In this issue:
- Fallen state trooper remembered as “noble knight”
- Opening statements begin in Madigan corruption trial
- Correctional officers picket to call for safer working conditions
- DNR announces key dates for upcoming waterfowl season
Fallen state trooper remembered as “noble knight”
A five-year veteran of the Illinois State Police lost his life in the line of duty last Friday as the result of a traffic crash in Champaign County.
Trooper Corey Thompsen, 28, a motorcycle officer, was part of a traffic enforcement detail when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle. The crash was the first fatal accident involving an Illinois state trooper this year. State Police Director Brendan Kelly remembered Thompsen as “a noble knight” and “a great trooper.”
Flags statewide were lowered to half-staff in his honor. Trooper Thompsen is survived by his wife, parents and siblings.
I was deeply saddened to learn of his loss. It is another reminder of the dangerous but important work that our law enforcement officers do for us each and every day.
Opening statements begin in Madigan corruption trial
The longtime House Speaker who was the most powerful politician in Illinois for decades “abused his power and used the organizations he led to engage in a pattern of corrupt conduct over and over and over again,” according to the opening statement of federal prosecutors in the corruption trial of former Speaker Michael Madigan.
Madigan is on trial in federal court in Chicago on 23 corruption counts, with prosecutors alleging that he used the tremendous power and influence he held over state government to demand kickbacks and jobs for political allies in exchange for passing legislation. Their evidence includes hundreds of wiretaps and undercover videos from cooperating witnesses. His defense attorney countered that Madigan was “incorruptible” and that the prosecution’s case is built on “guesswork and speculation.”
Speaker Madigan ruled the Capitol with an iron fist during his decades in power, which finally came to an end when he was forced from office in 2021. He was indicted a year later. Madigan’s absolute power kept bills he disfavored from ever seeing the light of day. Prosecutors allege that he used that power to amass personal gains at the expense of taxpayers and good government.
Much of this power structure is still in place in Springfield, with tremendous power concentrated in only a few hands, leading to far too many decisions – including the creation of the annual state budget – to occur behind closed doors with very little transparency. It has also made it possible for entrenched special interests to block reform bills year after year.
State government is in need of reform. The Madigan trial is just the latest example of the reason why.
Correctional officers picket to call for safer working conditions
Last Thursday correctional workers throughout the state held an informational picket which came on the heels of numerous reports of threats to their safety.
One of the major concerns has to do with illegal and potentially lethal controlled substances that are allegedly being smuggled into correctional facilities. In some cases staff have come into contact with these substances and have required medical attention. The pickets also called attention to assaults on staff and the need to expedite hiring in order to prevent staffing shortages.
The Illinois Department of Corrections maintains 46 facilities statewide, a number which includes five maximum security prisons. But many of these facilities are aging and do not have the kind of infrastructure that is necessary to meet the kinds of state-of-the-art surveillance of inmates that is required.
DNR announces key dates for upcoming waterfowl season
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reminding waterfowl hunters of key dates and other important information concerning the upcoming waterfowl seasons.
The regular duck, Canada goose and snow goose seasons opened in the north zone last weekend and will open in the central zone this weekend, with November opening dates farther south. White-fronted goose season opened in the north zone this week and will open in the central zone on November 5. Nearly all of the 106th district is located within the central zone, though parts of northern LaSalle, Will and Grundy counties are in the north zone.
DNR also reminded hunters of the daily limit of ducks and geese, with certain limitations in place within each species. For example, the daily limit of ducks is six, but no more than four of those can be mallards. Read more of the specific details from DNR by clicking here.
Additional details about waterfowl seasons in Illinois can be found in the 2024-2025 Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Hunting zone maps are available here.
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $2,025,606,203. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.6 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
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