Illinois Lawmakers Scurry Through Bills; No Budget Deal Yet
Illinois lawmakers are tackling a long to-do list without mentioning the biggest obstacle facing the General Assembly before its Sunday adjournment deadline: a $3 billion budget deficit.
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Illinois lawmakers are tackling a long to-do list without mentioning the biggest obstacle facing the General Assembly before its Sunday adjournment deadline: a $3 billion budget deficit.
Gary Matlock is defending Dennis Hastert, who coached him to a state championship decades ago. CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports.
Peoria Congressman Aaron Schock resigned in March following media reports about his spending.
The Illinois House has approved a plan to make the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum its own agency but scuttled the governor's proposed privatization of business development in the state.
With the stroke of a pen, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans set June 1 as the start of the new Prostitution and Trafficking Intervention Court. Evans said state law already treats prostitution as a misdemeanor, and not a felony. The new intervention court takes that approach a step further.
A friend and political mentor of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was speaking up for the indicted lawmaker on Friday, a day after Hastert was accused of lying to the FBI, and trying to hide apparent hush money payments.
The longtime Republican lawmaker allegedly paid about $1.7 million in cash to a longtime acquaintance – identified as Individual A in the indictment – beginning in 2010, to conceal misconduct that occurred years earlier.
Union-friendly Illinois Democrats say Gov. Bruce Rauner has so poisoned contract negotiations with state workers that they pushed legislation Thursday that would prohibit either a strike or the Republican governor locking workers out.
Democrats who control the Legislature are advancing a 2016 budget that's more than $3 billion short of anticipated revenues. Republicans have criticized the spending plan as irresponsible.
On Wednesday, an Illinois Senate committee voted down the governor's proposed changes to workers' compensation laws, and on Thursday the Judiciary Committee debated Rauner's plan to overhaul the state's civil court system – specifically, lawsuits seeking financial damages.
Chicago would get a city-owned casino and be allowed to keep all revenue for seven years to help make ballooning pension payments, and new casinos would be added throughout the state under legislation expected to be introduced Thursday in the Illinois Senate.
House Democrats have abandoned Gov. Bruce Rauner's idea to privatize the state's business-development agency but are moving ahead with Speaker Michael Madigan's plan to make the state's shrine to Abraham Lincoln a separate agency.
Illinois Democrats agreed to give some of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's priority reforms a platform Wednesday but still voted them down in an exercise that could further fuel a politically charged standoff that's expected to extend the summer.
- Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul brought his presidential campaign and his policy positions to Chicago in one of the first overtly political public visits to the city this year, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
A top DHS official directed ICE attorneys to aggressively pursue administrative fraud cases against immigration lawyers accused of filing false asylum claims.
A new study from the Cook County Treasurer's office underlines growing concerns about the impact the Illinois megaprojects bill could have on the county's property tax base and overall fiscal health.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the ballroom is "being constructed for the physical safety and security of all Presidents, their families, staff, Foreign Dignitaries, and guests."
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson got a warm sendoff Sunday as he prepares for a trip to the Vatican.
U.S. officials and negotiators were discussing a process to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sources briefed on the conversations said.
A new study from the Cook County Treasurer's office underlines growing concerns about the impact the Illinois megaprojects bill could have on the county's property tax base and overall fiscal health.
As thousands of Chicagoans wrap up road trips over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, gas prices in the city have reached the highest levels seen in four years.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
Menopause can feel like a major turning point for millions of women, with symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and brain fog can make women feel like their bodies aren't their own.
The head of the World Health Organization says Ebola has killed at least 7 people in Congo, but the U.N. agency says it knows the epidemic "is much larger."
A person suspected of having hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.
The DuPage County Health Department has confirmed its first positive tests for West Nile virus in pools of mosquitoes this year.
The Kane County Health Department was set Monday to offer a free mental health awareness webinar.
The owners of Gene & Georgetti steakhouse are suing a concessions operator over their expansion at Midway International Airport.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
Sonny Rollins, the legendary tenor saxophonist known for his bold tone and constant experimentation, has died at 95.
Former CBS Chicago anchorman Bill Kurtis has signed off from his role as the judge and scorekeeper on the NPR weekly news quiz show "Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!"
Pop star Britney Spears said she was "totally fine" to drive and had not had a drink for about six hours when she was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol.
After nearly a century on the air, CBS News Radio signed off, with the final reports airing on Friday, May 22.
Stephen Colbert hosted "The Late Show" for the final time Thursday night as the franchise came to an end after 33 years.
Two weeks after Ryan Field opens, high school rivals will compete under the stadium lights, rent-free. Developers say Ryan Field will ease into hosting events.
An Indiana State trooper was shot in the chest, but was wearing a bulletproof vest. Officials said he was transferred to the University of Chicago Hospital for surgery and has since been released. The driver of the stopped vehicle was killed in the shootout.
Of the nearly 250 people considered AWOL from Cook County's electronic monitoring program, almost a third of them are facing charges for violent crimes.
Gun control advicates and survivors from across Illinois are heading to Springfield on Tuesday to push for the first-of-its-kind Responsibility in Firearm Legislation (RIFL) Act. If approved, organizers say Illinois would become the first state to hold gun makers financially responsible for weapons they produced.
An Air Quality Alert is in effect only for northwest Indiana on Wednesday, where ozone pollution again reaches elevated levels. Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking the latest in your First Alert Weather.
Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th Ward) said officers confiscated dozens of weapons, including tasers, guns, knives, and bear mace.
A Chicago teen being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Kentucky is now on his way home, after a judge allowed him to go free on bond just in time to graduate from high school.
An Indiana State trooper was shot, and a suspect was killed during a shootout with officers during a traffic stop on I-80/94 in Hammond, Indiana.
Up until kickoff, Ryan Field might be tackled with questions and concerns from neighbors not ready for change.
A defense attorney for one of the "Broadview Six" immigration protesters alleged in court Tuesday that he had "reason to believe" that U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros had personal contact with members of the grand jury who indicted the group in October.
Chicago has the largest air quality monitoring network in the country thanks to a partnership between the city, the University of Illinois Chicago, and local community groups.
An Indiana State Police trooper was shot, and a suspect was killed during a shootout with officers during a traffic stop on I-80/94 in Hammond, Indiana.
Data centers popping up all over Illinois are sucking up millions of gallons of water a day, at a pace that the state can't keep up with. But experts say tapping into wastewater resources would steer the state in a new and much safer direction.
Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
Up until kickoff, Ryan Field might be tackled with questions and concerns from neighbors not ready for change.
Munetaka Murakami homered, Anthony Kay pitched six sparkling innings and the Chicago White Sox stopped Minnesota's four-game win streak with a 3-1 victory over the Twins.
Henry Davis hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
With a loaded roster back, the St. Laurence High School baseball team is primed for what they hope is another long playoff run as the No. 1 seed beginning Wednesday at home.
Rafael Devers hit San Francisco's third grand slam in a seven-day span, a tiebreaking, fifth-inning drive that led the Giants over the Chicago White Sox 8-5.
A Chicago man accused of shooting and killing his 74-year-old grandfather last week in Auburn Gresham had previously raised concerns from his family about his mental health, according to Cook County prosecutors.
A man has been ordered detained until trial on charges that he ran over a woman with a car in Chicago's northwest suburbs last week.
A 17-year-old boy was killed and two men were critically wounded in a shooting on Tuesday morning in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
Forest Preserves of Cook County police released a sketch Tuesday of a man wanted in the sexual assault of a woman in a forest preserve on Chicago's Northwest Side.
Three burglars broke into a discount store in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood early Tuesday and stole the cash register.
