The Latest Breaking News from Terry Link

The judge spent part of the hearing asking about Chicago’s persistent public corruption problem. At one point he stopped a prosecutor and asked, ‘Why does public corruption keep happening?’

Prosecutors revealed secretly recorded conversations Wednesday as they sought a prison sentence of more than five years for James T. Weiss, convicted this year of bribing two Illinois lawmakers.

Link’s entanglement with the feds first became known in October 2019, when the Chicago Sun-Times and other media reported he was the unnamed state senator who wore a wire against then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo. Link lied to reporters at the time and claimed it wasn’t him.

The state General Assembly Retirement System board voted to strip former state Rep. Luis Arroyo of his more than $4,500-a-month state pension, citing state law that allows retirement benefits to be taken from ex-lawmakers if they commit felonies arising from their time in office.

CHICAGO — A federal jury on Thursday convicted a politically connected Chicago businessman of attempting to pay off two state legislators to pass a bill beneficial to his sweepstakes gaming company and then lying about it to the FBI.

The verdict is the second in less than two months to address separate bribery schemes inside the Illinois Capitol. Weiss is a son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.

The jury of five men and seven women is expected to begin deliberations Thursday in the trial of James Weiss.

Weiss is accused of bribing two state lawmakers to push legislation in Springfield, but the focus Tuesday turned from the state capitol to City Hall.

The latest public corruption trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse appears to be nearing its end, with closing arguments possibly as soon as Wednesday.