By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council unanimously approved a Resolution granting the advice and consent of mayor John Laesch’s appointment of Will White to fill the vacancy in the office of alderperson at-large. White was one of four finalists selected out of the more than 130 applications that were
By Jim Edgar and John Shaw American politics is as contentious now as it has been in any recent period in our history. As a response to this acrimony and conflict, it is tempting to turn off the TV, stop reading the newspaper, put down the phone, and forget about
By Ahmadou Dramé The state of Illinois has a duty to deliver public safety to all residents in a manner that is fiscally responsible, equitable and effective. An analysis of current government spending, however, raises concerns whether policymakers and elected officials are meeting their responsibilities. State and local governments in
By John & Nisha Whitehead Few modern political figures have done more to prompt spontaneous national discussions about the Bill of Rights and constitutional limits on government power than Donald Trump—if only because he tramples on them so frequently. Indeed, president Trump has become a walking civics lesson. Consider some
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker’s office is now projecting state revenues to come in about a half-billion dollars below the baseline projections assumed during his February budget address. The latest downward revision comes as lawmakers are entering the final two-week stretch to approve a budget before their
By Simon Carr & Sonya DymovaMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com A growing number of state lawmakers are moving to repeal a 2015 Illinois law penalizing companies that boycott Israel to protest its policies toward Palestinians. Amid concerns about Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians
Thousands of Chicago-area participants line sidewalks from Aurora to Little Village along Ogden Avenue and 26th Street across Chicagoland in a peaceful protest against the Donald Trump Administration’s alleged illegal and authoritarian actions.
At Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole Meeting, the city of Aurora honored a longtime City staff member, community stalwart, and Aurora advocate as he embarks on the next chapter of his star-studded career. Clayton Muhammad, Aurora’s chief engagement and equity officer, is set to depart from City Hall May
Mayor of Aurora, John Laesch, right, swears in recently-appointed Aurora Police Chief Matthew Thomas at the May 20 Committee of the Whole meeting.
By John & Nisha Whitehead Few modern political figures have done more to prompt spontaneous national discussions about the Bill of Rights and constitutional limits on government power than Donald Trump—if only because he tramples on them so frequently. Indeed, president Trump has become a walking civics lesson. Consider some
John Laesch, the 60th mayor of Aurora, was sworn-in by Aurora City clerk, Jennifer Stallings, Tuesday, May 13 at the Paramount Theatre.
By Jade AubreyCapitol News Illinoisjaubrey@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker issued an executive order May 7 that bars State agencies from collecting and disclosing data about autism to the federal government unless it’s medically or legally necessary. The order was in response to a move by the U.S. Department of Health and
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council, Tuesday, May 13, expressed appreciation and a farewell to Ward 4 alderman Bill Donnell, Ward 7 alderman Brandon Tolliver, alderman-at-large Ron Woerman, and chief management officer, Alex Alexandrou. Recently alderman Donnell announced he wouldn’t run for another term. Aldermen Tolliver and Woerman lost
May 11, 2025Dear editor; Dems have to fight back in order to keep our country. The other guys have been destroying unions that built the middle class and increasing economic inequality ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). FDR got us out of the depression with public works initiatives putting Americans
Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL), Congress’ only PhD physicist, led 112 Members of Congress in expressing their concern with the Donald Trump Administration’s directive for the National Science Foundation to freeze all grant funding. In a letter to president Trump, the members wrote: “The NSF has, for decades, been a cornerstone
Representative Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) released a statement after governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced that Lewis University’s Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program that serves people in the Aurora area has been renewed for $682,000. In addition, $1,100,000 has been renewed to support the
State senator Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, State representative Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, and the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) are announcing their work together to expand opportunities for student athletes to compete in local and national sporting events, based on their work on the Right to Play Act (House Bill 3037).
By John & Nisha Whitehead “A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty.”—James Madison We are being frog-marched into tyranny at the end of a loaded gun. Or rather, hundreds of thousands of loaded guns. Let’s not mince words: President Donald Trump’s
By Grace FriedmanMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com Health care unions continue to rally for legislation to address understaffing they say strains hospitals and threatens both patient safety and staff well-being. Lawmakers are considering the Hospital Worker Staff and Safety bill, which would establish mandatory nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and increase support for
By Jason Crane Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin, the outgoing 59th mayor, says goodbye Tuesday, May 6, at his last Aurora Committee of the Whole meeting as mayor, after sharing the achievements of his administration. “To my beloved city of Aurora, I came, I saw, we conquered.” Irvin served on
