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

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

August 26, 2025/
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

Pritzker knocks state progressives’ ability to pass new tax measures

Pritzker knocks state progressives’ ability to pass new tax measures

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ruled out the passage of many new tax proposals from progressive lawmakers before...
Illinois Quick Hits: Pritzker talks Bears stadium with NFL commissioner

Illinois Quick Hits: Pritzker talks Bears stadium with NFL commissioner

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell has reiterated that the Chicago Bears are...
Op-Ed: Oversight faps in federal drug program put Illinois’ independent practices at risk

Op-Ed: Oversight faps in federal drug program put Illinois’ independent practices at risk

By Dr. Priya BansalThe Center Square Community-based care is part of the fabric of the healthcare system in Illinois. As an allergist and immunologist practicing in St. Charles, I take...
War of words reignites with Trump, Pritzker, Bailey

War of words reignites with Trump, Pritzker, Bailey

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – President Donald Trump has resumed his war of words with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who responded by...
Judge won’t let ConAgra off hook in class action over fish fillet brine

Judge won’t let ConAgra off hook in class action over fish fillet brine

By Scott Hollan | Legal NewslineThe Center Square CHICAGO — A federal judge won’t yet let food products maker ConAgra off the hook for a class action accusing it of...
Illinois Quick Hits: Bill offering CTE alternative clears senate committee

Illinois Quick Hits: Bill offering CTE alternative clears senate committee

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – The Illinois Senate Education Committee has advanced legislation that would allow high school students to take Career...
Will County Board Graphic.02

Meeting Summary and Briefs: Will County Board Legislative Committee for May 5, 2026

Will County Board Legislative Committee Meeting | May 5, 2026 The Will County Board Legislative Committee navigated a heavy policy agenda during its May 5, 2026, meeting, balancing extensive state...
New Lenox Village Board Graphic.1

Meeting Summary and Briefs: Village of New Lenox for May 11, 2026

Village of New Lenox Meeting | May 11, 2026 The New Lenox Village Board executed a brisk agenda on Monday, May 11, 2026, headlined by swift legislative action to assist...
Will County Board Graphic.04

Meeting Summary and Briefs: Will County Board Executive Committee for May 14, 2026

Will County Board Executive Committee Meeting | May 14, 2026 The Will County Board Executive Committee held a four-hour-plus meeting on May 14, 2026, dominated by a deeply contested vote...
Johnson’s office counters Pritzker claim Chicago mayor 'has no plan' to keep Bears

Johnson’s office counters Pritzker claim Chicago mayor ‘has no plan’ to keep Bears

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has no plan to keep the Bears in the...
Minnesota prosecutor charges second ICE agent wake of Operation Metro Surge

Minnesota prosecutor charges second ICE agent wake of Operation Metro Surge

By Elyse ApelThe Center Square A Minnesota prosecutor announced Monday criminal charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in connection with the non-fatal January shooting of a Minneapolis man....
Pritzker: Trump war to blame for high gas prices

Pritzker: Trump war to blame for high gas prices

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says everyone is paying more for gas because of President Donald Trump’s military action...
Proposed law would require women’s restroom on construction sites

Proposed law would require women’s restroom on construction sites

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Construction companies across Illinois may be required by law to provide female employees with separate bathroom facilities...
Republicans scramble to preserve White House ballroom security funding

Republicans scramble to preserve White House ballroom security funding

By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square Congressional Republicans are scrambling to rewrite portions of their $72 billion budget reconciliation bill after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that a Trump administration wish list...
CBP seizes more than 100 million lethal doses of fentanyl at SW border in six months

CBP seizes more than 100 million lethal doses of fentanyl at SW border in six months

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square A record more than 100 million lethal doses of fentanyl have been seized at the southwest border in the past six months. The seizures were...