Illinois secession bill passes first hurdle
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston’s proposal would create a commission tasked with exploring the secession and transfer of certain Illinois counties to Indiana.
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Jury selection begins in corruption trial of former Illinois House speaker
The case against Madigan, who resigned in 2021, is one of Illinois’ largest corruption trials in years. The 82-year-old is charged in a multimillion-dollar racketeering and bribery scheme that included the state’s largest utility, ComEd.
‘Hitting kids should never be allowed’: Illinois bans corporal punishment in all schools
Legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law this month bans physical punishment in private schools while reiterating a prohibition on the practice in public schools implemented 30 years ago.
Trump stays on Illinois’ ballot as the election board says it lacks power to remove him over Jan. 6
Illinois’ election board on Tuesday kept former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot, a week before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on whether his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol disqualifies him from the presidency.
Ex-Notre Dame, Colts player Sergio Brown pleads not guilty to killing mother
Former NFL Player Sergio Brown pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of first-degree murder and concealing a homicide in the September death of his mother.
U.S. egg producers, including Rust’s Rose Acre Farms, conspired to fix prices from 2004 to 2008, federal jury rules
An Illinois jury ruled last week that several major egg producers conspired to limit the U.S.’s supply of eggs in order to raise prices. The suppliers include the family company of an Indiana egg farmer running for the U.S. Senate in the state.
Illinois man pleads not guilty to hate crime, murder charges in attack on Muslim mother, son
A man accused of murder, attempted murder and a hate crime in an attack on a Palestinian American woman and her young son pleaded not guilty Monday following his indictment by an Illinois grand jury.
Cash bail disproportionately impacts communities of color. Illinois is the first state to abolish it
Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act, which abolishes cash bail as a condition of pretrial release, will take effect Sept. 18, making Illinois the first state to end cash bail and a testing ground for whether — and how — it works on a large scale.
Elanco nets win on appeal of dismissal of illegal advertising case
An Illinois animal hospital that sued Indiana-based animal health company Elanco for allegedly illegal advertising practices could not convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that two faxes it received from Elanco violated federal advertising law.
Cook Co. jury awards Valparaiso couple $43.8M in semi injury suit
An Illinois jury has awarded a Valparaiso couple $43.8 million for injuries suffered in a 2016 semi crash.
Indy woman pleads guilty to straw purchase of gun used to kill Illinois officer
An Indianapolis woman pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges stemming from the straw purchase of a gun used to fatally shoot one central Illinois police officer and wound another in 2021.
Sharing the sentence: Separation takes toll on incarcerated moms and their kids
The donation-dependent Reunification Ride initiative at Logan Correctional in Illinois buses prisoners’ family members 180 miles from the city to Logan every month so they can spend time with their mothers and grandmothers.
Judge dismisses city of Chicago’s lawsuit against Indiana gun store over straw gun sales
A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit the city of Chicago filed against a northwestern Indiana store that alleged it sold hundreds of guns in straw purchases that ended up in the hands of felons or at crime scenes in the city.
Supreme Court lets Illinois keep ban on sale of some semiautomatic guns for now
The Supreme Court said Wednesday that Illinois can, for now, keep in place a new law that bars the sale of certain semiautomatic guns and large-capacity magazines.
One year in, 30 charged in Indiana as part of Chicago effort to disrupt flow of illegal firearms
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John R. Lausch Jr. provided an update on the work of the cross-jurisdictional Firearms Trafficking Strike Force last week, which noted 30 individuals are facing charges in Indiana — more than any other state participating in the effort.
July 4 parade attack suspect indicted for murder, attempted murder
The man accused of opening fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack on a beloved holiday event.
July 4 parade shooting suspect expected to appear in court
The man charged with killing seven people when he unleashed a hail of bullets on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop was expected in court Wednesday as authorities faced questions about how he was allowed to buy several guns, despite threatening violence.
7th Circuit won’t revive Illinois churches’ COVID suit
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to revive a lawsuit filed by two churches requesting an injunction forbidding Illinois’ governor from reinstating capacity limits on religious services in the future like he did at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.