Springfield News
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As lawmakers are returning to Springfield Tuesday for the second half of their fall Veto Session, several pieces of high-profile legislation been placed on the back burner amid a widespread federal corruption probe that appears to touch marquee programs like infrastructure and gambling expansion.
But even as lawmakers’ anxiety looms, support is still high for a proposal to partially consolidate Illinois 649 suburban and downstate public safety pension funds into two statewide funds, one serving police and one serving firefighters.
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Menthol cigarettes and flavored chewing tobacco would still be allowed to be sold in Illinois as negotiations continue over a bill aimed at banning flavored tobacco products, The Daily Line has learned.
Benjamin Latoria, an employee of vape shop Cig Not in Addisonm used flavored e-cigarettes to quit smoking six years ago. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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The video gaming terminal magnate linked to the investigation of State Sen. Marty Sandoval’s (D-Chicago) has long operated as a landlord for suburban House members.
The district office of State Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) which she rents from Rick Heidner, a video gaming magnate tied to a sprawling federal corruption probe. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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A company linked to the arrest and resignation of former State Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) on corruption charges for allegedly bribing a state senator for his support on legalizing “sweepstakes machines” sued west suburban Addison last month after the town passed an ordinance banning the machines.
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Democratic political operative Alaina Hampton shook up Springfield politics last year when she accused a top aide to House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) of sexual harassment, and subsequently sued four of Madigan’s operations — the Democratic Party of Illinois and three of his political funds: Friends of Michael J. Madigan, Democratic Majority and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization — alleging retaliation for “asserting her rights to be free from unlawful harassment and a sexually hostile work environment by failing to hire her to work as a political consultant for the 2018 campaign cycle.”
Alaina Hampton holds a news conference in 2017 to announce she has asked city officials to investigate whether Ald. Marty Quinn (13) failed to stop sexual harassment in the 13th Ward's political organization. [AD Quig, The Daily Line]
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Illinois will need to contribute $9.8 billion to its five state pension systems during the 2021 fiscal year, according to new actuarial estimates published last week, representing a $538 million increase in pension costs from what the state is paying to the five systems in the 2020 fiscal year.
In 2012, Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration created “Squeezy the Pension Python” as part of its marketing plan to win public support for a pension overhaul law that would cut benefits to state retirees. [Screengrab from YouTube]
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Six members of the Illinois House will begin the process of expelling State Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) from the chamber at a Friday hearing in Chicago, one week after Arroyo was arrested on corruption charges for allegedly bribing a state senator with $2,500 in monthly payments for his support on a bill that would benefit a client he was lobbying for locally.
