BGA

After the BGA discovers that Rahm Emanuel’s campaign fund apparently violated a pledge not to accept donations from lobbyists, his political action committee announces it will return five donations totaling $7,650.

Prompted in part by disclosures by the BGA and Chicago Sun-Times of a pension perk apparently crafted by a state legislator just for a member of one of Chicago’s most powerful political families, the Illinois Senate passes a bill to reverse the benefit. While the House didn’t take up the measure, it’s expected to be revisited in the next legislative session.

Following a series of stories from the BGA and the Chicago Sun-Times about a politically connected dairy company and its government contracts, Chicago Public Schools negotiated new terms that should save the system $750,000 in milk expenses. Officials also pledged to launch a “rigorous competitive bidding process” to keep costs down.

Revelations by the BGA and NBC5 that a Stroger Hospital doctor was getting paid even though he no longer worked for Cook County government prompted an inspector general investigation that found “negligence” and recommended discipline against three employees, including a supervising physician. Also, the BGA’s inquiry prompted the return of roughly $80,000 to county coffers.