Illinois

At first blush, a pension bill adopted by the General Assembly in 2007 seemed to have a laudable goal: extending retirement benefits to local police force employees’ widows after they remarried. But buried within the legislation was something considerably less altruistic: a provision that enabled a member of one of …

By Megan Geuss In Cook County today Judge Stanley J. Sacks declared Illinois’ eavesdropping law—which is one of the toughest in the nation—unconstitutional in his ruling in the case of Christopher Drew, who was charged with the felony crime in 2009. The eavesdropping law prohibits citizens from making audio or …

By Associated Press 11:29 a.m. CST, February 26, 2012 CHICAGO (AP) — More Illinois politicians — including top Democrats and Republicans — have been identified as using their influence to help students get into the University of Illinois, according to a published report Sunday. The Chicago Tribune first reported in …

Millions of constituents will find their representative has changed By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune reporter February 20, 2012 During his three decades in Elmhurst, John Morrissey has been comfortable being represented in Washington by a generation of conservative congressmen. Now the retired 61-year-old business manager is coming to the realization …

An Illinois House Committee yesterday approved amendments to the Illinois Eavesdropping Act by a 9-2 vote. At present, if an individual records a member of law enforcement, even in a public setting, without permission, that individual can be arrested and charged with a class 1 felony. The most recent incident …

Automated speed cameras are one step closer to becoming reality, and your action is needed to stop this boondoggle from becoming law. The Speed Camera bill blew through the legislature in Illinois’ Fall Veto Session, and the Governor has until February 6 to either veto, or sign the measure into …

January 17, 2012, By Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune reporter A Chicago police officer accused in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 13-year-old boy received preferential treatment from investigators who drove the off-duty officer to a restroom, delayed field-sobriety tests and overlooked key evidence that he was intoxicated, prosecutors said Tuesday …

By Joseph Ruzich, Special to the Tribune January 5, 2012 The fire chief of Westmont has been placed on paid administrative leave in the wake of his arrest on a DUI charge last week, authorities said. Frank Trout allegedly hit a parked car in the 3900 block of Adams Street …

Bill proposed by police union dies in Illinois House December 18, 2010 A bill in the Statehouse this year reopened a lingering debate in traffic enforcement: Are officers ordered to write a specific number of tickets? A top Illinois police union says yes. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor …

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, D-Orland Park, wants to gut a pension reform bill with new legislation friendly to union officials. (E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune / December 12, 2011) December 13, 2011 We don’t expect the perpetrators — a slew of Democrats in the Illinois House — to confess. But let’s …

CHICAGO, December 8, 2011 ― If you didn’t know it was the Blagojevich saga, you might think it was a script for a “Goodfellas” sequel: An ambitious young man marries the daughter of a powerful Chicago political boss. The boss “makes” the man and gives him his start in the …

A contrite former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in federal prison, capping one of the state’s worst political scandals and humbling a controversial and defiant figure who rode into office as a champion of reform. The sentence handed Blagojevich was the second-longest ever delivered in federal …

BY THOMAS HARGROVE November 25, 2011 11:32PM FILE–An office building on the Motorola campus in Harvard, Ill., about 60 miles northwest of Chicago, is shown Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001. The company announced it will close its cell-phone manufacturing plant in Harvard, Ill., and eliminate 2,500 jobs. (AP Photo/Charles Bennett) Cook …

By Marshall Cohen Updated: Thursday, November 17, 2011 04:11 U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), the Tea Party supporter who represents the congressional district directly northwest of Evanston, joined a group of House Republicans on Tuesday to demand the immediate resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder. Walsh and his Republican colleagues …

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) — Texas Rep. Ron Paul is emerging as a significant factor in the Republican presidential race, especially in Iowa. He’s been long dismissed by the GOP establishment, but the libertarian-leaning candidate is now turning heads beyond his hard-core followers – and rising …