Tony Arnold
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The nation's longest serving state house speaker in modern history, Democrat Michael Madigan from Illinois, stepped down from the speakership. He was driven from power by a federal corruption probe.
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While the state's public schools could open on time, some school districts say they will run out of money by October if the legislature and governor can't agree on a school funding formula soon.
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Illinois' new Republican governor is taking a page in politics from other Midwestern states. Bruce Rauner is setting policies that have government labor unions bristling and he hasn't even been on the job for a month.
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Former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski -- the Chicago Democrat who became the leading architect of congressional tax policy during the Reagan era -- died Wednesday at the age of 82. He served 18 terms in the House. Rostenkowski's political career ended after he pleaded guilty to corruption charges.