Illinois news in brief: Ex-Big Ten Network staffer gets 2 years in embezzlement case

Illinois news in brief: Ex-Big Ten Network staffer gets 2 years in embezzlement case

Spread the love

Ex-Big Ten Network staffer gets 2 years in embezzlement case

A former Big Ten Network employee has been sentenced to 28 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges. Prosecutors said Weston Goldstein, 48, used company credit cards and the Big Ten Network’s procurement process to buy electronic devices and sell them online over a period of eight years.

EPA announces $5 million to address non-point source pollution

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director James Jennings has announced $5 million for projects addressing non-point source pollution. The agency said NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground, picking up pollutants and depositing them into sources of drinking water.

State recovers unpaid wages, prevailing wage penalties

The Illinois Department of Labor has recovered more than $67,000 in unpaid wages for eight employees after an investigation found prevailing wage violations by Absolute Home Improvements & Cleaning Service on a public works project in Lake County. The investigation found the employer failed to pay required fringe benefit rates to employees and did not comply with payroll reporting requirements under the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. The company also paid more than $6,700 in penalties.

Grocery stores that got taxpayer money may close

All seven Save A Lot stores across Chicago could shut down this Saturday after the company decided to end its partnership with grocery operator Yellow Banana. NBC Chicago reports that city officials attributed the end of the partnership to the recent death of Yellow Banana CEO Joe Canfield and cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The city gave $13.5 million in taxpayer funds to refurbish the grocery stores in 2022. A Save A Lot spokesperson said Yellow Banana is exploring options to keep the stores open.

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

Report: $12B spent on assisted living Medicare, Medicaid

Report: $12B spent on assisted living Medicare, Medicaid

By Andrew RiceThe Center Square Medicare and Medicaid funding accounted for almost $12 billion of services provided through assisted living facilities, according to a new report released by the Government...
Illinois Quick Hits: Aqua seeks water rate hike

Illinois Quick Hits: Aqua seeks water rate hike

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Another Illinois utility wants to raise rates on consumers. The Citizens Utility Board said a proposed $26.5...
Pritzker signs AI regulation critics say harms innovation, ‘picks winners’

Pritzker signs AI regulation critics say harms innovation, ‘picks winners’

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Monday that he and lawmakers said intends to provide new protections...
Microsoft cuts over 600 Washington jobs, 4,800 globally amid corporate restructuring

Microsoft cuts over 600 Washington jobs, 4,800 globally amid corporate restructuring

By Andrew PaxtonThe Center Square Microsoft announced layoffs Monday impacting 605 workers based out of Washington, part of a planned broader corporate restructuring that will eliminate 4,800 employees globally. According...
Report: Modernization of central bank intertwined with regulations, security

Report: Modernization of central bank intertwined with regulations, security

By Andrew RiceThe Center Square Regulations need to be scrutinized and security concerns in blockchain technology should be addressed by the Federal Reserve, the Government Accountability Office says in a...
500-plus fugitives arrested across two states

500-plus fugitives arrested across two states

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – More than 400 fugitives have been arrested in Illinois, and another 117 in Missouri, over the last...
WalletHub study examines the financial independence of US states

WalletHub study examines the financial independence of US states

By Christine JohnsonThe Center Square Idaho is the nation's most financially independent state, while Kentucky ranks as the least financially independent, according to a new WalletHub study. Ahead of the...
Michigan's Democrat primary in U.S. Senate race narrows

Michigan’s Democrat primary in U.S. Senate race narrows

By Elyse ApelThe Center Square Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow announced Sunday she is suspending her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. Her departure narrows the party’s...
DOJ, states could secure 53 million eggs in price manipulation settlement

DOJ, states could secure 53 million eggs in price manipulation settlement

By Elyse ApelThe Center Square Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a multi-state settlement that could deliver more than 50 million eggs and $3.3 million. This comes after a joint...

WATCH: State fails to investigate daycares with no children despite media reports

By Carleen JohnsonThe Center Square Many Washington state daycare providers receive large taxpayer subsidies, but an investigation by The Center Square found several that had few, if any, children and...
Illinois Quick Hits: Woman sentenced for voting twice

Illinois Quick Hits: Woman sentenced for voting twice

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – A Hoopeston woman has been sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500...

Embattled state lawmaker resigns after investigation into ‘unethical’ behavior

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – After two days of calls for his resignation by Democrat leaders, embattled Illinois state Rep. Harry Benton,...

Everyday Economics: What jobs data actually show and why Fed is changing how it talks

By Orphe DivounguyThe Center Square Last week's jobs report release was June's, and it came in soft. Payrolls rose just 57,000, against a roughly 115,000 consensus, and April and May...
Watchdog: Bill mandating more reporting from tax-exempt hospitals 'common sense'

Watchdog: Bill mandating more reporting from tax-exempt hospitals ‘common sense’

By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square Thousands of hospitals subsidized by American taxpayers could face heightened fiscal scrutiny under new legislation heading to the U.S. House floor. Currently, nonprofit hospitals must...
New statewide tenant law signed; Chicago seeks to push further

New statewide tenant law signed; Chicago seeks to push further

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law into effect that lawmakers say intends to increase renter protections...