James T. Weiss — a son-in-law of Joseph Berrios, the former Cook County Democratic Party chairman and county assessor — owns and operates sweepstakes machines. Weiss also runs the Alliance of Illinois Taxpayers, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, largely from personal injury law firms allied with Madigan. Other donors include individuals with ties to Madigan’s political organization.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.