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
By John & Nisha Whitehead Pay-to-play schemes. Protection rackets. Extortion. Corruption. Self-enrichment. Graft. Grift. Brutality. Roaming bands of thugs smashing car windows and terrorizing communities. Immunity for criminal behavior coupled with prosecutions of whistleblowers. This is how a crime syndicate operates—not a constitutional republic. What we are witnessing today is
By Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisbmoore@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois driver’s licenses and identification cards will officially enter the digital realm this week. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced Tuesday that people will now have the option to add their Illinois-issued licenses and IDs to the digital wallets on their cellphones. The long-awaited technological
The City of Aurora and the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA) have reached an agreement on operating support of $2 million in 2026, ensuring ACCA can continue running its four live performance spaces throughout downtown Aurora, as well as the Paramount School of the Arts. The agreement, brokered in partnership
At Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, mayor of Aurora John Laesch honored two East Aurora School District 131 students who were named Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars. The distinction, earned by Yahir Ferreira of Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy and Taleen Kandakji of Cowherd Middle School, is a selective
Below is a joint statement from Aurora mayor John Laesch, Police chief Matt Thomas, and Fire chief Dave McCabe, on Public Safety Funding in the 2026 Budget: Throughout this year’s budget process, there have been claims that the City of Aurora has chosen to enact significant cuts to public safety.
At a special meeting recently, the Aurora City Council unanimously approved a City Ordinance that prohibits the use of City property for civil immigration enforcement activities. The Ordinance is specifically tailored to prohibit the use of any City-owned and controlled property, including parking lots, buildings, or parks, as a staging
Musings: •The Sins of Donald J. Trump (chapter 13). He has: Authorized the CIA to conduct operations in Venezuela as a first step toward ousting Nicholas Madura from his presidency; Paused “lower-priority” Army Corps of Engineers projects in “blue” cities and states and may end them altogether; Threatened to declare
By John & Nisha Whitehead “The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything…. It’s called the American Dream, ‘cause you have to be asleep to believe it.”
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Most state agencies were required to submit spending cut plans to Gov. JB Pritzker by Oct. 23, but the governor’s office has declined to release details about those plans. A spokesperson for Pritzker said the governor’s budget office is still reviewing the proposed cuts. “Gov.
