Don Tracy, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party: “Democrats today are not our parents’ Democrats. They do not share with the Republican Party a common perspective on government as a tool to serve the people. Democrats are embracing and enacting legislation that reflects disdain for common people and a passion for smashing traditional ideas, culture, habits and customs.”

“We need to make sure we’re not leaving anything on the table,” said state Sen. Rachelle Crowe, vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Tourism and Hospitality.

Pritzker’s spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said the governor took suggestions from the business community. “Transparency and accountability have been nonnegotiable for the Governor, which is why the legislation contains critical ethics reforms, such as restitution, tax repayment, and more robust reporting requirements.”

Melissa Breeden, vice president of education and curriculum with the YWCA in Bloomington, explained, “We are not getting an increase in reimbursement from the state of Illinois for the services that we offer, so we are having to look for different ways that we can balance the books.”

A chemical fire started shortly after 7 a.m. Monday at Chemtool, 1165 Prairie Hill Road in Rockton, state officials said. Chemtool is the largest producer of grease in the nation.

The sprawling energy bill lawmakers are set to vote on this week is being marketed in part as recompense for Commonwealth Edison’s admitted bribery scheme aimed at winning Springfield favors over nearly a decade. But the cornerstone of that effort—ending the annual formula-rate mechanism that’s allowed ComEd to dramatically increase its delivery charges over the years—opens the door to a new rate-setting process that easily could be more lucrative for ComEd than the current one.

A letter signed by 20 business organizations reads, in part, “Lobbyists for the environmental community and many others appear to have had unfettered access in writing a bill that imposes massive costs on others. On several occasions we have requested economic, reliability, and rate impact studies and the raw data inputs that undergird them. Those requests have been ignored.”

It’s been nearly 20 months since Rockford officials submitted their proposal for the casino to the Board. Said state Sen. Dave Syverson, “Not only have costs gone up, but the city and the state have lost millions of dollars because of the Gaming Board’s slow-moving and delays to get something approved.”

“The legislation is comprehensive and detailed, and should be read in its entirety…One of the most important changes is the establishment of income thresholds for non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.”

Illinois voters ousted a Democratic justice last November, setting up the potential for the GOP to gain a majority in next year’s elections. Voters in the Third District, which had become more conservative in the decades since it was drawn, failed to give Justice Thomas Kilbride the required 60 percent approval needed to keep his seat in the nonpartisan “retention” election.

Columbus, Ohio-based Washington Prime’s properties include Lincolnwood Town Center in Lincolnwood; Lake Plaza in Waukegan; Bloomingdale Court in Bloomingdale; Countryside Plaza in Countryside; and Lake View Plaza in Orland Park. It also has properties in Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and O’Fallon.

“Insert here your own opinion of a governor calling scholarships for low-income children a corporate loophole. In the school year now ending, Invest in Kids awarded scholarships — typically about $6,300 — to some 7,600 students statewide.”