deal with ethics and pension reform, an opportunity to be debated on the House floor.

“They made a choice to, hypocritically, pretend that they were noble and were voting down a pay raise and, as soon as they left office, they turn around and sued the comptroller for the State of Illinois,” Comptroller Susana Mendoza said, adding that they “proactively utilized this vote against their own pay raise to get out there and campaign and thump their chests and say ‘we’re so honorable, we’re so noble and if the people are hurting, we should be hurting too.’”

Sales of wine and alcohol in the state’s hospitality industry were down more than 46% in 2020 compared to 2019. There was also a drop in sales to restaurants and bars with 30% of establishments not placing new wine and beer sales since the pandemic began.

The study represents an important marker by the governor’s office about how far it’s willing to go in helping the power-generating company prop up its financially ailing Dresden and Byron nuclear plants during the ongoing spring legislative session in Springfield.

There were 16,182 new unemployment claims filed the previous week.

“It remains unclear if the findings will provide enough political cover to muscle another subsidy package through the General Assembly, which is still roiling from a multiyear bribery scheme involving jobs, contracts and payments from ComEd to allies of former House Speaker Michael Madigan. But there are significant climate and labor ramifications if Byron and Dresden close.”

Senate Bill 2445 would create financial incentives for residential developers to create affordable housing – including tax credits in exchange for developing qualified low-income housing and a sales tax exemption for the purchase of building materials for affordable housing developments.