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
By Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois entered a new fiscal year Monday, July 1, with a bit of a financial cushion when the prior year’s revenues exceeded final projections by approximately $123 million. The state ended fiscal year 2024 with approximately $4.7 billion cash on hand, or approximately nine percent
By John & Nisha Whitehead Most teams will begin non-conference “The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”—Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissenting in Trump v. United States The U.S. Supreme Court
By Andrew AdamsCapitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Changes to primary election fundraising, the electoral college and the state’s voter registration database are now law after governor JB Pritzker signed a wide-ranging bill Monday his week. The legislation, containing several unrelated election measures, passed near the end of the legislature’s spring session on
Supporters join Aurora alderman-at-large John Laesch, center, Sunday, June 30, at Millennium Plaza in Aurora for the announcement of his campaign for mayor of Aurora.
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will not immediately review Illinois’ assault weapons ban, leaving the law in place at least until challenges to the law have been fully heard in lower courts. The announcement came just two days before the two-year anniversary of
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council viewed an emotional presentation from Ward 1 alderman Emmanuel Llamas, at the Committee of the Whole meeting, Tuesday, July 2. Alderman Llamas announced he is stepping down from his aldermanic seat to take care of his ailing father, who is battling stage 4
By John & Nisha Whitehead No matter what carefully crafted sound bites and political spin get trotted out by Joe Biden and Donald Trump in advance of the 2024 presidential election, you can rest assured that none of the problems that continue to undermine our freedoms will be addressed in
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday, June 25, to create a new cabinet-level State agency dedicated to early childhood education and development. The new Department of Early Childhood, which will become operational in July 2026, will take over programs currently housed across three State agencies,
By Jason Crane Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin presented awards and street signs at the June 25 Aurora City Council meeting in honor of Aurora track athletes Patrick Hilby from Aurora Central High School, and Kewon Marshall from West Aurora High School. Hilby is the National Champion in the 800
Sunday, June 23Dear editor; As many of you are floundering over who to vote for, Joe Biden or Donald Trump, I say choose what to vote for, democracy or fascism. As a child, the poem “If”, plaque hung on the wall of our kitchen. I spent a lot of time
June 22, 2024Dear editor; Some thoughts on upholding a useful idiot. After Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he wasted no time getting Americans accustomed to his lies. He claimed, “It was the largest crowd ever!” at his presidential inauguration then he shamed White House chief of staff, Reince
Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) issued the following statement on the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade: “It is hard to believe it has been two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, dismantling nearly 50
By Hannah Meisel State elections officials Tuesday, June 18 indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council is considering two Resolutions approving applications for a total of $4 million in funding for Hesed House and Mutual Ground to expand service capability. The Resolutions to apply for a total of $4 million from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s
The sudden resignation of Timothy Morgan from his position on the Campton Hills Village Board of Trustees has led to the dismissal of a quo warranto action to remove him from office. His resignation, the day before he was scheduled to sit for a sworn deposition in the action, caused
By Andrew Adams, Jerry Nowicki, & Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker Wednesday, June 5, signed the State’s $53.1 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, the largest in State history. The signing caps months of work – and tension – among top Democratic Party leaders in Springfield
By Jason Crane The Aurora City Council viewed a presentation by executive director of APS Training Academy, Nicole Astra, at the June 11 Aurora City Council meeting. The presentation is a 2023 Annual Report recap from Aurora STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) Academy which listed a successful 2021
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com In order to boost infrastructure spending and avoid a projected fiscal cliff facing the State in the next couple of years, Democrats who control State government are betting on two of its most rapidly growing revenue sources: Sports wagering and video gambling. The industries –
