Daywatch: Troubled Cook County tech firm used insider lobbyist
Good morning, Chicago.
As a fledgling tech contractor looking to build its business in the insular world of Cook County politics, Texas-based Tyler Technologies turned to one of Illinois' most well-connected lobbyists to get the job done.
In 2016, Jay Doherty not only lobbied Chicago, Cook County and state agencies, he was also the longtime president of the City Club of Chicago, a popular nonprofit civic organization.
Doherty would be convicted in 2023 of conspiracy in a scandal involving one of his other clients, Commonwealth Edison. It was part of a series of linked cases that ultimately ended Madigan's decades-long run as speaker.
There is no direct connection between Doherty's work for ComEd and what he did for Tyler. Unlike Tyler's efforts seeking contract opportunities, the ComEd case detailed a vast criminal scheme of bribery and influence peddling as part of the utility's efforts to get legislation passed.
But interviews and records about Doherty's work for Tyler and details from his 2023 trial reveal striking parallels in how he repeatedly smoothed paths for both clients, including creating informal interactions at City Club events attended by government officials so the two sides could discuss business outside the office.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: why an alderman wants to give the City Council power to ban short-term rentals, the cost-cutting measures Northwestern University is implementing and our summer books guide.
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Los Angeles police swiftly enforced a downtown curfew last night, making arrests moments after it took effect, while deploying officers on horseback and using crowd control projectiles to break up a group of hundreds demonstrating against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.
Members of the National Guard stood watch behind plastic shields, but did not appear to participate in the arrests.
Trump says he will 'liberate' Los Angeles in speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army
Elon Musk backs off from feud with Trump, saying he regrets social media posts that 'went too far'
The Chicago-based American Medical Association plans to ask a U.S. Senate committee to investigate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to overhaul a key vaccine advisory group, the medical association said in an emergency resolution.
As many worry about labor shortages, others are looking to artificial intelligence to fill the void.
AI is already being used to scan fields for weeds and pests and then share that data with farmers to support decision-making. It's becoming increasingly good at making recommendations too, such as suggesting when and how much to fertilize, he said.
Read parts 1 and 2 of the Tribune series: Cash crops, hidden costs
State election officials have informed Senate President Don Harmon that he will face more than $9.8 million in penalties pending an appeal of a case alleging he broke an Illinois election law designed to rein in big money in political campaigns.
A federal judge yesterday struck from the court record a reference to former Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan's personal net worth of more than $40 million, agreeing with his defense team that it should have been kept private.
Federal prosecutors made Madigan's net worth public for the first time in a response to a sentencing memorandum filed by his attorneys, arguing that the defendant's 'greed is even more appalling given his law firm's success.'
If a Far Northwest Side alderman gets his way, Chicago City Council members could gain the authority to block short-term rentals like Airbnb's from popping up in their wards.
In an email to faculty and staff yesterday, Northwestern University announced it would implement several cost-cutting measures, including a hiring freeze and budget cuts, due to rising costs and uncertainty at the federal level.
The university faces serious financial pressure following the Trump administration freezing $790 million in federal funding in April. Northwestern has reached a moment where these measures are necessary to ensure the university's fiscal stability now and 'into an uncertain future,' University leadership said in the email.
In a sense, now is the best time to make a position switch. Or, at least, that's how Bears rookie tackle Ozzy Trapilo is looking at it.
After playing right tackle during his final two seasons at Boston College, Trapilo is making the move to the left side. He played some left tackle in college, but re-learning the position is still a transition.
What can one say about the new 'How to Train Your Dragon' that one didn't say back in 2010, when it was animated, not live-actioned? And really good?
One can say that the remake gets the job done, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. One can also say the job is not an inspiring one. Reworking a familiar, proven narrative in an animation-to-'real'-live-action transfer rarely feels, looks and acts like an improvement. But freshness can be irrelevant at the box office for these ventures. (The 'Lilo & Stitch' remake is heading toward the billion-dollar global benchmark.)
Most TV detectives have a gimmick. Just doing the diligent work of piecing together a puzzle isn't enough. And to a minor extent, that's true of 'Art Detectives' on Acorn TV, about a policeman who heads up the one-man Heritage Crime Unit in the U.K. His specialty is crime linked to the art world, writes Tribune TV and film critic Nina Metz.
Summer reading, if you ask me, should meander, without a plan, writes Christopher Borrelli. Pick up, put down, misplace, leave crusty with sand or warped with humidity. Fall is for rigor, winter for hunkering down, spring for peering ahead, but the right summer read is a promising dirt road in a field.
Located on Route 66 about 30 miles east of Kingman at the edge of the Peacock Mountains in northwest Arizona, the general store was perhaps destined to become another crumbling ruin when the route was decommissioned in 1985.
That is, until Bob Waldmire came to town.
Waldmire's family opened the Springfield, Illinois, institution Cozy Dog, which is located on Route 66 and claims to have invented the corn dog. Born in St. Louis, he became a legendary figure of the route's lore with his hand-drawn postcards, maps and murals. Both he and the van he took on his frequent route trips served as the inspiration for the character Fillmore in the Disney Pixar film 'Cars.'
Route 66 road trip:
Catch up on earlier dispatches from the Tribune's Jonathan Bullington and E. Jason Wambsgans
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