Tag Archives: Illinois

The Chicago Tribune reports: Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker will announce Thursday that he will seek a third term next year, answering a question about his immediate political future but leaving unanswered whether he will pursue a longer-term goal of running for president in 2028. Multiple sources close to Pritzker’s campaign confirmed to the Tribune Tuesday that the governor will make …

USA Today reports: An Illinois landlord convicted of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in a hate-fueled attack days after the Israel-Hamas war broke out in 2023 will spend 53 years in prison, according to local reports. Joseph Czuba, 73, received the sentence on May 2 for the murder of kindergartener Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding his mother, Hanaan Shaheen. …

The Chicago Tribune reports: Robert Crimo III will spend the rest of his life in prison for opening fire on spectators at the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade. Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti imposed the expected sentence Thursday after listening to statements from 19 survivors and loved ones of people killed in the mass shooting. He was sentenced to seven …

Chicago’s NBC affiliate reports: And the race is officially on. One day after longtime Sen. Dick Durbin announced he would retire and not seek reelection, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, launched her bid for his seat. She is the first contender to enter what Democrats here are expecting to be a jam-packed field for a senatorial seat that hasn’t been …

The Huffington Post reports: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is asking his state’s pension funds and procurement agencies to examine any investments or contracts they have with companies in El Salvador, the first step toward a possible boycott of the country for assisting President Donald Trump in defying court orders on the treatment of migrants. “The United States Constitution guarantees …

The New York Times reports: Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat for two decades and a leading liberal voice on Capitol Hill, will not seek re-election next year, closing out a 44-year congressional career focused on immigration, the federal justice system and anti-smoking initiatives. The decision to be announced on Wednesday by Mr. Durbin, 80, …

“Trump could have fought for us. He really could have. Instead, he made self-serving deals. He would send life-saving equipment if only we would agree to praise him on the Sunday talk shows. That is literally a deal that he put in front of me. “I was desperate. My hospitals were filling up. And time was of the essence, so …

Rockford’s CBS affiliate reports: A Beloit pastor is accused of sharing child pornography, according to police. Anthony Dusso, 53, of South Beloit, faces four Class X counts of dissemination of child pornography <13 and two Class 1 counts of dissemination of child pornography <18. In December 2024, South Beloit police say they got a tip from the National Center for …

NBC News reports: An Illinois man was found guilty Friday in the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and the wounding of his mother, an attack that prosecutors said was motivated by anti-Muslim hate and a response to the Israel-Hamas War. Joseph Czuba was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes in the Oct. …

Suburban Chicago’s Daily Herald reports: An electronic sign outside a Palatine church has sparked controversy with its use of metaphorical immigration-related language. “Heaven has strict immigration laws, hell has open borders,” reads the sign at New Hope Community Church. The church is near Winston Campus Middle School, 900 E. Palatine Road, which has a substantial Hispanic student population. The relationship …

Chicago’s ABC affiliate reports: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago claiming “sanctuary” policies interfere with federal immigration enforcement. The suit, listing Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, Cook County, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, …

NBC News reports: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is blocking those who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol from working in state jobs, ignoring President Donald Trump’s attempt to offer them a clean slate last week in a sweeping set of pardons and commutations. Pritzker directed the state’s Department of Central Management Services, the state’s …

CBS News reports: Mount Prospect, Illinois police said 11 teenage boys, one 16 and the others 17, were charged with felonies, including aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, and mob action. Police said around 9:45 p.m., a 41-year-old man walked into the department and reported that he was beaten by a group of teens in the parking lot of a …

Chicago’s ABC affiliate reports: The Illinois Supreme Court has reversed the conviction of actor Jussie Smollett. The former “Empire” actor took his case to the Illinois Supreme Court in September in a last-ditch effort to have his 2021 conviction overturned. “Specifically, we address whether a dismissal of a case by nolle prosequi allows the State to bring a second prosecution …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Friday overturned Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms. U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn issued the lengthy finding in a decree that he said applied universally, not just to the plaintiffs who brought the …

Chicago’s CBS affiliate reports: Daniel Schmidt, 24, has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a victim over 60, two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, five counts of resisting arrest, and one count of disorderly conduct. Police said, around 11 a.m., officers responded to the Orland Park Township Office at 14807 Ravinia Ave., for a …

CNN reports: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker confirmed Sunday that “about 250” members of the state’s National Guard will be on standby at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. “They are really on standby,” Pritzker said at a news conference. “They are at the perimeter.” “Nobody expects that we’ll have to use them for anything very serious, but we …

NBC News reports: Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in her Illinois home, according to Massey’s family members who spoke to NBC News. Massey, 36, was killed July 6 after she called the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office because she was afraid there …

Reuters reports: Illinois Republican party chairman Don Tracy resigned on Wednesday, less than a month before next month’s Republican National Convention in neighboring Wisconsin, citing infighting with the party. In his resignation letter, Tracy said he spent “too much time dealing with intra party power struggles and local intra party animosities,” the Chicago Tribune and local ABC affiliate reported. “In …

Peoria’s NBC affiliate reports: 34-year-old Dalton Mattus will be back in court June 20th after being ordered held by a judge Wednesday, citing a concern for public safety. Mattus and a female driver were pulled over on Capitol Street in the early morning hours of May 17th. Police reportedly found a locked bag while searching the vehicle, where a loaded …