By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com Editor’s note: A correction was made to the current return on equity approved by the ICC in 2023 was supposed to be 9.38%, not 5.5%. Peoples Gas on Monday filed a $202.3 million rate hike request with the Illinois Commerce Commission, sparking public outcry and
Remember the song by the band Chicago from 1975, America Needs You, Harry Truman? (It was only 50 years ago. Why wouldn’t you?) Harry was a guy who told it like it is (or was), had a sign stating, “The Buck Stops Here” on his desk, ended WWII, created NATO,
By John & Nisha Whitehead Some years chip away at freedom. Others tear the mask off. In the year 2025 the government stopped pretending it was constrained by the Constitution—when executive power expanded openly and unapologetically, surveillance became ambient, dissent became dangerous, and the machinery of militarized government embedded itself
By Ben Szalinski, Brenden Moore, & Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois’ statewide 1% grocery tax will go away January 1, though many people will continue to pay it at the local level. Data compiled by the Illinois Municipal League shows that 656 municipalities — a little more than half of
By Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisbmoore@capitolnewsillinois.com In an expected move, the Donald Trump administration filed a lawsuit last week seeking to nullify a new state law that allows Illinois residents to sue federal immigration agents who arrest them in or near courthouses or if they believe their constitutional rights were violated.
By Brenden Moore & Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoisbmoore@capitolnewsillinois.com The recent U.S. Supreme Court kept in place a lower court’s ruling temporarily barring president Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago as part of his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The 6-3 ruling, which comes more than two months
Village Board members and staff gathered recently alongside Marilyn Michelini, her family, and close friends for the official naming of Marilyn Michelini Way, honoring Montgomery’s first female Village president and a trailblazing leader who served three consecutive terms from 2000 to 2012. This commemorative street naming recognizes Marilyn Michelini’s lasting
By John & Nisha Whitehead As familiar as the Christmas story of the baby born in a manger might be, it is also a cautionary tale for our age. The Roman Empire, a police state in its own right, had ordered that a census be conducted. Joseph and his pregnant
By Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois’ electric grids may soon face power shortages and further price increases as fossil fuel plants go offline and data centers fueling the rise of artificial intelligence demand ever-increasing amounts of power. That’s the conclusion of a new report by three state agencies that foreshadows
By Lori Robertson and Robert FarleyFactCheck.org Since he entered politics, president Donald Trump has been a regular on our end-of-year list of the most egregious and noteworthy falsehoods and distortions. With Trump back in the White House in 2025, it’s no surprise that he dominates this year’s whoppers. Trump is
By John & Nisha Whitehead The Surveillance State is making a naughty list, and we’re all on it. Unlike Santa’s naughty list, however, the consequences of landing on the government’s “naughty list” are far more severe than a stocking full of coal. They can include heightened surveillance, loss of privacy,
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
