Illinois

CHICAGO — Prosecutors in Rod Blagojevich’s corruption case have asked a judge to bar defense attorneys from arguing at the former Illinois governor’s upcoming retrial that playing all the hundreds of hours of secret FBI recordings would prove his innocence. Blagojevich and his lawyers have complained for years that the …

The decision by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office not to charge a nephew of Mayor Daley in the one-punch death of 21-year-old David Koschman in 2004 hung largely on the fact that witnesses couldn’t positively identify the nephew, Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, in a police lineup, according to prosecutors. …

BY STEVE WARMBIR A local school board president in Cicero has ties to a notorious large-scale drug dealer as well as a ranking member of a motorcycle gang who is a trusted associate of the Chicago mob, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Jeff Pesek, 38, president of the Morton High …

The Associated Press NEW YORK — The former president of a Chicago-based private equity firm has been sentenced in New York City to more than 13 years in prison after admitting he misspent millions of dollars in investor money. Steven Byers was head of WexTrust Capital. He pleaded guilty last …

Hydrofluorosilicic Acid is deadly, and it’s an ingredient in most U.S. fluoridated water municipalities. Fluoride spill at water facility literally burns holes in parking lot cement Ethan A. Huff Natural News (NaturalNews) A recent chemical spill at a water treatment facility in Rock Island, Ill., required the assistance of an …

A small town Illinois bank was shut down last night by government regulators. The Western Springs National Bank and Trust was seized last night by The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Operations will resume as normal today with everyone’s account intact and insured. The bank’s $368.7 million in assets and deposits …

As a lawyer, you know it’s going to be bad when a federal judge summons you to his courtroom at nine in the morning to talk about your “ill-considered lawsuit” that has “abused the litigation system in more than one way.” Federal judge Milton Shadur, who keeps a “Now, 3 …

Rep. Keith Farnham, an Elgin Democrat, has sponsored legislation that would require offenders convicted of drug offenses to cover the police’s cost to bust them. SPRINGFIELD — State lawmakers are advancing a new proposal that could force people convicted on marijuana and meth charges to pay fines to cover the …

Residents will still get mail and the federal court system will remain open thanks to filing fees they collected, but the IRS might need to suspend processing for paper-filed tax returns. The Federal Housing Authority also might not be able to guarantee new home loans, and the Small Business Administration …

Carjackers, drug dealers, cop shooters. What have they all got in common? They’re now working for the City of Chicago. I’m wondering how much time Obama pal Tony Rezko has left to serve in prison. No doubt Mayor Rahm will do his old boss a favor and hire him when …