Dr. Thomas Pliura, a friend of Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady and his brothers Robert and Edward, was lied to before he and his wife loaned $1 million to Brady's brothers shortly before the 2010 election when Brady was the GOP nominee for governor, a federal bankruptcy judge said in a ruling issued this week.

The social distancing guidelines that led Illinois county fairs to cancel off-season events on their grounds through the end of April is one part of a financial impact double-whammy, a trade official said.