The Latest Breaking News from Danny Solis

Zoning Committee Chairman Tom Tunney (44th) and Education Chairman Michael Scott Jr. (24th) are among Lightfoot’s staunchest City Council supporters. Both men have warned the mayor to back off from a vote

Since the former Illinois House speaker was indicted under a law that’s been used to go after mob bosses, the charges involving ComEd have gotten the most attention. But there’s another big piece of the case.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot could use the Madigan indictment to finally deliver on her campaign promise to eliminate aldermanic prerogative. But even the mayor’s staunchest allies are warning Lightfoot not to even try.

It was a sweeping indictment that rolls up so much of what we recognize as longstanding, everyday Illinois politics (of the corrupt variety) and packages it into a racketeering conspiracy.

Madigan is now one of the most significant politicians in Illinois history ever to face criminal charges, despite having left office more than a year ago.

The hearing was a year-and-a-half in the making, dealing with pretrial motions first filed in August 2020. Burke’s lawyers alleged then that prosecutors withheld crucial information from Chicago’s chief federal judge as they sought to eavesdrop on City Hall phone lines, as well as Burke’s cellphone.

In a new report, it says the Lightfoot administration and former Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner had no legal authority to agree to license the bar without lifting a 1995 moratorium.

Justices heard arguments hinging on whether the high-priced criminal defenses that so many Illinois officials have had to pony up for amount to "personal" expenses prohibited by campaign financing law.