Ever wonder how our General Assembly Representatives in Springfield see their constituents? If you have been involved in Occupy Chicago, some of them have frank words about you scary, lazy, downright un-American pawns! more ›

A downstate Illinois town may turn out to be the Pearl Harbor of America’s burgeoning cyber war after Russian hackers blew out part of its water system. Should we worry in Chicago? more ›

Almost 150 years after his death, Honest Abe is still taking hits from from dishonest folks as thieves steal a chunk of his tomb. But high gas prices might help him rest in peace now. more ›

The world’s largest owner and operator of financial exchanges is in Springfield to ask for an $85 million tax break. more ›

Lawmakers in Springfield yesterday approved a ComEd-backed smart grid bill and plans for speed cameras that could survey huge swaths of Chicago to catch fast drivers. more ›

Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel announced on Friday that students in Chicago's public schools will possibly be spending an extra hour or hour and a half in school each day once new legislation is passed in Springfield. "We're not going to negotiate or discuss whether children get more instruction—we will work together so that gets done. I'm not deviating from that. I was clear about it," Emanuel said after speaking at a South Side charter school, via the Chicago Sun-Times. Emanuel also said that while the issue of the school day getting longer is not up for negotiation, teacher's possible pay raises will be considered. more ›

The Illinois House voted to move forward with a study into the costs of adding photo identification to Illinois LINK cards. The proposal sponsored by Mahomet Republican Chapin Rose doesn't mean that LINK cards with photo IDs are a done deal, but the call for the state Department of Human Services to look into the cost of doing so is already leading to resistance by Chicago Democrats in Springfield, groups that fight poverty and hunger, and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association as stigmatizing to the nearly 880,000 Illinois residents who have LINK cards for SNAP benefits and cash assistance. more ›

Saying "our fiscal house was burning," Gov. Quinn defended the state income tax hike today as a necessary evil, insisted he did not lie to voters when he campaigned for a nominal income tax increase, and justified the nearly 67 percent increase by citing experts who said the state's financial problems would only get worse in the upcoming months. Quinn also said that he'll sign the increase into law as soon as he can. more ›

The Illinois House returns to work tomorrow and, with time ticking down on the current veto session, it looks like House Democrats are going to need some votes if they want to pass that proposed income tax hike hammered out with Gov. Quinn. Spring Valley Rep. Frank Mautino, House Speaker Michael Madigan's budget expert, told the Sun-Times, "I don't see there are enough votes." more ›

Shocking news from the state's capital city this afternoon as reports that Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin was found dead at his home of a gunshot wound. more ›

Gov. Quinn made his Put Illinois to Work program a focal point of his election campaign. Faced with hard numbers of its success, Quinn now said that he'll end the program in mid-January. more ›

Someone gave the folks in Springfield the remaining cases of Four Loko or something, 'cause they're moving with a purpose during the veto session. The House Judiciary II Criminal Law committee voted by a 4-3 measure yesterday to bring a proposal abolishing the death penalty to the full House. more ›

Looking for something voyeuristic to do this holiday season? Why not head down to Springfield and go on a tour of the Illinois Executive Mansion? The Executive Mansion will be open three days a week beginning on Tuesday to display holiday decorations and trees decorated by volunteers and staff from museums and historic state sites. Gov. Pat Quinn will even be on hand to welcome visitors on December 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. (it is his house, after all). more ›

Facing a state budget deficit that could reach as high as $15 billion and with no easy answers to settle it, Gov. Quinn and the State Legislature head into the fall-veto session with different agendas on how to plug the gap. more ›

Some officials believe building a land-based casino could provide help during Chicago's financial crisis but Mayor Daley has some reservations that must be met first. more ›

Earlier this year, lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn decided, in the midst of a state budget crisis, to cut funding for the MAP grants financial aid program, and fund only half of the $440 million program, just enough to get the quarter of Illinois' college students that rely on MAP through the first half of the school year. If lawmakers don't restore the funds during their fall session in Springfield this week, the 137,000 undergraduates could find their educations at risk. more ›

Last week, we posted about Patty Henken, a woman who found what was purported to be a treasure map to a stash of $250 gold coins somewhere in Springfield. Her search had turned up empty and now it seems it may have been a prank, albeit one from the afterlife. The note Henken found attached to an antique chair was signed by "Chauncey Wolcott." But it now appears as if Wolcott was nothing more than the creation of a jokester who loved pulling odd pranks. According to the Tribune: more ›

A postal worker in Mount Sterling set off to find treasure allegedly buried in Springfield. According to WBBM: more ›

• A Decatur man has been arrested for plotting to blow up a federal courthouse in Springfield.
• Mayor Daley called the safety violations the FAA took O'Hare International Airport to task for "not very significant."
• This whole Cubs sale is one step closer to being done.

More than 150,000 Illinois college students who depend on grant money to complete their degrees may be forced to drop out of school since MAP grants were cut from the state budget, says CBS2. A Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant is awarded by the state and covers tuition and mandatory fees for students who demonstrate financial need. Chicago State University students are most dependent on MAP grants and students like Emerald Clark told CBS2 she won't be able to stay in school, "I really need to try and show my sister and brother there's something different than selling drugs. I'm really trying to go to school." And CSU student Soujoud Saleh said, "Any other grants by itself are not enough to pay the whole tuitions and even the book supplies, and every semester everything is getting more expensive." CSU students are pleading directly with lawmakers to restore the grants but will have to wait until at least mid-October until lawmakers return to Springfield. more ›

• Michael Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide.
• It was a clout-y first day of the Fall 2009 term at the University of Illinois today.
• Bensenville's village president has conceded the fight against O'Hare expansion but is still expressing concern for effects on the city's maintenance.

State Comptroller Dan Hynes is saying there's still time to save payments to state workers in spite of the fact there's no budget and state lawmakers are waiting until July 14 to return to Springfield, one day before the next checks are scheduled to go out. Hynes says the payroll will be ready to go in case a budget is finalized. In addition, Hynes told WBEZ that social services won't be hurt until later in the summer since money is not immediately delivered, even when the state has a working budget: "If they provided services today, by the time they got their paperwork into the agency and it's submitted to our office, and with the cashflow delays we're having, we're talking several months. So that's why the day-to-day social services don't have a real, hard-and-fast deadline like a payroll does." It's the first time we've heard a "Don't Panic" from a state official, but it's being drowned out by the political posturing of those in charge of putting together the budget. more ›

The first exhibit of a new museum dedicated to the Korean War -- the first of its kind in the nation -- opened in Springfield yesterday. more ›

Illinois is where campaign contributions go Beyond Thunderdome.* There are absolutely no limits when it comes to statewide races, and as it stands right now, it's essentially "any check, any time, anywhere." We've seen how well that's worked out under Governor Blagojevich. If Illinois has ever been ready for campaign finance reform, it's now - so will it happen? more ›

All eyes are on Springfield as the General Assembly debates legislation affecting mental health funding in Chicago and Illinois. more ›

Now that the unpleasantness has been taken care of, it's safe for President Barack Obama to return to Springfield without too much of a fear of taint. Obama will be in Springfield next Thursday, February 12, to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday. From announcing his candidacy on the steps of the state capitol (exactly where Lincoln delivered his famed House Divided speech), to the concert at the Lincoln Memorial, to replicating the Lincoln's at his inaugural luncheon, Obama has been a very vocal fan and studier of Honest Abe, so his birthday visit surprises absolutely no one. According to Sen. Dick Durbin's office, President Obama will be attending the Abraham Lincoln Association's annual Lincoln birthday banquet. In a statement, Sen. Durbin said, "Last week, our state proudly looked to Washington once again as another son of Illinois took the presidential oath of office. As our country's economic challenges grow, President Barack Obama will be called on to show leadership and courage similar to that shown by Lincoln during one of the most difficult periods in our history." In case you missed it, check out yesterday's interview of President Obama with NBC's Matt Lauer from the Super Bowl pre-game show. more ›

The city of Springfield is looking to recoup $50,000 in expenses from the Obama campaign stemming from his August 23 rally to announce Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. City spokesman Ernie Slottag said, "The mayor (Timothy Davlin) is looking at all our finances and would like to recover whatever costs we can." The Obama campaign offered no comment. Obama's campaign was not billed for his February 2007 rally that announced his candidacy, but, according to Slottag, Springfield didn't "keep track of separate expenses for that event." Aaron Schock, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives (18th district), held a rally in Springfield earlier this year that included an appearance by President Bush. Schock told a radio station the party plans to pay Springfield $38,000 for expenses related to that event. more ›

A 39-year-old Springfield man was charged yesterday with three counts of tattooing minors without a parent's consent. more ›

Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias wants federal prosecutors to look into what he claims is a scheme by a GOP powerbroker to scam millions of dollars from the state of Illinois. According to Giannoulias, Republican lobbyist Bill Cellini crafted a deal in the 1980s with then-governor Jim Thompson to secure a $15 million loan from the state to build and buy the Ramada Renaissance in Springfield, which later became the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center. The loan stipulated that the owners wouldn't have to repay the state-funded mortgage until they turned a profit. more ›

"We'll be here forever," groaned state Rep. Mark Beaubien Jr., a Barrington Hills Republican.