The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a corruption case against a former Portage, Indiana mayor that could have implications for former Speaker Mike Madigan’s corruption trial. And former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger announced who he will vote for in the presidential election.  

SCOTUS RULING — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Wednesday along ideological lines that accepting gratuities for an official act is not the same as accepting a bribe. The ruling in Snyder v. U.S. was in support of the former mayor of Portage, Indiana who faced federal corruption charges under what is known as the 666 statute related to payments he received after winning a municipal contract for a company. The court ruled the timing of the payments is important and giving a payment after an action is not a violation of the law. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion it would be “unfair” to elected officials if they were punished for accepting gratuities for prior work and that bribes before the action are illegal. The ruling threatens a handful of the 23 charges federal prosecutors tied to former House Speaker Mike Madigan and member of the ComEd Four. Sentencing for the ComEd Four was already postponed from January in anticipation of the Snyder ruling and Madigan’s trial was delayed from April to Oct. 8.   

KINZINGER ENDORSEMENT—Former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger is endorsing President Joe Biden for reelection. “As a proud conservative, I’ve always put democracy and our Constitution above all else. And it’s because of my unwavering support for democracy, that today, as a proud conservative, I am endorsing Joe Biden for reelection,” Kinzinger said in a video post. Kinzinger, formerly of Channahon, now resides in Texas after not seeking reelection in 2022. Kinzinger entered Congress in 2011 and reluctantly voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 but became one of the few outspoken Republicans criticizing the former president after the January 6 insurrection. Since then, Kinzinger has sought to highlight his view as a conservative that Trump represents a threat to democracy. “This is what putting your country before party looks like. I’m grateful for your endorsement, Adam,” Biden said on X.   

SHELTER PUSHBACK—A pair of state legislators are pushing back against an announcement by the Department of Human Services that the state will be supporting two more migrant shelters in Chicago. The department announced in a news release on Tuesday that the state will support shelters in Hyde Park and near Midway Airport in addition to an existing shelter in Little Village to boost the state-supported number of migrants over 2,000. Sen. Mike Porfirio (D-La Grange) and Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar (D-Chicago) said in a statement they only learned of the plan through the news release. “Without sufficient information on how the state plans to protect the safety of the shelter and the surrounding community, we cannot support this plan,” the legislators said, citing an already overwhelmed Chicago Police Department.   

DOCUMENTS MISSING AT IDOC — The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) sent a notice to state lawmakers last week that payroll documents for about 350 former and current IDOC employees are missing from the Danville Correctional Center after a box was left unsecured and accessible to some inmates. The department is investigating the extent of the security breach, which has included access to personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers.