By Peter Hancock More than 114,000 workers in Illinois filed first-time unemployment claims in the week ending Saturday, March 21 as the United States saw its biggest one-week spike in recorded history with 3.2 Million workers filing for benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor report the seasonally-adjusted number was due
By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker said Tuesday the State is stockpiling medical supplies and working to expand its hospital capacity, even by converting some closed hotels into isolation facilities, as it braces for a sharp increase in demand due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19 (coronavirus).
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker gave details of the State’s efforts to stock up on personal protective equipment (PPE)and said president Donald Trump was “responsive” to the State’s needs in a phone call Monday, one day after the pair feuded on Twitter. During his daily COVID-19 briefing in Chicago,
By Ben Orner The Illinois National Guard is assisting the State’s COVID-19 (coronavirus) response by setting up testing centers and other civil action, not preparing for military action which has been rumored on social media, its adjutant general said during a news briefing on the virus Monday. Brigadier General Richard
By Peter Hancock Illinois governor JB Pritzker took an unprecedented step Sunday to stem the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic by ordering bars and restaurants in Illinois to close to the public starting Tuesday, March 17, which is both St. Patrick’s Day and Illinois’ Primary Election Day. Establishments will
By Ben Orner In an effort to tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution, a group of State lawmakers from both legislative chambers touted a series of bills Tuesday, Feb. 18 that would tax or ban single-use plastics and aim to boost recycling. The four proposals have the support of
By Peter Hancock One day after delivering his budget proposal to the General Assembly in Springfield, Democratic governor JB Pritzker was in Chicago Thursday, Feb. 20 to round up support for his proposed increases in higher education funding. Speaking at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Pritzker highlighted his proposal
By BEN ORNER In an effort to tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution, a group of state lawmakers from both legislative chambers touted a series of bills Tuesday, Feb. 18 that would tax or ban single-use plastics and aim to boost recycling. The four proposals have the support of
By JERRY NOWICKI One day before governor JB Pritzker’s budget address, House Republican lawmakers called for another “inclusive” and “bipartisan” effort at adopting a state budget without new taxes. “Let’s go back in time to last spring. Through a bipartisan effort and agreements in both chambers, we were able to
By PETER HANCOCK A group of Illinois lawmakers Tuesday, Feb. 18 declined to block the Illinois State Police from implementing new administrative rules governing firearms dealers. Those rules were adopted on an emergency basis in January, nearly one year after Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Firearms Dealer License Certification
By Jerry Nowicki The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has the ability to test for the 2019 novel coronavirus in-state, which means shorter wait times for test results for those showing symptoms of the virus and meeting certain criteria. IDPH said in a news release Tuesday that Illinois is
By Rebecca Anzel Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert Thomas, a former placekicker with the Chicago Bears, will retire from his seat on the bench effective February 29. He plans to join the Chicago-based Power Rogers law firm, which successfully represented him in a defamation suit against the Kane County Chronicle
There are 61 national parks. California has nine. Illinois has none. In the past couple of years, the Arch in St. Louie and the Dunes in northwestern Indiana both have been designated as national parks. Illinois had better rattle its tin cup in Washington, D.C., because it appears to be
By Peter Hancock A task force formed to study ways to reduce property tax burden on Illinois residents is calling for consolidation of school districts and other units of government and a boost in the State’s share of funding for K-12 education. Those and other recommendations are part of a
By Peter Hancock One year ago, January 14, 2019, Democratic Party governor, JB Pritzker, was sworn into office. A billionaire businessman from Chicago with no prior experience as an elected official, he took the reins of a State government that was on the brink of insolvency. A massive pension debt
By Capitol News Illinois The State’s minimum wage will increase by $1 hourly, recreational marijuana will go on sale to those over 21 years of age, and some State taxes and licensing fees will increase this year. The changes are among hundreds resulting from laws passed during a busy legislative
By Rebecca Anzel The office of Illinois’ top lawyer has released its annual safe-shopping guide prior to the holiday shopping season to alert families about recalled-children’s toys, clothing, and furniture. The report includes information about goods that are a safety hazard and have been linked to infant deaths. Some of
By Peter Hancock A plan to consolidate 649 downstate municipal police and firefighter pension funds into just two unified systems hit an unexpected snag Tuesday, but officials on both sides of the disagreement vowed to continue talking in hopes of reaching an agreement. Just hours before the bill was scheduled
By Jerry Nowicki Sterigenics, a medical supply sterilization company linked to increased cancer risk in the DuPage County area, said Monday it plans to “exit its ethylene oxide sterilization operations in Willowbrook.” According to the U.S. Department of Labor, chronic exposure to ethylene oxide, used in some medical supply sterilization
