White Sox head to Springfield
Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is heading to Springfield Tuesday, where he is expected to ask state lawmakers to fund a new ballpark. The team is considering building a new stadium in the South Loop.
Sources confirm that Reinsdorf will meet with Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Reinsdorf is looking to get about $1 billion in taxpayer money from the state to build a new stadium.
Secretary of State wants more ethics
The Illinois Secretary of State is backing legislation that would require more transparency in the financial dealings of lobbyists.
Alexi Giannoulias said the measures are needed in the wake of the recent sentencing of a former aide of House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose corruption trial is slated for later this year.
The Secretary of State’s Office maintains lobbyist registrations and statements of economic interest filed by public officials.
Workers’ cars vandalized
Workers at a Ford Assembly Plant in Chicago are fed up with their cars being vandalized at the plant while they work, including one report of a car being set on fire.
Members of UAW Local 551 held a news conference Monday, claiming that over the past several months, some employee’s vehicles have been broken into at the plant. Chicago police reported that they have received several reports of car windows being smashed at the facility.