Laura Durkin, a sister-in-law to House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, last worked in 2001 selling office furniture before landing a $80,000-a-year job last spring with the Illinois Tollway as general manager of Engineering.

Republicans from at least one township in Cook County said that Tuesday's endorsement of Gov. Bruce Rauner was the outcome of a rigged process and not a reflection of grass-roots support within the party.

Burr Ridge has taken the first step in defending its fiscal reputation in the face of accusations from House Republican Leader Jim Durkin’s re-election campaign that the village finances are nothing short of a disaster.

Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub said he hopes that Rep. Jim Durkin’s sister-in-law cleared all the proper channels in getting her job last April as general manager of engineering at the Illinois Tollway, but a recent story by the Chicago Daily Herald raises suspicions that she did not.

Henry Vicenik, the former mayor of Broadview, told West Cook News that House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) called him to see if he were amenable to a deal proposed by the politically connected backer of a proposed strip club in the village.

The Village of Burr Ridge is demanding that House Republican Leader Jim Durkin’s re-election campaign, “Citizens for Durkin,” halt mailing a flier that contains “false and misleading” information about the village’s fiscal health and the competency of its governing officials.

Michael Mahoney, the chief of staff for House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, was cited multiple times in a recent Chicago Tribune story about an investigation into improper relationships between Illinois Lottery and legislative staff, and lobbyists for the British firm Camelot, the Lottery’s new management team.

Rep. Jim Durkin’s office told the Chicago Sun-Times that Durkin (R-Western Springs) did not “make any call to facilitate a meeting” over a proposed adult entertainment club in Broadview despite the sworn testimony of the village's former mayor saying he did.

Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin played a role in the drawn out legal battle between the Village of Broadview and a proposed adult "gentleman's club," Chicago Joe’s Tea Room, according to a 2013 deposition of former Broadview Mayor Henry A. Vicenik.

Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub calls the recent rush appointment of a legislative inspector general (LIG) that followed a three-year vacancy a case of “damage control” to shield lIlinois lawmakers from the political fallout of recent sexual harassment allegations against a state senator.

For municipal bond advisory work, Jim Durkin, the lawyer, earned nearly $200,000 for his law firm, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, from just one client, the City of Berwyn, billing records obtained by West Cook News show.

The leader of a group of parents concerned about an apparent lack of transparency in the finances of River Forest Youth Baseball and Softball (RFYBS) is weighing his options after a promised audit never materialized at the annual meeting recently.

A concerned group of parents and volunteers involved with River Forest Youth Baseball and Softball (RFYBS) say they will contact the Illinois Attorney General’s office and Little League International if the president and nine-member board of RFYBS fail to disclose details about the league’s finances at the annual meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 24.