(The Center Square) – An Illinois House bill would prevent public utilities from making campaign contributions to political candidates if it becomes law.

State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid’s, D-Bridgeview, measure has the support of the Citizens Utility Board and its director of Governmental Affairs, Bryan McDaniel.

“This would make it so that utilities, water, gas, sewer, could not make any campaign contributions to a candidate for municipal or state office,” McDaniel told The Center Square.

The bill would also prevent donations to political action committees organized to support candidates. The measure has three co-sponsors.

“So this would be HB 1621. I can tell you that’d be wonderful if that bill could pass. We’ll see,” McDaniel said.

ComEd and other utilities have drawn the attention of federal authorities in recent corruption cases, including the trial and conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

On Feb. 12, a jury convicted Madigan on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity. Four of the 10 counts were related to ComEd.

Madigan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13. U.S. government attorneys are also seeking $3.14 million from the former speaker in forfeiture at a bench trial. The amount includes payments to ComEd subcontractors who were Madigan’s political allies. Prosecutors say the payments were bribes.

In the related ComEd Four case, four people were convicted of corruption charges in 2023, and ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

Sentencing dates for the ComEd four defendants are scheduled in July and August.

Connie Mixon, professor of political science and director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, said the corruption cases are frustrating to her as a political scientist and to people who care about good government.

“There are legislative things that could be done to curtail some of this corruption, and yet our General Assembly doesn’t seem interested or doesn’t feel any urgency in pushing through legislative reforms,” Mixon told The Center Square.

Rashid’s bill is currently in the Illinois House Rules Committee.

(The Center Square) – Hugo and Helene are rare, as is the ever-dangerous tornado outbreaks that sometimes plague the South. Charlotte, regardless of frequency, remains in a dangerous gap every day.

U.S. Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., has introduced the Radar Gap Elimination Act as a vehicle to close it. Bipartisan support includes Reps. Deborah Ross, D-N.C., and Pat Harrigan, R-N.C.

Charlotte is among the nation’s 15 largest cities by population. Moore’s proposal would bring modernization to the National Weather Service, he says, and “close dangerous gaps in high-risk areas like Charlotte.”

“The devastation of Hurricane Helene showed us just how important accurate weather data is to saving lives and hardening communities to minimize damage from upcoming storms and natural disasters,” Moore said. “Charlotte is one of the most populated regions in the country without full radar coverage, creating a blind spot that puts families at risk and hampers emergency response. I’m proud to lead the Radar Gap Elimination Act to close these critical gaps by prioritizing new radar in underserved areas and transitioning to new technology that can better detect severe weather.”

In a release, Moore said House Resolution 2646 “directs the National Weather Service to replace aging NEXRAD radar infrastructure and prioritize the deployment of Phased Array Radar in locations that are more than 75 miles from existing radar coverage. These upgrades will allow meteorologists to detect severe weather closer to the ground, particularly in areas where traditional radar fails to capture low-level storm activity.”

The National Weather Service is in evaluation of a new radar system replacing the Next-Generation Radar system, colloquially called NEXRAD. Moore said it is estimated PAR stations could be built by the end of the decade.

NEXRAD gets blind spots from the curvature of the Earth. For example, a distant NEXRAD station will have trouble on flash flood-causing storms, and F0 and F1 tornadoes at lower altitudes, a release says. That delays warnings and jeopardizes life, Moore said.

Ross said, “Every second counts when severe weather strikes, and this legislation will close the dangerous radar gap in our state and modernize our radar systems, ensuring our communities aren’t left in the dark when extreme weather hits.”

(The Center Square) – California did not materially comply with the requirements for seven of the 22 federal programs the state auditor examined, including “pervasive” noncompliance in its unemployment benefits program, which could put essential federal funding at risk.

“This report concludes that the State did not materially comply with certain requirements for seven of the 22 federal programs or clusters of programs (federal programs) MGO audited, including one program for which the noncompliance was pervasive,” wrote Deputy State Auditor Linus Li. “Additionally, although MGO concluded that the State materially complied with requirements for the remaining federal programs it audited, the State continues to experience certain deficiencies in its accounting and administrative practices that affect its internal controls over compliance with federal requirements.”

The audit found that even in 2023 — years after the state made $55 billion in fraudulent COVID lockdown-era benefits payments — the state likely made “potentially ineligible payments” of nearly $200 million. The audit also found that of 138 pandemic unemployment assistance claimants that were tested, 91, or 66%, had verification issues. 

“While Gavin Newsom chases the national spotlight, Californians are left with an administration that can’t accomplish the basic functions of government,” said California State Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher to The Center Square. “The federal government is right to take a look at this spending and decide if it’s appropriate to keep throwing resources at an administration that treats it like Monopoly money.”

Last year, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office said the state’s unemployment fund runs a structural deficit of $2 billion per year, beyond the $20 billion debt and $1 billion in annual interest payments to the federal government. Because the unemployment fund is paid for by payroll taxes on employers and their employees, the LAO said payroll taxes would need to rise from $42 per employee making $46,800 or more per year, to $889.20, or over 21 times higher than the existing base payroll tax.