Topinka: 15 To 20 Years Is Appropriate For Blagojevich
Illinois State Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka, who ran unsuccessfully against Rod Blagojevich for governor in 2006, now says he deserves the 15 to 20-year sentence prosecutors are seeking.
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Illinois State Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka, who ran unsuccessfully against Rod Blagojevich for governor in 2006, now says he deserves the 15 to 20-year sentence prosecutors are seeking.
In the one-day return to Springfield for the Illinois General Assembly, the only big accomplishment was the seemingly minor shift of money to keep seven state facilities alive for the last seven months of the fiscal year.
Federal prosecutors intend to ask a federal judge to sentence former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to a 15- to 20-year prison term. But defense attorneys are seeking a much lighter sentence, arguing Blagojevich never profited from the crimes on which he was convicted and caused no public harm.
Illinois lawmakers went home Tuesday night after hitting an impasse over a $250 million package of tax relief designed to keep several high-profile companies from leaving the state.
The federal judge who will sentence impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges has harsh words for one of the former governor's latest legal moves.
At least four top White House officials will be in attendance at Maggie Daley's funeral Monday.
It's appropriate that Maggie Daley's visitation will be held this weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center, the beneficiary of her preservation efforts.
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is asking to play wiretap recordings that were previously placed under seal when he's sentenced next month.
Springfield power broker William Cellini won't get an automatic mistrial after learning that a juror in his corruption trial failed to disclose her criminal record before being picked for the jury, but a federal judge will hold a hearing on the matter.
Retired Mayor Richard M. Daley has canceled his travel schedule and speaking engagements to be with his ailing wife.
Coaches accused of sexually abusing children could not – as has been alleged at Penn State University – hide behind their bosses under a bill introduced in the Illinois House.
A 10 1/2-year sentence for political fundraiser Tony Rezko is not a good sign for deposed Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a former federal prosecutor.
Are they strange bedfellows or public safety partners? The Fire Department's administrative offices have now moved into Police Headquarters, at 3510 S. Michigan Av., even as the investigation into a shoving match between members of the two departments continues.
A downstate lawmaker would like to kick Chicago and Cook County out of the state of Illinois.
A new poll shows incumbent Jesse Jackson Jr. leading challenger Debbie Halvorson in the race to represent Illinois' 2nd Congressional District.
A group of 26 members of the Chicago City Council, the same group that torpedoed Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2026 budget, sent the mayor a letter with their demands for the next fiscal year.
In the race for the seat currently held by retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Democratic Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is facing off against former Illinois Republican Party chairman Don Tracy and independent candidate Whitfield Harrington.
Gov. JB Pritzker is seeking to become the first Democrat ever elected to a third term in Illinois, and is facing a rematch with Republican Darren Bailey. There's also an independent candidate on the ballot, Collin Corbett.
President Trump on Monday announced that the company Mesabi Metallics will build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa over the coming years.
Sheri Mecklenburg resigned from the Department of Justice this week, penning a scathing letter in which she said U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros "personally directed" the Broadview 6 prosecution that she says ended her career.
Scammers are now impersonating the patient portal MyChart, using realistic-looking emails, texts, and websites to try to steal personal information and, in some cases, get malware on your computer.
Fuel prices continue to climb across the country, and that has U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) pointing the finger at President Trump.
Nicor customers will get a break on their bills this fall after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Roul reached an agreement with the utility to cut $140 million from its requested rate hike.
Drivers in Chicago and beyond were paying the highest gas prices ever recorded for the Labor Day holiday as millions of Americans were making their way home on Monday.
Around 115 million domestic and international tourists visited Illinois last year, pushing visitor spending past $50 billion for the first time and generating more than $88 billion in total economic impact.
Sixteen of the state's cases this year trace to an outbreak among people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination history. Health officials say the overall risk is very low but want residents to confirm they're protected.
The Chicago Department of Public Health on Wednesday launched its first "street psychiatry" teams, in an effort to provide mental health services to some of the city's most vulnerable people.
A new Illinois law lets terminally ill patients request a lethal prescription to end their lives, making the state the 13th in the U.S. — and the first in the Midwest — to permit it.
Nearly half of Americans with medical debt owe at least $2,000, forcing them to make tough choices, new research shows.
A judge on Tuesday was expected to place two shuttered Chicago-area safety-net hospitals into receivership.
