Some of those parents appeared in Chicago Sunday with Governor Pat Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to advocate in favor of the ban.  The parents say the Newtown shooter's use of 30-round clips allowed him to get off more shots without stopping, adding to the death toll at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Cullerton says it is always difficult to go up against the National Rifle Association, but says he hopes the presence of the Newtown parents will make lawmakers "very uncomfortable" about voting against the ban.

Calvin Christian, who has several pending lawsuits against Springfield police, has been released after an overnight stay in the county jail on a contempt of court charge. 

The judge allowed Christian to go free after Christian promised to either pay a delinquent noise ordinance fine… or to turn over financial information to the city.  Christian has one week to comply or risk returning to jail.

The legislature did send a medical marijuana bill to the governor’s desk for the first time.  But a vote on a concealed carry bill was postponed. 

And there’s little sign of progress on pension reform and no clear picture on a new state budget.

The city says Chatham is in breach of its contract to purchase water from City Water Light and Power through this summer.  Chatham cut off those water purchases early when it joined the South Sangamon Water Commission. 

An ordinance that goes before Springfield aldermen this week would pay the law firm of Sorling Northrup up to $50,000 to handle the case against Chatham.

The Senate had been expected to take up a controversial concealed carry bill that is opposed by the gun lobby, but did not vote on it before senators headed for home.  There’s no word on when that bill might be called. 

Major budget and pension questions are also still unresolved with the clock ticking toward the end of the month.

In an interview for 970 WMAY’s Michael Koolidge Show, Bruce Rauner said that groups like AFSCME and the major teachers unions in Illinois are running Springfield… using their leverage to get taxpayer-funded raises and benefits.  And Rauner says those groups then use that money to support friendly politicians, a practice he equates with bribery. 

Rauner is vowing to shrink union influence in the state’s politics and to reduce the tax burden for Illinois residents and businesses.

Officers were called to an address on West Vine by a neighbor who reported seeing two people breaking into a garage.  The witness told police that the men entered the garage just seconds before officers arrived. 

Police surrounded the garage and found the suspects inside.  They also found a pair of gloves and a flashlight.  30-year-old Walter Cunninghman and 29-year-old Michael Brown face multiple charges for this burglary and perhaps others.

As 970 WMAY News was the first to report, Calvin Christian was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after being held in contempt of court.

Christian refused to turn over personal financial information that was being sought by the city of Springfield, as it tries to collect more than $800 in fines that Christian owes for noise ordinance violations.

Christian told the court that he did not want to disclose the information while he has pending lawsuits against the city.

Christian has sued over the police department’s destruction of internal affairs records, and has also claimed a sweeping conspiracy among officers to target and harass him.