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Prairie State Wire

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

News from September 2017

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Topinka's son wants Illinoisans to keep her in their hearts

By W.J. Kennedy | Sep 22, 2017

Joseph Baar Topinka is hard at work honoring his groundbreaking mother’s life and career in Illinois politics.

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Illinois abortion foes not 'appeased' by Rauner wavering on expanded coverage

By W.J. Kennedy | Sep 22, 2017

Abortion foes in Illinois say they are confused and troubled by a statement in a recent Politico article that said Gov. Bruce Rauner had “appeased” Republicans regarding legislation that would expand public funding for abortion.

Illinois State Fair entertainment cost $435K; $60K for Dustin Lynch

By LocalLabs News Service | Sep 22, 2017

Country music singer Dustin Lynch ($60,000), New Jersey rock band Blues Traveler ($40,000) and 70's English act Foghat ($25,000) were the three highest-paid music acts at the 2017 Illinois State Fair, according to a public notice filed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

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Edgar County Watchdogs win right to access database on professional conduct

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 22, 2017

The Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) have notched another victory in their ongoing pursuit of uncovering corruption and illegal and unethical activity in government.

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Ives demands Raoul apology over 'sexist' Harold comments

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 22, 2017

Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) slammed Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) for dismissing Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold as “Miss America” and suggesting that she was never a threat to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who recently decided not to seek re-election.

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Illinois treasurer's bond purchase called dangerous precedent

By Justin Stoltzfus | Sep 21, 2017

WirePoints founder Mark Glennon has some concerns about recent statements by Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs.

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Harold: One month into attorney general campaign shows Illinoisans need change

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 21, 2017

One month after announcing her decision to run for Illinois attorney general, Erica Harold highlighted the connections her candidacy has already made with Illinoisans and called for supporters to join “Team Harold” in a email to supporters.

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Thousands cheer Lisa Madigan's resignation news on Illinois Policy Facebook page

By Chandra Lye | Sep 21, 2017

Thousands of comments have been posted on the Illinois Policy Institute's Facebook page since Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s announcement that she will not seek re-election to a fifth term.

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Rauner works to solidify opportunities in Asia and with Amazon

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 21, 2017

Gov. Bruce Rauner has been working to bring new jobs to Illinois through an international trade mission and efforts to bring the highly contested new Amazon headquarters to Chicago, according to a recent press release.

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Durkin hiring of former Rauner aide living with reporter raises conflict questions

By W.J. Kennedy | Sep 20, 2017

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin's (R-Western Springs) hiring of Michael Mahoney, a former aide to Gov. Bruce Rauner, has the potential to cause some conflict of interest problems for WTTW, the primary public broadcasting member station in Chicago.

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GOP ridicules Pritzker ad promoting his 'progressive' actions

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 20, 2017

The Illinois Republican Party says Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker's recent advertisement has left out some important facts while touting his "progressive" record, according to a press release.

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Drury drops gubernatorial bid for shot at state attorney general

By Tricia Erickson | Sep 20, 2017

Rep. Scott Drury (D-Highwood) announced on Tuesday that he has dropped his gubernatorial bid and will enter the race to replace Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who recently decided against seeking a fifth term.

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Rauner promotes Illinois-China ties on international trip

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 20, 2017

Gov. Bruce Rauner recently talked with Chinese officials about increasing trade, investment and economic cooperation during his first international trade trip.

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Illinois' debt to vendors keeps climbing, hits $16 billion

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 20, 2017

Despite avoiding a credit downgrade with the budget package passed in July, Illinois still carries a massive backlog of bills that recently hit $16 billion, and the state’s plan to address it is to incur more debt, according to a report from Zero Hedge, a global finance website.

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Madigan reportedly will stay through redistricting in 2020

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 19, 2017

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) will extend his 46-year career through 2020, according to a recent report from Politico Illinois Playbook, and the Illinois Republican Party is accusing him of planning to rig the legislative maps that will be drawn up that year, according to a press release.

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17 Illinois legislators join call to end gerrymandering

By Angela Underwood | Sep 19, 2017

Fifteen Illinois Republicans and two Democrats have joined a bipartisan coalition of 65 lawmakers across eight states in an effort to end gerrymandering by backing an amicus curiae brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month.

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Attorney general aspirant Harold says people's interests come before political gain

By Angela Underwood | Sep 18, 2017

Erika Harold was surprised to hear that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will not run for re-election, but she says it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.

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Sources: Durkin, Kimme eyeing House GOP staff change

By LGIS News Service | Sep 17, 2017

Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin is looking to replace his Chief of Staff with a former Bruce Rauner aide close to controversial state super-lobbyist Nancy Kimme, sources tell Prairie State Wire.

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Pritzker caught pressing for treasurer post in new GOP ad

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 16, 2017

"That's the one I would want," J.B. Pritzker told then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding the post of state treasurer, according to a conversation secretly taped by the FBI and transcribed in a Chicago Tribune article.

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Illinois takes another employment hit in August

By Caitlin Nordahl | Sep 16, 2017

Illinois lost 3,700 jobs and saw another increase in its unemployment rate in August, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) presented by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) in a recent press release.