Environment issue

Features

Wind power
by Michael Hawthorne
Illinois is at a turning point in its energy-producing future

River man
by Beverley Scobell
The founder of Living Lands & Waters guides hundreds of volunteers in collecting trash from the state’s major waterways




Switched on
by Bethany Jaeger
The fledgling Illinois Power Agency bought electricity on behalf of utilities for the first time this spring. Consumers’ bills decreased, but market uncertainty remains

Departments

Editor's Note
by Dana Heupel, Executive Editor
Righteous talk after Blagojevich’s arrest leads nowhere

State of the State
by Bethany Jaeger, Statehouse Bureau Chief
The public’s right to know should apply to water safety, too

Ends and Means
by Charles N. Wheeler III, Columnist
Lawmakers used almost surgical precision to address problems linked to former governor

Also in the July/August issue...

Rain, rain, go away by Jamey Dunn
Rain barrels, garden and permeable pavement ease floods and pollution in urban areas, but such tactics face financial and environmental challenges

Back to nature by Chris Young
New Natural Resources director finds himself at home in the wild world of state government

News

The federal case against Rod Blagojevich, five others

The 75-page federal indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and five members of his inner circle details an extensive and long-term scheme that allegedly began in 2002, before Blagojevich took his oath of office in January 2003.

News release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District

Superseding indictment and Fact sheet

Past Blagojevich coverage

Rod Blagojevich’s indictment and arrest have recently made the former Illinois governor a household name across the nation, but Illinois Issues has been writing about him since he first ran for the state’s highest office in 2002.

Here are links to Illinois Issues articles, blog posts and an excerpt from Center Publications’ book, The Illinois Governors: Mostly Good and Competent, chronicling the rise and fall of this  controversial public figure from his beginnings on the statewide stage to the present.