(The Center Square) -- State lawmakers expressed public, bipartisan concern again Wednesday over an Illinois commission's efforts to increase access to state contract money for businesses that are owned by racial minorities, women and people with disabilities.

The lawmakers' concerns are largely based on the reporting of The Center Square in recent months, which has found that the commissioners have fewer responsibilities than their counterparts elsewhere in government and that their decisions have led to a dramatic decline in businesses that are certified for contract preference.

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – A federal appeals court heard oral arguments Thursday as judges consider former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s appeal of his conviction on 10 counts of public corruption.

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals took the case under advisement on Thursday afternoon following a hearing at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.

Madigan defense attorney Amy Saharia said the appellate court should reverse Madigan’s conviction because counts related to ComEd were too vague, and because the government failed to prove quid pro quo related to a state board seat.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) - Fewer businesses that get diversity-related government priority in Illinois are getting contracts with the state, according to a new annual report from the agency, after a long-running computer problem thwarted efforts to increase those contracts.

About 1,500 businesses that are owned by racial minorities, women and people with disabilities were paid by the state for construction and other service contracts in this past fiscal year.

That figure -- contained in the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion's recent annual report -- is a 9-percent decrease from the prior year. And it happened even though state lawmakers have devoted millions of dollars in recent years to support the businesses.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump says a Loyola University student would still be alive if Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker asked his administration to help stop crime. The president spoke at a Cabinet meeting Thursday morning. “It would be great if people like the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois would say, ‘Please come in and stop the crime,’” Trump said. Trump referred to 18-year-old Loyola student Sheridan Gorman, who was allegedly shot and killed by a Venezuelan migrant Thursday.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.