Latest news with #IllinoisHouseofRepresentatives
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homer Glen man accused of threatening Illinois State Representative
HOMER GLEN, Ill. (WGN) — A Homer Glen man is accused of threatening an Illinois State Representative. Steven Brady, 40, faces a felony charge in connection with an alleged threat against Illinois State Rep. Nicole La Ha on Friday, May 16. La Ha is an Illinois House of Representatives member, representing District 82. Following an Illinois State Police probe, troopers arrested Brady without incident on Monday, May 19. Authorities did not disclose the nature of the threat or offer any additional details. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Brady remains jailed in Will County Adult Detention Center. Police provided no booking photo. Appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives District 82 by a Republican committee, La Ha is also a former Village of Homer Glen trustee. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois House passes carbon sequestration protections for Mahomet Aquifer
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill to stop carbon sequestration projects from being constructed near or underneath the Mahomet Aquifer, which provides clean drinking water for almost one million people in Illinois. 'As many know of the Mahomet Aquifer in Central Illinois is a sole source, clean drinking water for nearly a million people in our state,' Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) said on the floor. 'This bill puts in additional protections for the Muhammad Aquifer. Many of which have been negotiated in the Senate with Senator Faraci, which I want to thank him for his work and certainly thank all of the members here for their support for this important initiative to protect our drinking water.' PREVIOUSLY: Bill to ban carbon sequestration projects around the Mahomet Aquifer passes out of Senate The bill follows up on first-of-their-kind regulations on carbon sequestration projects in the state. The technology is often pointed to as necessary for meeting the state's emission targets, but federal regulations are severely lacking. The state's regulations signed into law last May would put extensive safety requirements on the construction of these projects. However, those regulations did not include any specific protections for the aquifer. This bill had bipartisan support. Democrat lawmakers Carol Ammons and Paul Faraci sponsored the legislation, but Republicans Senator Chapin Rose and Representative Brandun Schweizer were also cosponsors. 'It's been a long time coming. There's a lot of constituents within the Greater Mahomet Aquifer area that have concerns with the sequestering through and underneath the Mahomet Aquifer. I know it's relatively local to Central Illinois, but it also affects greater Illinois if something were to happen to that aquifer.' The bill passed with 91 voting in favor and 19 voting against. It now heads to the Governor's desk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Funeral arrangements for former Illinois Gov. George Ryan announced
The Brief Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, 91, passed away Friday; his visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, and a memorial service at noon Thursday, May 8, both in Kankakee. Ryan served in various political roles, including Illinois House Speaker, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and governor from 1999 to 2003. He is remembered for his controversial legacy, including a federal corruption conviction in 2007 and his decision to halt executions in Illinois. CHICAGO - Funeral arrangements for former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who died Friday at the age of 91, have been announced. Funeral Services A visitation for Ryan will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 6 in Kankakee at the Schreffler Funeral Home, according to his obituary. His memorial service will be held at 12 p.m., Thursday, May 8, at the Ashbury United Methodist Church in Kankakee. Ryan passed away peacefully at his home in Kankakee, surrounded by his family. He was remembered as a "loving and attentive husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather," his obituary said. The backstory Ryan, the 39th governor of Illinois, began his political career in 1968 as a member of the Kankakee County Board before becoming its chairman. In 1973, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served for 10 years, including six as leader of the Republican caucus and two as Speaker of the House, his obituary said. In 1983, Ryan was elected lieutenant governor, serving for eight years. He was then elected Illinois Secretary of State in 1990 and re-elected in 1994. Ryan ran for governor in 1997 and served from 1999 to 2003. He is also remembered for his complicated legacy, which includes a federal corruption conviction and a landmark decision to halt executions in Illinois. In 2007, Ryan was convicted on 18 counts of corruption related to his time as secretary of state and governor. He served more than five years in federal prison and was released in 2013. RELATED: Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan dies at 91
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jurors hint at impasse in bribery trial of Illinois state Sen. Emil Jones III
CHICAGO — Jurors on Wednesday told the judge overseeing the federal corruption trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III that they may be approaching a deadlock in their deliberations. In a note late in its second full day of talks, the panel wrote to U.S. Judge Andrea Wood that it may not be able to agree on two counts, those alleging bribery and lying to the FBI, respectively. 'It doesn't look like the jury can reach a unanimous agreement on counts one and three. Is there any assistance that can be provided,' the jury note read. In a separate note, the jury observed that count one states Jones agreed to accept a bribe and money for an associate and asked if it needs to find both of those things to be true along with other criteria to convict. The jury is expected to resume its work Thursday morning after further instructions from the judge. Jones allegedly agreed to help a red-light camera executive with legislation in Springfield in exchange for $5,000 and a part-time job for his former intern. The trial, now in its third week, featured testimony from the prolific FBI mole Omar Maani, a co-founder of SafeSpeed LLC who admitted to using steak dinners, cigars and cash payments to get his way on red-light camera legislation with politicians. Jones, federal prosecutors allege, was one of those officials— caught on wires laughing over Waygu filets and telling Maani he would 'protect' the company from a Republican opponent in the Illinois House of Representatives. Jones, 46, is charged with bribery, use of an interstate facility to solicit bribery and lying to federal agents. The most serious charge carries up to 10 years in prison, while the others have a five-year maximum term. He is the first sitting member of the Illinois General Assembly to stand trial in almost a decade. Jones' lawyers have argued that the senator, who continues to represent the far South Side and south suburban 14th District, was 'in the way' of an expansive net of other legislators on the take. They contend that Jones met with Maani at the behest of admittedly corrupt state Sen. Martin Sandoval to try and get a stubborn bill out of committee and that he was in fact trying to distance himself from Maani. Jurors began deliberating late in the day Monday, following nine days of testimony and arguments. On their first full day of deliberations, they sent several notes to Judge Wood inquiring, among other things, whether they should consider the crime of bribery to have been committed the moment an official agrees to a deal or whether that official's later actions should influence their decision. Shortly before jurors were left Tuesday, Wood instructed them that 'the crime of bribery as charged in Count 1 has been committed at the time the defendant solicits, agrees to accept or accepts the thing of value, so long as all the other elements of the crime are satisfied at that point in time.' Several members of Jones' family have been present for most of the trial, including Former Senate President Emil Jones Jr., who handed off his seat to the younger Jones in 2009. Jones testified on direct examination that he 'always wanted to be a state senator' and held a series of jobs with the state before deciding to run in 2008. Prosecutors sought to poke holes in Jones' narrative of his career on cross-examination, pointing out that the elder Jones orchestrated his son's taking his seat in the Senate. The jury also heard testimony that Jones had provided information about numerous individuals to the FBI and identified photographs of people he dealt with, including 'an executive at an organization' that hired one of Jones' relatives after he'd helped get them funding. Jones was asked to wear a wire for an investigation into Roseland Community Hospital but ultimately did not end up cooperating, he testified. He has maintained that he decided to fight the charges 'because I knew I didn't do nothing wrong and I had nothing to hide.' Wood asked lawyers for Jones and the government to reconvene at 8:45 a.m. Thursday to agree on an answer for the jurors' question about whether Jones needed to accept one or both things of value to be found guilty of bribery. ____
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After Trump trans athlete ban, IHSA says it's in ‘untenable position'
The Brief The IHSA, which governs Illinois high school sports, says it's in an "untenable position" after a Trump executive order banning transgender athletes from girls sports. The association said it's been told that complying with the executive order could violate state law. Republican state lawmakers asked IHSA what it would do to change its current policy in light of Trump's executive order. The governing body for high school sports in Illinois told Republican state lawmakers this week that it is in an "untenable position" about whether to allow transgender athletes to compete in sporting events. The backstory The issue came up after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 5 banning the participation of transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports in schools. On March 18, Republican members of the Illinois House of Representatives sent a letter to IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson asking the body what it will do to change its policy of allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports to comply with Trump's executive order. The IHSA must grant eligibility for a transgender student to compete in "gender specific state series athletic events or activities," according to the association's policy. Then, last Tuesday, IHSA officials sent a letter back to the GOP lawmakers saying that the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Department of Human Rights said that state law requires that transgender athletes be allowed to participate in competitions aligning with their gender identity. "As a result of the foregoing, compliance with the Executive Order could place the IHSA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa," wrote IHSA Board President Dan Tully and Anderson. They added, "The IHSA simply desires to comply with the law and takes no position as to which of the foregoing is correct or whether there can be alignment between claimed federal and state law. Given the conflict described above, however, we are left in an untenable position." What they're saying The IHSA officials asked state lawmakers and other elected officials to "work together with federal authorities to provide clear direction on this issue." In response to that letter, House GOP Leader Tony McCombie, who represents parts of the northwest corner of the state, criticized the IHSA. "The IHSA has once again chosen deflection over direction, and ambiguity over action," McCombie said in a statement. "Their response is not just late—it's weak. Saying, 'It's not our problem,' doesn't serve the students of this state. It's not leadership—it's a cop-out." McCombie also referenced the possibility of a loss of federal funding if the IHSA doesn't comply with the executive order. The IHSA said it does not receive state or federal funding.
