August 26, 2025/

Illinois quick hits: Record hotel tax revenues reported; grocer sentenced for SNAP, WIC fraud

Spread the love

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

Record hotel tax revenues reported

Illinois tourism numbers for 2024 saw an all-time high for hotel tax revenue.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Tourism announced the state welcomed 113 million domestic and international visitors who spent more than $48 billion.

Total hotel tax revenue came in at $367 million, a 14% increase from the previous year.

Grocer sentenced for SNAP, WIC fraud

The owner of a Chicago grocery store has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for fraudulently redeeming millions of dollars in benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Yousef Abu Alhawa, 50, of Lockport was also ordered to pay $8.9 million in restitution to the U.S. Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and the state of Illinois.

Alhawa pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax charges last year.

Meth dealers sentenced

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois has announced sentences for eight methamphetamine dealers in Effingham County and indictments for three other individuals accused of drug distribution.

Prison sentences of those convicted range from 60 to 144 months.

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

GOP candidates for Illinois governor challenge Pritzker on state finances

GOP candidates for Illinois governor challenge Pritzker on state finances

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proposed ways for Illinois to better fund pensions, but one of the governor’s...

WATCH: Dems call for Noem’s impeachment, dismantling DHS

By Emily Rodriguez and Andrew RiceThe Center Square A coalition of Democrat lawmakers called for the impeachment of Kristi Noem, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary, on Tuesday. The...
WATCH: Los Angeles area robotics team starts 25th season

WATCH: Los Angeles area robotics team starts 25th season

By Esther WickhamThe Center Square Culver City High School’s California-based robotics team - known as the Bagel Bytes - has begun its 25th season of competition with this year's challenge...
Miller: Illinois ‘dragging its feet’ on voter rolls as election nears

Miller: Illinois ‘dragging its feet’ on voter rolls as election nears

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Congresswoman Mary Miller, R-Oakland, slammed the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday for what she...
Judge stops end of TPS for Haitians

Judge stops end of TPS for Haitians

By David BeasleyThe Center Square (The Center Square) A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has extended Temporary Protected Status for nearly 350,000 Haitians throughout the country, including roughly 13,000 in...
Illinois Quick Hits: Pritzker wants to extend pension buyout program

Illinois Quick Hits: Pritzker wants to extend pension buyout program

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – With Illinois’ unfunded public sector pension liability hovering around $140 billion, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proposed an...
Congressional Conflicts: Like Pelosi, NJ Rep. has made tens of millions from Wall Street

Congressional Conflicts: Like Pelosi, NJ Rep. has made tens of millions from Wall Street

By Mark StricherzThe Center Square To the dismay of her critics, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi has made millions from Wall Street while in Congress, but the California Democrat is not...
Clintons agree to appear before House committee, no date set

Clintons agree to appear before House committee, no date set

By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have finally agreed to appear before the U.S. House Oversight Committee; however,...
Casey Westfield Warriors logo graphic.2

Head Football Coach Resigns as Board Approves Personnel Changes

Casey-Westfield Board of Education Meeting | Jan. 26, 2026 Article Summary: The Casey-Westfield Board of Education accepted the resignation of Head Football Coach Jeff Frichtnicht and approved other staffing changes...
Google to pay $68M to end Assistant recordings class action

Google to pay $68M to end Assistant recordings class action

By Jonathan Bilyk | Legal NewslineThe Center Square Google has agreed to pay $68 million to power down a class action lawsuit accusing the tech giant of allegedly enabling its...
Dems fail in first try to use ‘state sovereignty’ to ‘veto’ ICE

Dems fail in first try to use ‘state sovereignty’ to ‘veto’ ICE

By Jonathan Bilyk | Legal NewslineThe Center Square As a federal judge in Chicago prepares to hear Illinois' and Chicago's lawsuit seeking to all but halt ICE and Border Patrol...
Report says California’s bond debt load exceeds $99 billion

Report says California’s bond debt load exceeds $99 billion

By Madeline ShannonThe Center Square Amid a projected $18 billion budget shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the state is also dealing with $99.1 billion in bond debt, according to...
Los Angeles mayor calls for unity, blasts ICE in State of City

Los Angeles mayor calls for unity, blasts ICE in State of City

By Chris WoodwardThe Center Square Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wants residents to remain unified and continue helping one another in times of difficulty. During her State of the City...
Illinois Quick Hits: McIntyre back as inspector general for DCFS

Illinois Quick Hits: McIntyre back as inspector general for DCFS

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has reappointed Ann McIntyre to continue serving as inspector general for the Illinois Department...
Speculation on Seahawks’ sale heats up following proposed WA ‘jock tax’

Speculation on Seahawks’ sale heats up following proposed WA ‘jock tax’

By Brett DavisThe Center Square Whether or not the Seattle Seahawks are sold after Super Bowl LX remains to be seen, but the timing of such speculation comes shortly after...