Illinois Politics
QUINCY — Michael McClain isn’t known as Michael in his hometown. He’s Mike. If McClain was a political powerbroker in Springfield and Chicago, he was more than that in Quincy. Yes, in 2023 he was found guilty of conspiring to influence his former best friend, ex-Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, along with three…
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CHICAGO — Michael McClain, the long-time attorney, lobbyist and Democratic powerbroker from Quincy who sat at the right hand of the most powerful man in Illinois state politics for decades, received a two year prison sentence Thursday after being found guilty on federal bribery charges in 2023. U.S. District Judge Manish Shah passed the sentence…
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Of all the players swirling in the bribery scandal involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan, from precinct captains and political directors to legislators and lobbyists, one man held the ultimate catbird seat: Michael Francis McClain. As a longtime lobbyist for utility giant Commonwealth Edison who doubled as Madigan’s closest confidant, McClain toiled for years in relative…
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The Illinois Gaming Board is once again in the spotlight as it investigates the hiring practices surrounding the Bally’s Chicago Casino project. The case echoes a historic regulatory action from 2003, when the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin was fined a record-setting $3.2 million. That fine remains the largest the state agency has levied in…
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The Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois and the Regional Transportation Authority agree that a change to Illinois’ sales tax law will net the RTA an additional $150 million this year and another $225 million next year. That money will drastically reduce the impact of the looming $770 million “fiscal cliff,” which begins in January. The extra revenue…
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The costs to Illinois’ government because of the new Republican congressional budget reconciliation law will be steep. However, the state has some time to prepare itself, and possible Democratic gains in the US House and Senate next year might be able to reverse or mitigate some of the steepest cuts to food security and healthcare…
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CHICAGO — The feds say a man who once had an “unbreakable” bond with former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan should be sentenced to nearly six years in prison, partly for serving as Madigan’s “agent, messenger” and “henchman” in a lengthy conspiracy involving ComEd. Prosecutors said Thursday that Michael McClain’s “tight connection” with the former speaker led…
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QUINCY — Judge Christopher Pratt has officially launched his campaign to be elected as At-Large Circuit Judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit for the March 2026 Republican Primary and November 2026 General Election. Pratt was appointed to the position by the Illinois Supreme Court in June 2024 after being unanimously recommended by a local selection…
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Christian Mitchell has had strong detractors ever since Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle elevated the young Black man out of obscurity and backed him for the Illinois House in 2012. Preckwinkle chose her trusted aide Mitchell over appointed Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-Chicago). Preckwinkle’s move upset a lot of people in that part of…
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Quincy – State Representative Kyle Moore announced Wednesday he is running for re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives in the 99th District. Moore said he pledges to continue his fight for transparency, conservative values, and the hardworking families of West Central Illinois. “As your representative, it is a privilege to work for you,” said…
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July 1 is when spending starts on Illinois’ record $55.2 billion budget, when the state gas tax automatically goes up to 48.3 cents a gallon and when new laws take effect – some passed as long ago as 2023. Here are nine laws passed by the 103rd Illinois General Assembly impacting gender, birth certificates for those under guardianship and for fetal…
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SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker began his third campaign for governor on Thursday, but much of the buzz around his 2026 campaign announcement focused on 2028. Pritzker made four stops around the state to launch his campaign, fielding questions about any future interest in the presidency and what is driving him to run for what…
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July 29, 2025
MINUTES WITH THE MAYOR: 7-29
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