Quinn Bars Benefits To Ex-Transit Board Members
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation that prevents transit board members from receiving taxpayer-funded health care and pension benefits after they leave the boards.
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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation that prevents transit board members from receiving taxpayer-funded health care and pension benefits after they leave the boards.
A special Metra board meeting to vote on whether to launch an independent investigation into accusations raised by the agency's former director has been canceled.
Metra has asked former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins to conduct an independent investigation of former CEO Alex Clifford's patronage hiring allegations.
Former Metra CEO Alex Clifford said Wednesday he does not believe House Speaker Michael Madigan broke any laws by requesting a pay raise for a political supporter, but believes it was "an ethical and moral character flaw."
Ex-Metra CEO Alex Clifford will testify to the Regional Transportation Authority about how House Speaker Michael Madigan asked him to raise the pay of a Madigan campaign worker and to hire another friend of the powerful Southwest Side Democrat.
Governor Quinn and Lisa Madigan were together today at an event in Melrose Park, but the two had little to say to or about each other, reports WBBM's Regine Schlesinger.
Powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan said Thursday he asked senior staff at Metra to consider a pay raise for an associate who was employed at the commuter rail agency, but withdrew the recommendation after Metra's then-CEO expressed discomfort over it.
Metra Chairman Brad O'Halloran said that he would ask the Metra board at its next meeting, in August, to roll back the price of the ticket to pre-February levels, when the 10-ride ticket was sold for the price of nine rides.
Metra Chairman Brad O'Halloran defended an expensive severance settlement with former CEO Alex Clifford, explaining the deal was cheaper than a potential lawsuit if Clifford were fired without a parting deal.
Riders are about to get some answers about the big payday Alex Clifford received in exchange for walking away from his job as Metra CEO eight months early.
A Metra worker was struck and killed while working on some tracks on the South Side on Friday.
All 11 Metra Board members — as well as former Metra CEO Alex Clifford — are being asked to appear July 11 before a legislative committee delving into a hefty severance package that could reap Clifford nearly $750,000 over more than two years, lawmakers said Wednesday.
The Regional Transportation Authority board has called Metra's chairman to appear at a special meeting July 10 to discuss the decision by the commuter rail agency's board to approval a controversial severance agreement with CEO Alex Clifford.
Metra is hoping for a normal rush hour, one day after a series of problems led to delays for most homebound commuters.
There's plenty for Blackhawks fans to celebrate lately. Their second Stanley Cup in four years. Patrick Kane being named the playoff MVP. A victory parade through downtown and a rally at Grant Park on Friday.
A government watchdog group wants the Regional Transportation Authority to look into why former Metra executive director got a severance package worth up to $750,000 when he stepped down, even though he apparently wasn't legally entitled to any severance pay.
Severe weather blasted the Chicago area on Monday with winds as high at 70 mph toppling trees and causing some power outages.
A west suburban man and teenager have been charged with shooting a passing train conductor with an air rifle and striking the conductor on Sunday.
Several Metra trains on the Union Pacific/North Line and the BNSF Railway are not running Monday morning due to "manpower" issues.
Metra executive director Alex Clifford has resigned, taking a $442,000 buyout as he leaves the commuter rail agency.
Be a rider, not a driver. That's the message today from the Regional Transportation Authority on the annual "Dump the Pump Day, reports WBBM's Terry Keshner.
Metra and the BNSF Railway are apologizing to riders, because of a series of delays on the BNSF commuter line over the past few weeks.
Service on Metra's Southwest Service between downtown and southwest suburban Manhattan has been disrupted Thursday afternoon by the derailment of a freight train locomotive on the South Side.
Metra police said the move was an effort to raise officers' visibility as the summer season brings more casual riders on the trains, along with regular daily commuters.
Metra trains are running again on the Union Pacific West Line after a stalled freight train near Elmhurst cut off all rail travel Thursday morning.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
The city of Aurora is kicking off Black History Month by honoring a living legend, one of the last remaining Negro Leagues baseball players.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
A source close to the investigation said the woman worked for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
A federal judge in Chicago has ruled key evidence in the Marimar Martinez shooting, including bodycam video and text messages, can be released.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney was named the NFL's top offensive lineman of 2025 on Thursday, winning the inaugural Protector of the Year Award.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.
Six months after a well-known charter boat captain was found dead at DuSable Harbor in downtown Chicago, a man has been charged with his murder.
