(SPRINGFIELD) Despite a recent ruling in June from the U.S. Supreme Court, dealing with a federal bribery statute, both federal prosecutors and defense attorneys say they will not seek to delay the high-profile corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. In a joint status report earlier this week, both sides say they plan to continue forward with a scheduled trial date on October 8th, later this year, although Madigan’s defense team has raised concerns about possible pre-trial publicity in the case.
(SPRINGFIELD) Last month in June, nine Illinois companies announced a total of 1,017 jobs were affected by mass layoffs around the state. The Fiscal & Economic Research Group at Illinois Policy says its just another example that Illinois is the least business-friendly state of all neighboring states with regulations and requirements that can create unnecessary business hurdles. It’s noted that Illinois’ only silver lining in its labor market is the fact that small businesses are the only job creators that are adding work to the statewide economy.
(SPRINGFIELD) When Illinois high school students sit down to take their annual state assessments next year, they will be taking a different exam than in recent years. The Illinois State Board of Education recently announced that starting in the spring of 2025, it will use the ACT exam, not the SAT. The change also means that students who still want to take the SAT or the PSAT exams will have to do so on their own, at their own expense.
(SPRINGFIELD) The Illinois State Police is applauding the upgrades in technology that is now leading to the capturing of more criminals around the state. It’s been announced that 82% of all interstate shootings so far this year, automated license plate readers, known at ALPR cameras, have helped State Troopers identify an individual involved in or who witnessed the respective shooting. That number jumps to 100% for all fatal interstate shootings. The ALPR’s also help with other crimes, such as vehicular hijackings and thefts.