Community Corner

Now It's a Clout Scandal: We Love the GOP Governor's Race More Each Day

And guess which state is dead last in job growth.

WHO'S THE INSIDER? Bruce Rauner spent last week explaining his minimum wage stance. Now he's got a Chicago Sun-Times investigation into his daughter's high school admission to contend with. Accusations of influence peddling are flying in all directions as this race comes to a boil. Read more here.

ABOUT THAT PENSION SAVINGS Supporters of the pension reform bill passed in December said it would save the state $1.2 billion in budget year 2016. Turns out that figure might be wrong by a long shot, and not in a good way. The Civic Federation explains why here.

DEAD LAST Guess which state Moody's places dead last for job growth in 2014? No, wait. Don't guess. Click here.

MARK THE DATE Are you registered to vote? Do you know when early voting starts? Absentee voting? We've compiled the important dates for the March 18 primary in today's chart.

LEADER BOARD Legislative leaders in Illinois can have a huge influence on the campaigns of their members facing tough elections. How much do they have to give away this year? We tallied up the totals for political committees controlled by each of the four leaders as of year's end. See them here.

PENSION SQUEEZE? Remember the trouble for Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko and Stuart Levine when they tried to squeeze money out of investment firms at the Teachers Retirement System? Keep that in mind as you read this joint investigation from the Better Government Association and Crain's Chicago Business political writer Greg Hinz.

HEADLINES Here are the top news stories in Illinois today:
  • 5. Tom Cross picked up endorsements from the Chicago Republican Party in his bid to become State Treasurer. (Chicago Tribune)
    4. The latest flap with GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is the one that could pack the greatest punch. (Chicago Sun-Times)
    3. Former Chicago alderman Ambrosio Medrano now faces a combined 13 years in prison for bribery charges. (Chicago Tribune)
    2. Strapped for cash, GOP candidate Kirk Dillard is relying on his running mate to keep their campaign financially afloat. (Chicago Tribune)
    1. Illinois is predicted to be dead last in the country in job growth in 2014 (Quincy Journal)

The views expressed in this post are those of Reboot Illinois and do not necessarily reflect those of Patch or its editors. Learn more at RebootIllinois.com.

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