Politics

The Illinois House of Representatives will convene for one day next month to consider whether to expel one of its own.

A day after a special House committee recommended that Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago, lose his seat, Speaker Michael Madigan told members to be in Springfield on Friday, Aug. 17.

A relatively short prison sentence seems to be bringing some relief to Stuart Levine, one of the central figures in the Blagojevich scandal.
After being sentenced yesterday, Stuart Levine smiled and shook hands and joked with many of the prosecutors and FBI agents who investigated him and brought him down.
And what a downfall it's been.
Levine went from being a multi-millionaire to working at a kiosk in a mall.

The race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin’s Second District, which includes Beloit and much of Rock County,  has turned into a nasty fight between legislative colleagues, one championing experience and pragmatism, the other touting passion and exuberance.