By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker encouraged Illinoisans to complete the 2020 U.S. Census and touted a State investment in youth employment programs Thursday during two public appearances in Rockford. The state has a 66.9% census self-response rate currently. That’s nearly five percentage points better than the 62.1% national rate,
By Jerry Nowicki Hours after filing a court document implicating, but not charging, Illinois’ house speaker Michael Madigan in a years long bribery scheme, federal officials took to the courtyard of the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago on Friday to deliver a message to those engaging in public corruption: “We
By Jerry Nowicki The State’s COVID-19 test positivity rate remained at three percent Monday when the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 883 new confirmed cases of the virus. The 30,012 test results reported Monday followed more than 70,000 total reported the previous two days, driving Illinois to more than
By Peter Hancock Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan Thursday, July 9 called for removing statues and portraits of the 19th Century U.S. senator Stephen A Douglas from the Statehouse along with other known slaveholders. “While reading Sidney Blumenthal’s book ‘All the Powers of Earth’ concerning the pre-Civil War period a
By Jerry Nowicki Days after the governor donated $51.5 Million of his personal fortune to a committee supporting a graduated income tax constitutional amendment, a new coalition has begun an effort to defeat the measure. At stake is governor JB Pritzker’s signature policy proposal, a constitutional amendment scrapping the state’s
By Jerry Nowicki The U.S. Department of Labor released statistics Thursday showing 705,878 Illinoisans received unemployment insurance for the week ending June 20. While that was a decrease of 4,401 continued unemployment claims overall from the previous week, according to the data, the State still saw 46,005 new initial claims
By Rebecca Anzel State regulation of the number of persons allowed at gatherings does not violate Illinoisans’ First Amendment rights, the attorney general’s office argued in a court document. A lawsuit filed June 15 by the State’s Republican Party alleged governor JB Pritzker’s executive order limiting gatherings to 10 residents
By Jerry Nowicki Restaurants across the State are set to open for indoor dining Friday, June 26 among other additions to allowable activities under the State’s Restore Illinois plan. The State released new guidance for reopening businesses Monday. Restaurants must arrange their seating facilities so that tables are six feet
By Peter Hancock State officials in Illinois reacted with cautious relief Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle an Obama-era policy known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program, known as DACA, allows some undocumented immigrants to remain in
By Jerry Nowicki Attorney general Kwame Raoul has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced in a news release Tuesday. “After experiencing minor symptoms over the weekend, I consulted with my health care provider using telehealth services. Upon the advice of my doctor, I was tested yesterday and informed today
By Jerry Nowicki Anyone who cast a ballot in the last three years or who registered to vote or changed addresses after the March primary will be sent an application to vote by mail after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill expanding the program Tuesday. In a news release, Pritzker’s
By Rebecca Anzel The structural change demanded by protestors around Illinois will come from nonviolent demonstrations coupled with policy reforms, governor JB Pritzker said Tuesday. Speaking at a blended-income housing development in Chicago called KLEO Art Residences, the governor said “community activism and peaceful organizing and faith” are the keys
By Ben Orner For the first time since Illinois had its first reported case of COVID-19 in January, the State saw fewer deaths in a week than in the previous week. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said Tuesday that 780 individuals died from the
By Rebecca Anzel All of Illinois is “on track” to move into the next phase of governor JB Pritzker’s plan to reopen the state safely, he said Tuesday during his daily update teleconference in Chicago. The current phase of the plan allows residents to visit golf courses and State parks,
By Rebecca Anzel The Illinois department tasked with the State’s economic development launched a program Tuesday providing grant funding to community governments for capital projects. Its aim, said Michael Negron, assistant director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), is to return skilled laborers to work on road
By Ben Orner Illinois’ top health official Monday said the State has received its first shipment of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has proven early success as a treatment forCOVID-19 patients. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the federal government sent 140 cases of
By Rebecca Anzel Governor JB Pritzker Tuesday announced a five-step, regional plan to reopen Illinois after months of restrictions put in place to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. The governor’s Restore Illinois plan comprises of five phases that health regions, the 11 districts the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
By Jerry Nowicki As the state saw its largest single-day death total yet from COVID-19 Tuesday, governor JB Pritzker said his stay-at-home order stands despite a judge’s Monday ruling granting a limited temporary restraining order against it. “Let me remind everyone again —the stay-at-home order in Illinois is still very
By Rebecca Anzel Illinois ballot eligibility requirements will be loosened for third-party candidates affected this election cycle by State efforts to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. In a lawsuit filed April 2, the State’s Libertarian and Green parties said social distancing and stay-at-home orders instituted by governor JB Pritzker made
By Peter Hancock Residents in Illinois who still owe money on private, nonfederal student loans can now qualify for temporary relief while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Meanwhile, families with school-age children who receive food assistance will qualify for additional benefits. Governor JB Pritzker announced those new relief efforts Tuesday as
