Governor Mike DeWine
Recordings in corruption trial: Borges paid man $15K while asking him to spy
CINCINNATI — In 2019, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges repeatedly insisted that he wasn’t paying a man to spy on the effort to repeal a corrupt utility bailout, but recordings played in court Monday show that Borges paid the man $15,000 while pressing him for inside information on the repeal campaign. The federal […]
Corrupt Ohio utility bailout sprung out of fertile ground, recordings show
CINCINNATI — When Akron-based FirstEnergy made huge contributions between 2017 and 2019 to get a giant bailout from the Ohio government, the deal was developed in a corrupt ecosystem, secret recordings and other evidence presented in federal court Wednesday showed. Multiple players on Capitol Square had conflicted interests and seemed to be acting out of […]
Householder trial: Millions in dark money used to call dark money “dirty”
CINCINNATI — In politics, logical and moral consistency often aren’t the highest priorities. That was starkly true in the 2018 campaign to make then-Rep. Larry Householder speaker in the legislative session that would begin the following January, according to evidence presented in federal court on Wednesday. Householder is accused of racketeering in a scheme to […]
“Noncitizen” will now be listed on Ohio IDs. Advocates worry that will endanger immigrants
In a little-noticed measure, whether a person is a “noncitizen” will now be printed on driver’s licenses and state IDs under a controversial law that was just signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. Critics worry that the requirement addresses a nonexistent problem while making it more difficult for documented immigrants to get IDs they need […]
DeWine claims “great progress” for families. Data say something else
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s rhetoric about some of the most vulnerable Ohioans doesn’t appear to match the reality if data released last week are any guide. The governor has been refusing to talk about some of the most controversial aspects of strict new abortion restrictions that he signed into law in 2019 and which took […]
The bedeviling details. Roe decision leaves Ohio health providers scrambling
Abortion foes celebrated victory in a 50-year fight on June 24, when the U.S. Supreme overturned Roe v Wade and allowed states to severely restrict — or even eliminate — women’s access to abortion. But for those who care for pregnant women, the ideological victory posed a swarm of burdensome questions they haven’t begun to […]
Lt. Gov. Husted: Outside job on bank board is educational
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Thursday said a controversial job he’s taken on the board of a community bank has been highly educational and will pay about $20,000 a year. Husted’s decision to serve on the board of Heartland Bank stirred controversy when it became public last month for at least two reasons: His office […]
Analysis: Trump tipped primary to Vance, DeWine has problems with Rs
A pre-primary poll designed by six political scientists and the actual results of the election seem to show that former President Donald Trump’s endorsement was a decisive factor in the Ohio Republican Primary for U.S. Senate. The analysis also seems to show that GOP Gov. Mike DeWine has some work to do if he wants […]
Medicaid director owned stock in companies she awarded huge contracts
Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran won’t discuss them, but state ethics filings she submitted on Sunday showed that she continued to own stock in three huge health care companies last year — the same year she negotiated and signed billion-dollar contracts with their subsidiaries. Outside ethics experts have said it’s a clear conflict of interest […]
Ohio Secretary of State says he didn’t call for Supreme Court chief’s ouster
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Tuesday denied that he had called for the impeachment of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor after she had repeatedly ruled against LaRose and the rest of her fellow Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. LaRose’s comments come four days after he told a group of Union […]
Ohio AG, governor announce $10M for solving gun crime
In the face of spiking gun crime, the state’s top two officials on Thursday announced a $10.5 million investment in technology and personnel to trace fugitive guns across jurisdictions. As he announced the program, Gov. Mike DeWine denied that when he signed a bill earlier this month eliminating gun-permitting requirements, he might have helped to […]
The Intel project is great news. But what happens if it goes bad?
When it announced in January that it would build two massive new plants in Licking County, semiconductor manufacturer Intel called it the “largest single private-sector investment in Ohio history.” But what is perhaps obscured by that statement is that Ohio is also investing heavily in Intel. A policy-research group recently issued a report advocating ways […]