* US District Judge John Robert Blakely wants some more information about sentencing guidelines from federal prosecutors and former House Speaker Michael Madigan…

Specifically, Sentencing Guideline § 2C1.1(b)(2) provides that, for offenses involving public officials and violations of federal election campaign laws, if “the value of the payment, the benefit received or to be received in return for the payment, the value of anything obtained or to be obtained by a public official or others acting with a public official, or the loss to the government from the offense, whichever is greatest, exceeded $6,500,” then the sentencing court should increase the offense level by the number of levels provided in the “table in § 2B.1.”

(The Center Square) – Business and tort reform groups are speaking out against legislation headed to the governor they say makes every business registered in Illinois a target of lawsuits. 

The measure, an initiative of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, expands Illinois courts’ reach over out-of-state businesses.  

An amendment would change Illinois from a "specific jurisdiction" to a "general jurisdiction" state, making any company simply registered to do business here subject to lawsuits that have no connection to Illinois, filed by plaintiffs who may have no ties to Illinois, on matters that occurred elsewhere.

The spring session is over. In the final moments, a new budget was approved. It spends more and raises money through tax increases, including ones on tobacco and nicotine products as well as sports betting.

But lawmakers also left many items on the table, such as a mass transit reform package. There are concerns of a fiscal cliff coming for those agencies in the Chicago area.

Illinois lawmakers filed more than 7,500 bills this spring session, and 615 of them crossed the finish line. While most bills failed to escape legislative committees, there were some that got close to becoming reality. These are some of the bills that left a mark this session even though they never made it to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.

(The Center Square) – Discussions are expected to continue this summer over Illinois legislation to restrict fees landlords may charge renters.

An amended version of House Bill 3564 failed to advance in the Illinois Senate before the end of the legislative session last weekend.

State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, was the Senate sponsor of HB 3564.

Speaking at the outset of the IGB’s open session meeting, Schmadeke said he had advised Illinois Governor JB Pritzker of his decision, stating that after two terms, it was time “to call it a day.”

In their end-of-session dash to pass a state budget, Illinois lawmakers put off consideration of proposed reforms to property tax sales and foreclosures.

That leaves Illinois the only remaining state where homeowners can face losing not just their homes but also all of the equity in them they’ve accumulated if their homes are foreclosed on for falling far behind on paying their property taxes.

As Yankees baseball legend and iconic quipster Yogi Berra is famously quoted as saying, “It’s deja vu all over again.”  

Once again the perennially and preternaturally cash-strapped city of Chicago, State of Illinois, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Chicago Public Schools are pointing at Washington, D.C., with their hands out, shaking their tin cups and blaming the federal government for letting the COVID cash faucet run dry.

Legislators left mixed results behind when they fled Springfield.

Members of the Illinois House and Senate barely met their May 31 deadline for passing a 2025-26 budget, but they left considerable other work undone.

Some of that is good. Approving the bad idea of sweetening Tier 2 pensions for state employees hired after Jan. 1, 2011, would only have driven the state’s horrendous public-pension debt deeper into the hole.

LAS VEGAS — I connected with Derek Stevens a few days after Memorial Day at LondonHouse on North Michigan Avenue. “Lookin’ out over this beautiful Chicago skyline right now,” he said.

The Circa owner had just tossed a ceremonial first pitch — a strike — at an Athletics game in West Sacramento, California, and he was visiting Chicago to conduct marketing business with the Cubs and Marquee Sports Network at Wrigley Field.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Multiple Eastern Illinois Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit against Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch Thursday calling last weekend’s budget process unconstitutional.

The Freedom Caucus said the people of Illinois deserve an honest legislative process. Sen. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) said Democrats rammed the budget through both chambers in the middle of the night without time to read or debate the legislation.