A resolution introduced by State representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) was adopted in the Illinois House, Wednesday, May 5. HJR11, a joint resolution to honor Private First Class (PFC) Andrew Meari, was adopted with 116 Yes votes, 0 No votes, and 0 Present votes. This joint resolution would rename a portion
By Raymon Troncoso The Senate Education Committee advanced several bills Tuesday, May 4, including measures addressing special education, hairstyle discrimination and teaching Asian American history in public schools. Those were among more than a dozen bills to pass the committee, the majority of which passed unanimously without debate or discussion.
Kane County is seeking applicants for the position of Kane County Board member, District 13 (parts of St. Charles and Geneva) to fulfill the remaining vacancy due to the resignation of former Board member, Steve Weber. A Kane County Board member is an elected office whose duties are outlined in
By Jim Edgar and John Shaw We announced last Fall that we established the Paul Simon-Jim Edgar Award to celebrate statesmanship in Illinois. Although we have no formula to offer that magically ends partisanship in Illinois, quiets rancor, and forges a sense of shared destiny, we believe this award will
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead The U.S. government, in its pursuit of so-called monsters, has become a monster. It is not a new development, nor is it a revelation. It is a government that in recent decades has unleashed untold horrors upon the world, including its own citizenry,
— A tribute to Robert J. O’Connor on his retirement read by Aurora’s poet laureate Karen Fullett-Christensen — Alderman-at-large and the 58th mayor of Aurora, Bob O’Connor receives a farewell salute for his 36 years as member of the Aurora City Council, Friday, May 7 outside of the Aldermen’s Office,
Kane County is seeking applicants for the position of Kane County Board Member, District 13 (parts of St. Charles and Geneva) to fulfill the remaining vacancy due to the resignation of former Board Member, Steve Weber. A Kane County Board member is an elected office whose duties are outlined in
By Peter Hancock The Illinois economy shrank by four percent in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on many of its sectors, although there were signs of a recovery taking place late in the year. Those preliminary numbers, released last week by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of
In a national study of the diversity in America’s largest cities, Aurora ranks as one of the most diverse places in the country. Personal finance website, WalletHub, published its comprehensive report comparing the demographic profiles of more than 500 of the largest cities. The second-largest city in Illinois ranks as
By Jason Crane At the Aurora city government Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, through the Zoom video conference platform, the City Council listened to several speakers for and against the proposed ordinance amending Chapters 2 and 9 of the city of Aurora Code of Ordinances pertaining to the sale
The Illinois House of Representatives voted last week to pass legislation co-sponsored by assistant minority leader, representative Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, to impose a 10-year term limit on legislative leaders. The legislation is House Bill 642 and applies to the positions of speaker of the House, president of the Senate, and
From left, State House speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch, representative. Keith Wheeler and his wife, Lisa, and House minority leader Jim Durkin at Friday’s representative Wheeler’s open House in North Aurora.
The stars are aligned for Illinois to become a hotspot in the revival of manufacturing across our great American heartland. For example, I propose a really big, transformative, federal-state-private-sector partnership that would create a cutting-edge, computer chip manufacturing and research facility on Arsenal Island, which straddles the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities.
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead “If you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton, or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m
Illinois governor JB Pritzker, guest speaker at VNA Healthcare in Aurora Monday, announces, the Pandemic Health Navigator Program.
By Tim Kirsininkas and Raymon Troncoso Governor JB Pritzker declared health care “a right, not a privilege” Tuesday when he signed a massive reform bill backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, the last of four policy pillars introduced as part of an anti-racism agenda last year. The “Illinois Health
By Tim Kirsininkas The U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday that Illinois will lose a seat in Congress based on the results of the 2020 Census. Illinois will move from 18 to 17 seats in the U.S. House, an expected result after some advocates had warned that an undercount could lead
By Jason Crane At the Aurora city government City Council meeting Tuesday, through the Zoom video conference platform, the majority of the City Council voted eight to five against a gas station at the northwest corner of Farnsworth Avenue and Molitor Road. The motion needed a super majority of nine
The Naperville Millennium Carillon in Moser Tower and the Visitor Center, 443 Aurora Avenue, are closed for the season this year due to the planned rehabilitation of Moser Tower. The Naperville city government is set to begin work on Moser Tower in June and anticipates that the work will continue
Kane County completed its new multi-use facility, on the Kane County Judicial Campus at 37 W. 777 IL Route 38, corner of Peck Road and Route 38, St. Charles. Kane County is committed to providing innovative and high-quality government services to its citizens. Sheriff Ron Hain said, “Kane County’s new
