By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker issued a public health emergency declaration and declared Illinois a disaster area in response to the monkeypox virus Monday this week, a move his assistants said would help mobilize resources. The governor’s office personnel said the proclamation will aid in moving vaccines to the
By Jerry Nowicki Illinois Democrats are vying to make Chicago the host city for the Democratic National Convention in 2024 while considering who will lead their party for the next four years. Meanwhile, the State’s Republican Party is hearing calls for a censure of one of its sitting congressmen, Adam
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home, his office personnel announced Tuesday, July 19three days after he spoke at a gathering of Democrats in Tampa, Fla.. Pritzker’s press office indicated he is experiencing mild symptoms and has received the anti-viral medication
By Peter Hancock The Illinois State Police (ISP) announced Monday it will start using a broader definition of what constitutes a “clear and present danger” when reviewing a person’s Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. That’s a factor ISP considers when deciding whether to grant someone a FOID card or to
By Peter Hancock In the wake of a July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park that left seven persons dead and dozens more injured, governor JB Pritzker is calling for a ban at both the State and national levels on military-style assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. The governor made those
By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker and top Democratic Party leaders in the Illinois General Assembly said Tuesday , July 5that although they still plan to call a special session this year to strengthen abortion rights, they expect to take the “remainder of the Summer” to craft policies before lawmakers
By Peter Hancock A federal judge in Chicago handed down a one-year prison sentence Tuesday for a former State senator who once was chairperson of the Senate Labor Committee. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of embezzlement for receiving salary and benefits
By Beth Hundsdorfer A state audit released Thursday, June 16 found nearly $2 billion in federal money intended to help unemployed Illinoisans during the pandemic was lost to fraudulent claims in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Employment Security blamed “insufficient and flawed federal guidance” and a lack of controls on
By Peter Hancock A new survey released this week suggests Illinoisans are more moderate on the issue of abortion than the current Democratic Party-controlled General Assembly, but it is unclear whether that will cost Democrats votes in November. The poll by the Chicago-based firm Ogden & Fry, which is owned
By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday, May 31 that will pump an additional $700 million annually into Medicaid-funded nursing homes, provided they use that money to increase staff members and wages in their facilities. “This is truly a game changer,” Pritzker said at a bill signing ceremony
By Jerry Nowicki A $400 million investment in broadband internet infrastructure approved by Illinois lawmakers in 2019 could pay for itself by added tax revenues alone within four years of completion of construction, according to a new study. That’s according to a report by the University of Illinois Project for
By Peter Hancock The Census Bureau released new survey data last weeksuggesting the population of Illinois may have been undercounted by nearly 2% in the 2020 headcount. That was one of the findings of the Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey, or PES, something the bureau does after each decennial census to
By Peter Hancock The cost of renovating the north wing of the Illinois Statehouse will be more expensive than officials initially estimated. Only one bid came in for the project, which is about to get underway. CORE Construction Services of Illinois Inc. priced the job at $243.5 million, well over
By Jerry Nowicki A pair of bills on governor JB Pritzker’s desk would expand a State roadway camera monitoring program to 22 counties while expanding the number of crimes the cameras can be used to investigate and the number of parties that can prosecute them. The measures, House Bill 260
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker signed his final first-term budget into law Tuesday, a roughly $46 billion spending plan buoyed by pandemic-driven revenue windfalls and a current-year surplus that helped the State pay down debts and offer temporary tax relief. Among the three budget-related bills signed Tuesday, House Bill
By Peter Hancock Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing Session Recap series in which Capitol News Illinois is following up on many of the more-than 200 measures that passed both houses of the Illinois General Assembly during the final week of Spring session which adjourned at 6
By Peter Hancock A bill that allows teachers and other school and university employees or contractors who are fully vaccinated to take paid administrative leave if they have to miss work due to coronavirus (COVID-19)-related issues cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday and will soon be sent to governor JB Pritzker.
By Grace Kinnicutt Illinois lawmakers have formed the Illinois Assyrian Caucus in an effort to help them understand and learn about challenges facing the Assyrian community and how to address them. Senator Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, announced the formation of the caucus at a news conference in early March. The caucus
By Peter Hancock Seven teams of Republicans and one team of Democrats lined up to challenge governor JB Pritzker and lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton in the 2022 elections. Monday was the March 14 deadline for candidates to turn in their nominating petitions to the Illinois State Board of Elections for
When Capitol News Illinois was launched in January 2019, governor JB Pritzker had just been sworn in, Michael Madigan was elected to his 18th term as House speaker and the Senate’s president was Chicago’s John Cullerton. Now, as our fourth year is well under way, Pritzker is battling a wide
