Afternoon news update: June 9, 2015

Rockford police have made seven more arrests in a recent crime spree throughout the city. Michael D. Johnson and six juveniles were arrested, charged with various offenses. On Tuesday, the Rockford Police Department collaborated with the Northern Illinois Auto Theft Task Force continuing its investigations which involved auto thefts and juvenile suspects.
The Wisconsin Assembly plans to vote on a bill that will eliminate the state's 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases. If passed today, the bill heads to Governor Scott Walker for his consideration. Wisconsin's 48-hour waiting period has been in effect since 1976.
House Democrats are endorsing a property tax freeze — one of the issues on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's agenda. The House Revenue and Finance Committee endorsed two proposals on partisan votes Tuesday. Republicans say they fall short of Rauner's plan. One proposal freezes the tax at the 2015 level. If a city council or park board wants more, they have to ask voters. It also would freeze the amount automatically collected for retiring debt. A second plan, which is said to reflect the Rauner plan, would freeze property taxes at the 2016 level.
The Chicago Rockford International airport will be announcing New Air Service Tuesday afternoon at three o’clock. The announcement will be made in the main terminal observation court.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart are reminding police departments statewide about the federal agencies that can help them trace guns they seize. Among the resources is a program called eTrace, which allows gun trace requests to be sent quickly to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives over the Internet.
How much will the public ever learn about the “past misconduct” the FBI alleges former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert committed? With or without a trial, there will be documentation available to the public if Hastert was paying hush money, says former federal prosecutor David Weinstein. “If he decides to resolve this case by the way of a negotiated plea settlement, then they’ll have to provide what’s called a factual proffer or a factual basis to the court upon which they’re relying, so some of the information might come out then,” he said. The fact that there are claims now that the misconduct involved sex with underage boys doesn’t help Hastert, says former prosecutor Patrick Collins. “Certainly the more victims there are, with sexual misconduct being this misconduct that’s referenced generically in the indictment, I think it makes it a harder case to defend,” he said.
Hastert is to be arraigned this (Tuesday) afternoon in federal court in Chicago.
Hastert is charged with structuring – deliberately making bank withdrawals to avoid reporting requirement – and lying to the FBI. Collins says if there was sex with minors underlying this, that would be a hard case to pursue because of the statute of limitations. Hastert allegedly withdrew money to pay $3.5 million to an “Individual A” to keep quiet about misconduct which occurred in the 1960s and 70s when Hastert was a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School.

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