News

Madigan and ComEd are at the center of federal heat

Illinois PolicyBy Austin Berg Federal agents in May raided the homes of three individuals across Illinois with close ties to House Speaker Mike Madigan and utility giant Commonwealth Edison. But a new subpoena served during that spree has come to light courtesy of WBEZ, which on Oct. 20 published a story on federal activity at an esteemed Chicago public […]

Tax Probe Shadows Illinois Governor as Term Gets Underway

BloombergBy Elizabeth Campbell and Kim Chipman Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, his wife and his brother-in-law are under federal criminal investigation for a property tax appeal that came up during Pritzker’s 2018 campaign, Chicago public radio station WBEZ reports, citing an unidentified law-enforcement source. There are no signs that criminal charges are imminent, the station reported. […]

Documents show feds were after evidence of bribery and theft from federally funded program in raid of state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s office

Chicago TribuneDan Petrella, Jamie Munks, and Jason Meisner Federal agents who raided the state Capitol office of Sen. Martin Sandoval last week were looking for information related to concrete and construction businesses, lobbyists and public officials, and “items related to any official action taken in exchange for a benefit,” according to documents released Tuesday by the Illinois […]

Corrupt ex-Teamsters boss put state Sen. Thomas Cullerton on payroll in do-nothing job, federal charges allege

Chicago TribuneBy Jason Meisner and Dan Petrella Illinois state Sen. Thomas E. Cullerton has been indicted by federal authorities on embezzlement charges alleging he pocketed almost $275,000 in salary and benefits from the Teamsters union despite doing little or no work. The disclosure of the charges against Cullerton, D-Villa Park, came three days after former […]

State Senate’s game of musical chairs ends with accused ghost payroller Tom Cullerton not losing any money

Chicago Sun TimesBy Tina Sfondeles State Sen. Tom Cullerton has been removed as chair of the Illinois Senate’s Labor Committee, just days after being charged in a federal indictment for allegedly being a ghost payroller for the Teamsters — to the tune of $188,000 in salary benefits and $64,000 in health and pension contributions. Cullerton […]

Ald. Ed Burke charged with racketeering in sweeping indictment

Chicago Sun TimesBy Jon Seidel, Tim Novak, Lauren FitzPatrick, and Fran Spielman orFor more than a year, powerhouse Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke had been trying to land the developer of Chicago’s Old Main Post Office as a client for his private law firm. By October 2017, he’d had enough. He found himself alone with Ald. […]

Feds allege state Rep. Luis Arroyo caught on undercover recording paying $2,500 bribe. ‘This is the jackpot.’

Chicago TribuneJason Meisner, Jamie Munks, and Dan Petrella State Rep. Luis Arroyo was supposed to be with his fellow lawmakers in Springfield on Monday for the first day of the busy fall veto session. Instead, the Chicago Democrat was ducking reporters as he left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, where he was the latest […]

Federal agents raid ward office of South Side Ald. Carrie Austin: law enforcement source

Chicago TrubuneBy Juan Perez Jr., John Byrne, Jason Meisner, and Gregory Pratt What has become a familiar scene of federal agents rifling through a Chicago alderman’s office played out again Wednesday, this time on Chicago’s Far South Side as the FBI raided the 34th Ward office of influential Ald. Carrie Austin. The second longest-serving active […]

Bombshell filing details FBI’s two-year probe of alleged corruption by Ald. Daniel Solis

Chicago TribuneBy Jason Meisner, Jeff Coen, Stacy St. Clair, Christy Gutowski A bombshell court filing made public Wednesday shows the FBI spent more than two years investigating alleged corruption schemes by longtime Ald. Daniel Solis, secretly listening in on thousands of phone calls as the alderman solicited everything from campaign donations to sexual services at […]