More players are getting involved in the fight over an Illinois law that seeks to ban card interchange fees on taxes and tips.

Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act doesn’t ban or restrict credit card swipe fees, but it limits banks from charging interchange fees on tax and tip transactions.

Danny Solis had been making secret recordings for the FBI for more than a year when he met with Michael McClain in 2017 and asked a question that would eventually go to the heart of one of the biggest federal corruption cases in Chicago history.

“What’s your relationship … with Mike, with the speaker?” Solis asked.

NASCAR’s second year in Chicago came with slightly sunnier skies, slightly fewer critics and an ad hoc deal that helped the city’s bottom line improve slightly, ending the big downtown race weekend a few hundred thousand dollars in the black.

That was an improvement over 2023, when critics not only ripped the inconvenience of closed roads and limited access to Grant Park, but said the overall cost to host it wasn’t matched by the benefits: The city spent nearly $4 million that year but received just $620,000 in direct payments from the racing company.

State regulatory judges have recommended the Illinois Commerce Commission approve a $10.9 million rate hike for Aqua Illinois, about 43% below what is being sought, according to a utility watchdog group.

But the reduction from $19.2 million as outlined in a proposed order by two ICC administrative law judges isn’t enough, according to the Citizens Utility Board.

A report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability indicates that Illinois made more money in gambling tax revenue than ever before this year.

In the fiscal year 2024, the state made $2.088 billion from various types of gambling and the Illinois Lottery. According to the report, this was a 4.8% increase over fiscal year 2023.