By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday, June 27 that will dramatically alter the health insurance market in Illinois. The measures establish a state-based exchange for policies sold under the Affordable Care Act and give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to modify or reject proposed rate
By Andrew Adams A trip from St. Louis to Chicago through Amtrak’s Lincoln Service became 15 minutes quicker starting last week due to track upgrades that allow for increased speeds. The Amtrak line ran its first 110 miles per hour service Monday, June 26 an increase from 90 miles per
By Andrew Adams Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky. A new law signed by governor JB Pritzker Friday, June 16 expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings, and participate in
Former federal judge was nearly unanimously approved for a full five-year term in spring session By Nika Schoonover Capitol News Illinois nschoonover@capitolnewsillinois.com After 15 months as Illinois’ legislative inspector general, Judge Michael McCuskey is moving to Springfield. Since he first assumed the role in February 2022 – several months after
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Former State senator Terry Link, a nearly 24-year veteran of the Illinois Capitol, publicly acknowledged for the first time this week that he’d worn a wire to secretly record a fellow lawmaker in 2019. Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, has spent years denying news media
By Andrew Adams Lawmakers in Springfield have unanimously approved a measure that would place new restrictions on the red-light and speed camera industry’s involvement in State and local elections and government. House Bill 3903 would ban automatic traffic enforcement companies or their officers from donating to candidates for public office
House gives final OK to $50.6 billion spending plan By Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois The 2023 spring legislative session came to an end in the early hours of Saturday morning after the Illinois House gave its approval to a $50.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that
Bill hailed as first step toward broader ethics reform By Andrew Adams Capitol News Illinois Lawmakers in Springfield have unanimously approved a measure that would place new restrictions on the red-light and speed camera industry’s involvement in state and local elections and government. House Bill 3903 would ban automatic traffic enforcement
By Hannah Meisel Catholic dioceses in Illinois failed to disclose hundreds of abusive clerics before the State opened what would become a years-long investigation into sex abuse within the Church, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Tuesday. Included in a scathing 700-page report published by Raoul’s office at the end of
By Andrew Adams and Hannah Meisel As the State General Assembly prepares to wrap up its Spring legislative session this week, Democratic Party lawmakers are advancing a bill that would mandate job postings to include a salary range in a move they say would promote equity within the workplace. Meanwhile,
By Nika Schoonover Ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft would be subject to the same level of liability as other forms of public transportation under a measure moving through the General Assembly. House Bill 2231 would classify ride-shares as “common carriers,” meaning the companies can be held liable, rather
By Hannah Meisel A federal jury Tuesday, May 2, convicted three ex-lobbyists and the former CEO of electric utility Commonwealth Edison for their involvement in an alleged bribery scheme aimed at longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Prosecutors alleged the foursome gave Madigan allies jobs and contracts at the utility
By Andrew Adams As Illinois considers ways to achieve its goal of relying entirely on clean energy by 2050, one technology that has courted controversy is carbon capture. Carbon capture is a method whereby carbon dioxide, a common greenhouse gas, is placed in long-term storage, usually by injection into wells
By Hannah Meisel Attorneys for both the defendants and the government made the same appeal to a federal jury Tuesday before it was left to deliberate the fate of four former Commonwealth Edison officials accused of bribery. “Use your common sense,” U.S. attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said while wrapping up the
By Andrew Adams Faculty at Governors State University ended a strike Monday, April 17 after being on the picket line for five days. Governors State was one of three Illinois universities which saw a faculty strike in the past week and the last to see their strike end. Union members
By Peter Hancock Some Illinois lawmakers are calling for a review of one of the tests prospective teachers must pass in order to be licensed in Illinois. The test is known as the Teacher Performance Assessment, or “edTPA,” and it is intended to determine whether a prospective teacher has the
By Jerry Nowicki & Nika Schoonover Lawmakers went on a two-week Spring break last week with more than 700 bills already passed in at least one chamber of the General Assembly. They will return to Springfield on April 18 for a final one-month stretch in which the measures can be
By Andrew Adams Faculty at Chicago State University, a small public university on Chicago’s South Side, went on strike Monday, April 3 after months of stalled negotiations with University administrators. Faculty at Eastern Illinois University and Governors State University have filed paperwork declaring their intent to strike, with strikes possible
By Andrew Adams Consumer advocates, environmentalists and Chicago residents gathered in front of the Chicago offices of Peoples Gas this week to call on the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject a proposed rate increase from the gas utility. Several advocacy groups, including the Citizens Utility Board, Blacks in Green and
By Hannah Meisel Facing a perceived betrayal during a make-or-break election season in 2018, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called the person he often sought counsel from: longtime friend and confidant Mike McClain. Several Democratic Party candidates running for the state Senate were using lines in their campaign ads
