Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Inspector General shows Illinois Department of Corrections failed to report alleged harassment
The Illinois Department of Corrections is the focus of an Illinois Inspector General report that states the department used a pick-and-choose system to determine which complaints were deemed serious.
The Office of Executive Inspector General report highlights instances in which a female employee continuously called other workers “boo” or “love” during conversations, leading one employee to file a complaint with the department.
Chicago Tribune: Bribery count against ComEd dismissed three years after agreement blew Michael Madigan probe wide open
Three years to the day after a bribery case unveiled against Commonwealth Edison blew the lid off the investigation into then-House Speaker Michael Madigan, a federal judge dismissed the charges against the utility giant as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office.
In announcing the charges on July 17, 2020, prosecutors accused ComEd of orchestrating a “yearslong bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments to allies of Madigan.
Chicago Sun-Times: High school classrooms are transformed into ‘welcome center’ for migrant families in West Town, Humboldt Park
A pilot program will start Tuesday at Roberto Clemente Community Academy to help newly arrived immigrant families living near West Town and Humboldt Park enroll their children in neighborhood schools while also providing services like school supplies and vaccinations, city officials announced.
Families will be serviced at the school by appointment, and referrals will be made by the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, community organizations or other city agencies, said Pedro Martinez, the chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. Walk-ins from immigrant families living in the area will be accepted, though immigrants living in other parts of the city will be referred back to the district.
WTTW: Johnson Again Vows to Move Migrants Out of Police Stations as Sexual Misconduct Probe Continues
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed again Monday to move the 947 men, women and children still being forced to sleep on the floor of police stations across the city and at O’Hare International Airport into shelters as quickly as possible.
However, despite what city officials called an “all hands on deck” approach, the number of migrants at police stations and O’Hare has grown more than 45% in the past three weeks, even as a probe continued into whether more than one officer assigned to a West Side police station had sexual contact with at least one of the migrants.
WCIA: Pritzker calls on Census Bureau to review undercounted 2020 Census data for Illinois
Governor J.B. Pritzker is calling on the U.S. Census Bureau to review the state’s 2020 Census count.
The governor sent two letters to the agency. One asks the Census Bureau to reevalute and to make adjustments to the state’s total population count which the agency says was undercounted about two percent.
“Because of an inaccurate census count, the state of Illinois received inadequate federal funding for Medicare, affordable housing, homeland security, and a number of other essential programs,” Alex Gough, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement to WCIA.