Chicago man pleads guilty in Jan. 6, 2021, riot at Capitol
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot, court records show. Athanasios Zoyganeles entered the plea Friday to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He could receive a prison term of up to six months when he is sentenced. […]
Supreme Court restricts the EPA’s authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. The decision by the conservative court majority sets the stage for further limitations on the regulatory power of other agencies as well. By a vote of 6 to 3, […]
Ketanji Brown Jackson to be sworn in as first Black woman on the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in Thursday at noon as the 116th Supreme Court justice and the first Black woman to serve on the high court. Watch the ceremony: Biden nominated Jackson in February, fulfilling a campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. “It has taken 232 […]
Trump’s legal exposure may be growing – and 4 other takeaways from the Jan. 6 hearing
WASHINGTON — Explosive firsthand testimony was delivered Tuesday before the Jan. 6 committee from a former Trump White House aide about the former president’s conduct on the day of the insurrection and those leading up to it. Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a principal aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified under oath […]
Watch Live: House January 6 committee holds public hearings on its investigation
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is going public with its findings. The next hearing is Tuesday 12:00 p.m. CT. Lawmakers hope to show the American public how democracy came to the brink of disaster. The series of hearings that will take place over the next several […]
Biden signs landmark gun measure, says ‘lives will be saved’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades. The bipartisan compromise seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school. The House gave final approval Friday, following Senate passage Thursday, and Biden acted just […]
Tom Cullerton sentenced to 1 year in prison for embezzlement
SPRINGFIELD – A federal judge in Chicago handed down a one-year prison sentence Tuesday for a former state senator who once chaired the Senate Labor Committee. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of embezzlement for receiving salary and benefits from Teamsters Joint Council 25 as a purported […]
Kinzinger receives death threat over Jan. 6 commitee participation
URBANA – Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger says he’s received a death threat for his role in investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. The Republican representative from the 16th congressional district told ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” the threat was mailed to his house from “the local area.” The letter says Kinzinger, […]
Champaign County police turn to financial incentives to fill vacancies
CHAMPAIGN – Police departments across the U.S., including in Champaign County, are facing staffing shortages. The Champaign police department is using financial incentives to try to fill 20 officer openings. Within the last few months, it filled several vacancies after offering a $20,000 signing bonus. “Recruiting is getting harder,” Joe Lamberson, the Champaign police department’s […]
Death certificates of 5 men killed in East St. Louis riots found in state archives
It was a tale told by older generations to the younger generations, of men shot and killed and their bodies tossed into a creek during one of the fiercest race riots in the country. That tale was carried across the Mississippi River by those trying to escape the violence and through the generations of African […]
Pence prevented a fall into chaos, and 3 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing
WASHINGTON — The moment was dramatic. Rioters had overrun law enforcement in the U.S. Capitol. Just 40 feet from the vice president of the United States and his team – and hearing the din of the rioters – the Secret Service was hurrying to evacuate the group, into a car and out of there. But […]
Jan. 6 panel says Trump fleeced his base and 5 other takeaways from the 2nd hearing
WASHINGTON — It wasn’t in prime time this time, but the Jan. 6 committee held an eyebrow-raising hearing Monday in its second of seven promised ones. This hearing pulled back the curtain on what life was like on the Trump campaign and in the White House in the days following election night 2020. With taped […]
What to expect from the second Jan. 6 committee hearing
WASHINGTON — Five in-person witnesses will testify publicly before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Monday as the panel continues making its case that former President Donald Trump was responsible for the deadly riot. Today’s hearing is focused on the “the decision by the former president to ignore […]
Patriot Front leader among those arrested near Idaho Pride
After the arrest of more than two dozen members of a white supremacist group near a northern Idaho pride event, including one identified as its founder, LGBTQ advocates said Sunday that polarization and a fraught political climate have put their community increasingly at risk. Police say the 31 Patriot Front members were arrested with riot […]
Rodney Davis and Mary Miller oppose Protecting Our Kids Act
URBANA – On Wednesday, The House passed the Protecting Our Kids Act, which would enact new gun control measures following the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. It would raise the age required to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21, and it would ban the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity […]