New Illinois laws for 2020
Click the image below to view a list of more than 250 new Illinois laws which have gone into effect in 2020.
Openings: Oswego Citizen’s Police Academy
Interested persons can sign up for its next Oswego Police Department Citizen’s Police Academy, which will begin Wednesday, Feb. 5. Classes will be held Wednesday nights from 6:30 p.m. until approximately 8:30 p.m. and will run for 13 weeks in the community room at the Oswego Police Headquarters. Class size
Reasons listed to avoid marijuana
October 21, 2019Dear editor; I see that Aurora and several surrounding communities have jumped on the bandwagon to get a share of the predicted windfall of new taxes generated by the legalized sale of marijuana. I noted that many mothers have expressed concern about the logic of this proposal. Possession
Press conference for individuals who faced racism at Naperville Buffalo Wild Wings November 5, 2019
Press conference for individuals who faced racism at Naperville Buffalo Wild Wings November 5, 2019
Readers can reply to Macmillan Publishers’ restriction on ebook access
We know you love your eBooks, and therefore it’s important to let you know that beginning November 1, Macmillan Publishers will be severely limiting access to the Company’s latest eBook titles. Macmillan Publishers will limit libraries to purchase only one copy of each new ebook title for the first eight
Security increases when police better trained for intervention
By John W. Whitehead Think twice before you call the cops to carry out a well-being check on a loved one. Especially, if that person is autistic, hearing impaired, mentally ill, elderly, suffering from dementia, disabled, or might have a condition that hinders an ability to understand, communicate, or immediately
The Family extends tentacles overseas, consolidates power
Last of two parts The new five-part Netflix series “The Family,” directed by documentarian Jesse Moss, is streaming now. EJ Dickson of the Rolling Stones magazine submitted the following article. Part one was about some of the individuals involved in Washington, D.C.. This last part is about power. “In its
Fewer guns would mean fewer deaths
August 23, 2019Dear editor; The August 15 column by John Whitehead in The Voice, entitled, “Mass shootings can lead to government tyranny guise” was the worst type of fear-mongering and misdirection. He wrote, “In the midst of what feels like an epidemic of mass shootings, these gun confiscation laws, extreme
Strong gun laws needed: Pritzker
By Peter Hancock Democratic Party governor J.B. Pritzker Monday called on congressional leaders, particularly Republican Party members, to push for strong federal gun control laws, including universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines. “Remember, it takes leadership in Congress,” Pritzker said. “It is usually the Republican leaders who
Statute of limitation lifted on prosecuting sexual assault offenses
Governor JB Pritzker has signed a measure into law sponsored by State representative Keith R. Wheeler, R-Oswego, to remove the statute of limitations on prosecuting sexual assault offenses and thereby give law enforcement and prosecutors the ability to conduct an investigation and bring charges against a suspect without a time
Instead of reckoning, time to stop playing politics
By John W. Whitehead “But these weren’t the kind of monsters that had tentacles and rotting skin…they were monsters with human faces, in crisp uniforms, marching in lockstep, so banal you don’t recognize them for what they are until it’s too late.” —Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Free speech on thin ice and starting to sink, painfully
“The freedom to speak without risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation.” —Justice Neil Gorsuch We live in an age in which “we the people” are at the mercy of militarized, weaponized, immunized cops who have almost absolute discretion to decide who
Teacher pay will increase
By Jerry Nowicki – A pair of bills aiming to address the State’s teacher shortage passed the Illinois Senate Thursday, May 30. Both bills were sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat. The first, House Bill 2078, raises the minimum wage for teachers to $40,000 by the 2023-2024
Provisions in legalized gambling
Here are provisions in Senate Bill 609, passed this session by the General Assembly which will expand legal gambling: • Six new casinos authorized in Illinois, in Waukegan, Danville, Rockford, South Suburbs, Williamson County, and Chicago. • New casinos can be land-based; existing riverboat casinos allowed to change to land-based.
Make Earth Great Again:
Aurora resident and author Vernon LaVia expresses his concern for the environment, Tuesday at the Kiwanis Club of Aurora meeting at the Prisco Center. He presented information about his new book “Make Earth Great Again: Earth Avoidance & Our Disappearing Connection with Nature.” The book explains how Earth’s population in
Farmers can apply for licenses to grow, process, hemp
By Peter Hancock – Farmers in Illinois now can apply for licenses to grow and process industrial hemp. Democratic Party governor J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday last wee that licenses are available through the Illinois Department of Agriculture and he expects it to provide a significant boost to the State’s agricultural
Property tax bill review May 16 at the Aurora Public Library Eola Road Branch
Homeowners are invited to receive one-on-one assistance understanding and appealing their property tax bills at an event presented by State representative Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, and Naperville Township assessor Warren Dixon III at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 16 at the Aurora Public Library Eola Branch, 555 S. Eola Road, Aurora. “Skyrocketing
“Way of the Cross” prayer service in Aurora on Good Friday
A “Way of the Cross” prayer service at the Planned Parenthood facility in Aurora Friday drew more than 450 individuals on Good Friday, April 19, to pray the Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion. Bishop Daniel Conlon of the Diocese of Joliet led the service. It was one
School violence:
“Reducing Deadly School Violence” was explored by Kasia Wereszczynska, director clinical services for Counseling Speaks, Chicago, at Grandma’s Table Restaurant in Montgomery Tuesday, April 16. Wereszczynska was the keynote speaker at the April meeting of Aurora Navy League Council 247. She defined teen violence, suggested strategies to prevent/mitigate teen violence,
Possible bill in Illinois State Senate could pave path to legalizing adult recreational marijuana
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com A key supporter of an initiative to legalize adult recreational marijuana in Illinois said substantial bill language will be filed soon, and the issue could be one of the first discussed by State lawmakers when they return to the Statehouse in Springfield