By Hannah MeiselCapitol News IllinoisHmeisel@Capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois governor JB Pritzker Wednesday, July 31 signed legislation aimed at curtailing the practice of “captive audience” meetings, a strategy businesses sometimes use to dissuade workers from forming a union. The law, dubbed the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” was a top priority this Spring
Illinois State representative Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) has been elected vice president of the Executive Board of the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Women’s Legislative Network. “I am deeply honored to be appointed as vice president of the NCSL Women’s Legislative Network,” said Kifowit. “This role presents an incredible opportunity
By Jason Crane Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin announced his appointment of Dan Barreiro as the new Ward 1 alderman Tuesday, August 6 at the Aurora City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. If approved next week, Barreiro’s term will be until the next general election in April 2025. Barreiro,
August 5, 2024Dear editor; Thank you, voters of Kane County Board, District 4, for electing me as your Kane County Board member in 2020 and 2022. Now I am running again in the November 5 election. I have deep roots in Aurora and raised my family here. My career includes
By John & Nisha Whitehead Q: “How can you tell if a politician is lying?” A: “When his lips are moving.” The First Amendment assures us of a right to free speech. It does not, unfortunately, explicitly assure us of a right to not be lied to by our government
July 30, 2024Dear editor; As the General Election season is in full swing, the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County is in the process of scheduling forums for area candidates in contested races for Kane County, IL General Assembly and US Congress. Forums are designed to provide a
A diverse group of applicants have expressed interest in serving as Aurora’s next Ward 1 alderman. Due to the resignation of Ward 1 Alderman Emmanuel Llamas, the Aurora mayor must appoint a new alderman to serve until the next general election in April 2025. The group consists of nine men
By Beth Hundsdorfer & Molly ParkerCapitol News Illinoisinvestigations@capitolnewsillinois.com An Illinois lawmaker heading a child welfare committee said the state must strengthen its laws and policies to protect homeschooled children facing inadequate education, abuse and neglect. Representative Terra Costa Howard, the chair of the Adoption and Child Welfare Committee in the
A new measure carried by State Representative Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, will create new child labor protections to keep children safe and free from exploitation in the workplace, and was signed into law this week. “Our children deserve robust protections if they take part in Illinois’ workforce,” Hernandez said. “Exploitation and
By John & Nisha Whitehead “Whenever any American’s life is taken by another American unnecessarily—whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council unanimously approved a Resolution to appoint Kevin Nickel as deputy fire chief at the Tuesday, July 23 Aurora City Council meeting. Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin swore in Kevin Nickel, who was most recently assistant chief of operations with the Aurora Fire Department.
The League of Women Voters of the United States, as a member organization of the National Task Force on Election Crises, released the following statement on the Democratic Party’s replacing its presumptive presidential nominee: “While a major party’s presumptive nominee withdrawing his presidential candidacy is an extraordinary occurrence, rules and
By John & Nisha Whitehead “Whenever any American’s life is taken by another American unnecessarily—whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response
By Peter Hancock, Hannah Meisel, & Andrew AdamsCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com MILWAUKEE – A former Republican congressman from New York told Illinois Republicans Tuesday, July 16 that to win more elections in their deeply blue state, they need to reach beyond the traditional conservative voting base. “We need to challenge ourselves
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council is considering a $325,000 loan to an Aurora grocer to turn a vacant West Side building into its fourth store. The agenda at the Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting, Tuesday, July 16 presented a Resolution to approve a forgivable loan to Carniceria
July 11, 2024Dear editor; Allan Lichtman has predicted the winning president 90% of the time since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 re-election. He uses 13 key elements, one of them being the incumbent as a winning key, so why is their talk of replacing Joe Biden? Joe Biden is one of our
At its July 16 meeting, the Oswego Village Board approved a strategic financial decision to pay off $3 million in bonds using general fund surplus from fiscal year 2024 (May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024). The move will clear the remaining balance of the Series 2013 bonds that were
By Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker said Tuesday, July 9 he is “all in” for president Joe Biden after visiting the White House last week with other Democratic Party governors. He went to Washington, D.C., to meet with the president and members of the Democratic Governors Association Wednesday,
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council approved the following mayoral appointments at the Tuesday, July 9 City Council meeting: •Approved was a Resolution appointing Carlos Anaya to the Innovation and Technology Advisory Commission. •Approved was a Resolution appointing Gloria Ramos, Keshav Varma, and Delainey Baran to the Aurora Youth
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com When Illinois high school students sit down to take their annual State assessments next year, they will take a different exam than in recent years. The Illinois State Board of Education recently announced that starting next Spring, it will use the ACT exam rather than