McDonald's said Wednesday it will spend $8.5 billion over the next decade to modernize its restaurants globally.
The future of Rate Field was back in the spotlight on Wednesday.
Plans for a new Chicago White Sox stadium in the South Loop have residents near the existing ballpark in Bridgeport concerned, not just because the team might be leaving, but also what might be coming nearby.
A new report from the University of Illinois Chicago said federal immigration enforcement led to $1.26 billion in unspent money at retail establishments and restaurants in Cook County.
Around 115 million domestic and international tourists visited Illinois last year, pushing visitor spending past $50 billion for the first time and generating more than $88 billion in total economic impact.
Survivor, Koko Taylor, The Plain White T's and REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin were among those honored Sunday night at the Harris Theater. The ceremony is the hall's largest fundraiser.
Madonna won Artist of the Year while Taylor Swift became the most awarded artist in Video Music Awards history.
Challenging documentaries and award-winning features are among the offerings of New York City's leading cinema event, starring such luminaries as Pedro Pascal, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and Godzilla.
Taylor Swift announced her new single "Patient Zero" earlier this week, saying she has been "impatiently waiting" to announce that it will be out on Friday.
A Tennessee judge granted Dolly Parton's estate a temporary restraining order Wednesday against the late singer's nephew Bryan Seaver and his private security company.
Ford City Mall Ownership confirmed the suspension pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation by the Chicago Police Department.
Sukkos is one of the most joyous holidays on the Jewish calendar, dating back thousands of years.
A resident in Surf City, New Jersey, captured what appears to be a shark swimming in floodwaters on Sunday. A powerful nor'easter hit the area, bringing severe flooding.
The afternoon commute brings a lot of foot traffic to this corner of River North, but some residents say they're left hanging after the sudden removal of a long-standing public staircase.
Village officials confirmed that Fenwick High School, at 505 Washington Blvd., was briefly evacuated because of the fire. Everyone was eventually allowed back in, but students without an 11th-period class were relocated to the cafeteria until dismissal.
Stepping in for Caleb Williams, Keenum was 24 for 34 for 247 yards.
Oak Park village officials confirmed that Fenwick High School is being evacuated because of a fire at their parking garage.
The self-sanitizing pod is equipped with a power-washing system that cleans and disinfects the toilet and the floor for a few minutes after each use.
A body was found on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Monday morning, authorities said.
A new blockade on Wabash and heavy rust stains on Hubbard below are the only signs of the staircase that once stood there.
A woman is dead after a wrong-way driver caused a three-car crash on DuSable Lake Shore Drive on Chicago's South Side late Sunday night.
In 2024, an off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed a dog that was being held by its owner. COPA and CPD Supt. Larry Snelling agreed the officer should be fired. But more than two years later, that hasn't happened.
Surging gas and diesel prices are putting the pinch on farmers with harvest season underway, and could drive grocery prices even further up.
Another business owned by a couple under investigation for mishandling bodies at funeral homes and crematories on the South Side and in the south suburbs was raided by law enforcement Thursday.
Crown Point native Chris Payne was arrested for the 2018 sexual assault of a woman, which he has adamantly claimed from the beginning that he had nothing to do with.
Stepping in for Caleb Williams, Keenum was 24 for 34 for 247 yards.
The Bears will look to rally from last week's ugly loss to the Vikings when they host the Eagles on Monday night at Soldier Field.
Benjamin Satterley, an English-born wrestler known for high-flying moves that delighted fans worldwide, was known as "Pac."
The Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Red Sox 6-2 on Sunday in a regular-season finale that was relocated to Tropicana Field.
President Trump's presence in the Chicagoland area brought crowds of supporters and protesters.
Chicago police put out an alert about dozens of car burglaries, including some in which the suspects pulled guns when confronted by the owners, on the Near South Side and South Commons neighborhoods in September.
The investigation into an alleged rape at Cornell University in 2024 will be reopened, authorities said Monday.
The man charged in the shooting of an 18-month-old girl inside an apartment on Chicago's Southwest Side was ordered held until trial on Monday.
A Chicago violence interrupter is remembered for the difference he tried to make in his South Shore neighborhood. Courtney Harris worked to keep young people away from violence, but died in a shooting over the weekend.
Three men were wounded in a shooting on Thursday night outside a liquor store in the South Chicago neighborhood.
