Illinois Quick Hits: Ex-Chicago housing director indicted in alleged kickback scheme

Illinois Quick Hits: Ex-Chicago housing director indicted in alleged kickback scheme

Spread the love

(The Center Square) – A former Chicago Housing Authority property director is accused of steering more than $4.8 million in city business to a construction company in exchange for more than $421,000 in kickbacks.

Ryan Ross, 50, of Bolingbrook and Vanessa Rhodes, 47, of Chicago are both charged with eight counts of honest services fraud.

A federal indictment accused Ross of receiving the kickbacks in 2023 and 2024 from Rhodes, who owns a Chicago company that did business as Twenty Eleven Construction, Inc.

ONE OF FBI’S MOST WANTED SENTENCED FOR MACHINE GUN POSSESSION

A Belleville man who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for possessing a machine gun.

Dontay Moore, 23, is facing state charges in St. Louis for other offenses, including his alleged involvement in a drive-by shooting that resulted in serious injuries to bystanders.

Prosecutors say his federal sentence will be in addition to any sentence imposed in state court. Moore was arrested by Illinois State Police in September 2025.

ICE-INVOLVED CRASH REPORTED IN CHICAGO

A pursuit reportedly involving federal immigration law enforcement officers ended in a crash on Chicago’s Northwest Side.

WGN-TV reports that the incident came to a halt around 11 a.m. on Tuesday in the 3800 block of North Olcott Avenue.

A witness said several unmarked vehicles followed a red Lexus and appeared to strike the Lexus before it crashed into a tree. Another witness said he later saw a man being escorted from the scene.

REPORT: THOUSANDS DROP OBAMACARE IN ILLINOIS

More than 92,000 Illinois consumers have lost or dropped Affordable Care Act health insurance in recent months.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the unusually large decline followed the expiration of tax credits that had helped to curb the plans’ costs.

Last month, Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee estimated that 120,825 people in Illinois would lose health insurance due to the ACA cuts proposed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

Powerful Japan earthquake triggers tsunami warning

Powerful Japan earthquake triggers tsunami warning

By Carleen JohnsonThe Center Square A magnitude 7.6 earthquake centered in the Pacific Ocean some 45 miles west of Misawa, Japan, shook the northern region of the archipelago around 11:26...
Illinois in Focus: SCOTUS to release order list; U.S. Steel returns; Candidate quests for answers

Illinois in Focus: SCOTUS to release order list; U.S. Steel returns; Candidate quests for answers

By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – In today's edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop shares reaction from...
More human smugglers arrested coming through Canada, this time from India

More human smugglers arrested coming through Canada, this time from India

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square International human smuggling schemes at the U.S.-Canada border continue with the latest indictment of an upstate New York woman accused of facilitating Indian nationals being...
EXCLUSIVE: Texas Operation Lone Star 2.0: pursuing domestic terrorist threats

EXCLUSIVE: Texas Operation Lone Star 2.0: pursuing domestic terrorist threats

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square The border crisis is far from over despite the Trump administration implementing policies to reduce illegal border crossings to historic lows. The hardest part has...
Illinois quick hits: Police shooting suspect in custody; retired judge brought back

Illinois quick hits: Police shooting suspect in custody; retired judge brought back

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square Police shooting suspect in custody Illinois State Police say a man is in custody after he allegedly shot and wounded a...

Peotone License Plate Camera Renewal Sparks Privacy Debate in Public Works Committee

Public Works & Transportation Committee Meeting | December 2, 2025 Article Summary: A renewal of an agreement allowing license plate reading (LPR) cameras in Peotone passed the Public Works Committee,...
After Kirk assasination, students less comfortable with ‘controversial’ events on campus

After Kirk assasination, students less comfortable with ‘controversial’ events on campus

By Tate MillerThe Center Square Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, half of the nation’s college students report feeling less comfortable attending controversial public events on campus and nearly half...
Everyday Economics: The case for a December rate cut

Everyday Economics: The case for a December rate cut

By Orphe DivounguyThe Center Square Last week brought the delayed September numbers on personal income, consumption, and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. It’s...
Beecher Fire Protection District graphic.4

Board Takes No Action on Recreation Donation Request

Beecher Fire Protection District Meeting | October 2025 Article Summary: The Beecher Fire Protection District Board of Trustees declined to advance a request for a cash donation from Beecher Recreation....
beecher ilinois school board graphic.5

School Facilities Committee: Heating Failure Reported at Beecher High School; Junior High Roof Leak Identified

Beecher School District Facilities Committee Meeting | December 2025 Article Summary:As winter sets in, Beecher school officials are addressing a heating failure in the high school band room and a...
Screenshot 2025-12-05 at 12.00.30 PM

Joliet Unity Movement Criticizes Board’s Handling of Cannabis Tax Revenue

Will County Board Meeting | December 4, 2025 Article Summary: During public comment, the Joliet Unity Movement denounced a recent board vote that redirected cannabis tax revenue away from community...
Republicans divided over how to address rising health care costs

Republicans divided over how to address rising health care costs

By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square The U.S. Senate will hold a doomed vote next week on Democrats’ bill to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies for three more years. Senate Republicans,...
Obama-era 'Welcoming Cities' program overlaps with illegal border crosser crimes

Obama-era ‘Welcoming Cities’ program overlaps with illegal border crosser crimes

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square A program launched in partnership with the Obama administration more than a decade ago that certifies localities to “improve immigrant inclusion” overlaps with crimes being...
Expert blasts Illinois Congressman’s push to double H-1Bs as 'tone-deaf'

Expert blasts Illinois Congressman’s push to double H-1Bs as ‘tone-deaf’

By Catrina BarkerThe Center Square A renewed push to double H-1B visas is touted as a talent win, but critics warn it could reshape the tech market by driving down...
Afghans arrested by ICE released into the country by the Biden administration

Afghans arrested by ICE released into the country by the Biden administration

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square Federal and local law enforcement officers have been arresting Afghan men since they were released into the country by the Biden administration in 2021. Key...