CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has hired former state Comptroller Leslie Munger to serve as a deputy governor. In a statement released first to The Associated Press on Friday, Rauner says Munger will focus on long-term budgeting and work with human services organizations hit hard by the state budget impasse. Rauner appointed Munger…
CHICAGO (AP) – A major credit rating agency has again downgraded Illinois’ rating, citing the “unprecedented failure” to approve a state budget. Fitch Ratings lowered the rating Wednesday on nearly $26 billion of general obligation bonds from BBB+ to BBB. That’s a few levels above “junk” status. Illinois already has the worst rating of any…
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) – A former Edwardsville police officer has pleaded guilty to six felony counts over two years after he was charged with a long string of burglaries. Forty-three-year-old Brian Barker pleaded guilty to four burglary charges and one charge each of official misconduct and aggravated possession of stolen firearms. Barker was arrested in…
( KTRS ) Former Madison County Coroner Dallas M. Burke, the first female coroner elected in Illinois, has passed away. A release by the coroners office say the Burke died Friday at Barnes-Jewish hospital, she was 90. Burke first became coroner in 1972. At the time her husband was running for the office of Madison…
CHICAGO (AP) – A daughter of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is criticizing former President Barack Obama for not granting early release to her father, who’s serving prison time for corruption. In an emotional letter, 20-year-old Amy Blagojevich called Obama “spineless” for not commuting her father’s sentence. Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, posted the letter on her…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is seeking to stop state worker pay until legislators and Gov. Bruce Rauner approve a spending plan. A motion by Madigan filed Thursday in St. Clair County Circuit Court seeks to dissolve a preliminary injunction which allowed state workers to be paid during the budget impasse.…
( KTRS ) A man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Belleville man over the weekend. Authorities report that 23 yr old Kaleb Freeman has been charged with first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of 21 yr old Montrea Marshall. Marshall was fatally shot Saturday afternoon outside an apartment in…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – The state of Illinois is offering free income tax preparation and filing for low-income residents. Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary James Dimas says the services are available across the state to families with incomes up to $55,000 and individuals who earn up to $30,000 annually. The service is a partnership…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – A federal judge who was to preside over the corruption trial of former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock has recused herself. U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough on Thursday stepped down from the trial, agreeing with defense attorneys that several issues could create an appearance of bias. One of the issues is Schock’s…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Two proposals on raising Illinois’ minimum wage will be tackled by the new Illinois General Assembly. The Herald and Review reports Senate members have proposed raising the current minimum wage, which is $8.25 an hour, by 50 cents each year until reaching $11 in 2021 as part of a bipartisan budget…