After a public breakup last week with the Republican Party, former GOP strategist and consultant Collin Corbett confirmed to The Illinoize late Tuesday he will launch an independent bid for Governor.

While Democrats are having a difficult time in their own ranks passing a bill to provide property tax certainty to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois, Republicans have fallen into outright civil war over the House vote on the package last week.

As the Illinois Senate returns to Springfield this week, don’t expect a quick resolution on the long-debated Bears/Megaprojects bill, even after Governor JB Pritzker declared last week the process had the “need for speed” to keep the team in Illinois.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the corruption conviction against former House Speaker Michael Madigan Monday.

After days of amendments and arm twisting, the Illinois House advanced legislation Wednesday night to give the Chicago Bears a significant property tax break for a new stadium in Arlington Heights and to encourage other “megaproject” developments in the state.

After a day of amendments, reports of a tense House Democratic caucus, Senate skepticism, and frustration from the Governor’s office, it appears the House may be farther from ever from getting the bill aimed at keeping the Bears in the state of Illinois from becoming law.