The above is a popular sign in the Prairie State. There is one adorning a window in a private residence across the street from the law mines. People who live outside of Illinois find it hard to comprehend the level of political corruption that exists here. The Feds however, apparently do.
Michael Madigan was first elected to the Illinois House in 1970 when I was thirteen. He became Speaker of the House in 1983, a year after I became an attorney, and he has held that post for all but two years since. Governors come and go, but Madigan has, in large part, run this State. Since 1998 he has been head of the Democrat party in Illinois His time may be coming to an end:
But, Madigan is in the spotlight once again after another hammer dropped Friday when federal prosecutors in Chicago charged utility giant Commonweath Edison with bribery. They allege that the utility awarded jobs and contracts to associates of a top state official — identified as Madigan — “with intent to influence and reward” the official.
The utility has agreed to pay $200 million to resolve the federal criminal investigation.
Though Madigan has not been charged with any wrongdoing, his implication in the scheme has led to growing calls for the powerful Speaker’s resignation.
The prominence of the scandal reflects the prominent role Madigan has played in Illinois politics and government for five decades.
But, the man behind the curtain is still a mystery to many despite having a hand in nearly every piece of legislation that has been signed into law in that time.
Go here to read the rest. The world’s dumbest billionaire, Governor Pritzker, has his own problems to worry about:
As federal investigators circle closer to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, they have also been working on collecting records related to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Gold Coast mansion property tax break, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Federal prosecutors have been requesting records from the Cook County assessor’s office about a $331,000 tax break the governor got after removing the toilets during remodeling of a mansion he owns next to his own home. Authorities sought the name of every employee who was involved in the tax break, along with associated communications.
The improper tax breaks took place during Joe Berrios’ tenure as assessor. Current Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has been complying with the feds’ record requests.
In April 2019, it was revealed Pritzker and his wife, M.K., were under federal investigation for the tax breaks. M.K. Pritzker had directed workers to remove the toilets from the home during renovations so the mansion would be deemed uninhabitable, resulting in a property tax break. After an inspection was complete, she had them reinstall one toilet in J.B.’s “hangout/meeting area.” J.B. Pritzker said he would pay the taxes when the tax dodge was revealed during his campaign for governor, but that has not cooled the interest of investigators.
A 2018 Cook County Inspector General report called Pritzker’s actions a “scheme to defraud.”
Pritzker on July 17 called on Madigan to resign if the bribery allegations involving him are true, and went on to say: “When I think about the possibility of people committing these kinds of wrongdoings, I think people who are in public service need to live up to the integrity of the job they were asked to do.”
The Pritzkers hired contractor Bulley & Andrews during the mansion’s renovation. In May, it was revealed the same company that removed Pritzker’s toilets was also cashing in on federal contracts while still working for the governor.
U.S. Department of Defense records show Bulley & Andrews was awarded nearly $9 million through a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract to convert the old Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park into a COVID-19 care facility. The Corps last worked with the firm in 1944.
Bulley & Andrews also worked as subcontractors on a separate Corps project to reopen Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin. Both jobs were to increase the state’s hospital capacity for COVID-19 cases expected to overwhelm the health care system, but neither hospital site has been needed and the Corps has been criticized for the lack of transparency in awarding $1.7 billion in contracts nationally.
Go here to read the rest. The Democrats dominate the State, but in light of these developments it might be worth the while of the Trump campaign to make at least a head feint here. One party rule in states tends to go on forever until it suddenly collapses. I find it hard to believe that will occur in Illinois during my lifetime, but I have never seen the people of Illinois madder at the government of the State than they are currently.
This is why we need Trump 4 More Years. If not, the corruption will only accelerate. How about ‘Pritzker for President’?
On Saturday I read an article about Madigan and the Commonweath Edison bribery case. The “funny” thing I noticed was that no where in the article did they identify Madigan’s political party, so I knew he was a Democrat.
lol too true, John. An example of how media articles read.
Republican Joe Example, who is a republican senator and holds a high position in the republican party of his sate, said a thing the other day in senate chambers which many people totally disagree with. “I just can’t believe he would say this, even though he’s a republican he seemed like a decent republican,” said this paper’s favorite democrat senator.
vs
Governor Bob Hypothetical did some things that appear to be very very bad in his state. Of course the following charges are alleged and this paper would like to remind you that all are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
About 40% of the state’s population lives in Cook County, whose feckless electorate put the likes of Kim Foxx in the state’s attorney’s chair.
NB, Downstate Illinois has a population of about 4.3 million, similar to Kentucky’s. It has one third tier city (Rockford), a portion of another 3d tier city (Quad Cities), six small cities standing alone, and three small cities which are in orbit around St. Louis. Two-thirds of the population is exurban, small-town, and rural. It even has a big splash of steppe in the middle of it, the only part of the country outside of the Great Plains which does. It has more people that Iowa, so why should it be appended to greater Chicago? (NB, you can ask this question about Upstate New York as well, not to mention several subdivisions of California).
so why should it be appended to greater Chicago?
A question more and more downstaters are asking each passing day Art. I think there will be a separation one day.
I read once that Rome had a policy that a city could only get so big before another city center was established some distance away. This prevented any city, under their control, from becoming a power based as large as Rome. It seems that once a city becomes so dominate over a whole state, it should be separated. Wasn’t this the reason why DC was NOT to be in a State as it would be come too powerful and THE dominate State?
So, would large metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles become states, or federal districts?
So, would large metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles become states, or federal districts?
States could adopt complimentary constitutional amendments reconstituting themselves as confederations, then establish interstate compacts to create cross-border municipal corporations. Optimal targets would be greater New York (19 counties), greater Philadelphia (10 counties), greater Washington (7 counties enveloping 5 stand-alone municipalities), greater Los Angeles (Orange County & fragments of three adjacent counties), San Francisco Bay (7 counties), Chicago (9 counties), Kansas City (5 counties), St. Louis (4-6 counties).