By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois residents who buy health insurance on the State-run marketplace now have a little more time to sign up for coverage for the upcoming year. Officials at Get Covered Illinois, the new state-run marketplace for insurance sold under the Affordable Care Act, announced Tuesday they
By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers vowed to keep fighting for protections against artificial intelligence after President Donald Trump signed an executive order December 11 to shield tech companies from state laws. Trump’s order targets state regulations, including several in Illinois, that he said are inconsistent with national policy
State representative Stephanie Kifowit, a United States Marine Corps veteran, filed resolution HR 0575 this week in the Illinois House of Representatives condemning recent statements, attributed to the President of the United States, that have been widely interpreted as threats of political violence or retaliation against elected officials who have
Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) reintroduced the Payer State Transparency Act, December 16, to help shed light on the “Payer State” problem, wherein certain states, including Illinois, pay more in federal taxes than they get back in federal spending. According to data from the Internal Revenue Service and USASpending.gov, Illinois sent
By John & Nisha Whitehead We now live in a Nation where constitutional rights exist in theory, not in practice. Yet what good are rights on paper when every branch of government is allowed to ignore, circumvent, chip away at or hollow them out in practice? Two-hundred and thirty-four years
Mayor of Aurora, John Laesch, secured a $360,000 donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) from Aurora-based packaging company Teinnovations to help shield residents of the City’s temporary overnight warming center and local nonprofits from the spread of disease this Winter. Laesch partnered with Teinnovations Founder Daniel Tein to obtain the
By Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisbmoore@capitolnewsillinois.com Christening it as part of a “nation-leading” response to aggressive federal immigration raids, governor JB Pritzker signed legislation December 9 allowing Illinois residents to sue immigration agents who arrest them in or near courthouses or if they believe their constitutional rights were violated. The new
State representative Stephanie Kifowit is voicing strong support for Aurora Firefighters Local 99 and raising serious concerns about staffing reductions proposed in the 2026 Aurora city government budget. City officials have claimed that eliminating 18 firefighters, three Battalion Chiefs, one Training Officer, and two frontline fire trucks will not compromise
December 2, 2025Dear editor; With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us, I am certain I speak for Americans everywhere who, like me, are gratified by the current beautification and renovation of the White House. With millions of people facing sky-rocketing costs for necessities at the end of this month, troubling issues
With the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new $45 penalty set to catch travelers off guard starting February 1, 2026 Illinois secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is taking action to reduce the Time Tax by making it easier than ever for Illinois residents to get their REAL ID. “With costs rising
Representative Bill Foster (D-IL) fulfilled his pledge and donated the salary he received during the government shutdown to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, December 5. During the Republican shutdowns in 2013 and 2019, Rep. Foster also donated his pay to the food bank. “Even before the government shutdown, increasing grocery
Every year the World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (W.A.T.C.H.) compiles a list of the most dangerous kiddy toys available for the upcoming Christmas season. The intention is to give diligent, concerned parents a purchasing guideline so they’ll be able to instruct Santa on which toys to bring that will
By John & Nisha Whitehead Every military servicemember’s oath is a pledge to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is not an oath to a politician. It is not an oath to a party. And it is not an oath to the police state. Yet what
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Recent cuts by president Donald Trump’s administration could reduce the size of Illinois’ economy by nearly $10 billion each year, according to a new report released Monday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. The report offers a detailed looked at the effects of cuts enacted
At Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, mayor of Aurora, John Laesch honored two West Aurora High School students who represented Aurora on the national stage, performing at last week’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Asher and Emily Lesniak were selected to perform as part of
By John & Nisha Whitehead “Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands…for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”—Daniel Webster We find ourselves approaching that time of year when, as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln proclaimed,
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council approved an increase to the number of video gaming terminals permitted in Aurora at the Tuesday, Nov. 25 City Council meeting. City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to amend the City Code to align with state law and the revision
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com If advocates, stakeholders, and members of the public were granted all their requests for public school funding next year, lawmakers would have to increase the State’s K-12 education budget by nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars. That’s the approximate total of all the requests that
November 21, 2025Dear editor; Where does the State of Illinois and other states get the legal right to spend our tax dollars defending Illegal immigration, not talking about legal immigration? In the Beacon News dated November 19, 2025 Kane County State’s attorney, Jamie Mosser, clarified for the Kane County Board
By Bela “Bill” Suhayda I read, with some interest, Wayne Johnson’s account of our meeting at the Yellow Bird Bookstore where he and others presented readings in honor of our veterans on Veterans Day. And as Wayne suggested in his November 13 article, we probably do have things in common
