By Beth Hundsdorfer Governor JB Pritzker signed a law recently that ends parental notification, a requirement that doctors notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion. “With reproductive rights under attack across the Nation, Illinois is once again establishing itself as a leader in ensuring access to health care
By Peter Hancock Minimum wage workers in Illinois will see a boost in their hourly pay to $12 per hour starting January 1, 2022 while tenants in affordable housing units will be allowed to keep pets. Those are just some of the more than 300 new laws that take effect
By Jerry Nowicki A State program aims to take a comprehensive approach to ending Illinois’ firearm violence epidemic will be expanded under a law signed Friday by governor JB Pritzker. The Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA) became law in June, but the expansion signed Friday, Dec. 10 clarifies guidelines in
Candidates for one elective office can affect the outcomes for others on the same party ticket. For example, an unattractive, or goofy, candidate at the top of the ticket can depress turnout of the party faithful, thus depriving all candidates down the ballot of their votes. That is what scares
By Jerry Nowicki The application portal is now open for another $297 million of rental assistance for Illinoisans who lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois Rental Payment Program, or ILRPP, money comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Joe Biden in
By Peter Hancock Attorneys for the General Assembly’s Democratic Party leaders filed documents in federal court Wednesday last week to deny that newly- drawn State legislative district maps amount to racial gerrymandering, instead accusing the plaintiffs in the three lawsuits of trying to use race to redraw districts for their
By John T. Shaw Those in government rarely have time to extract themselves from the relentless rush of daily drama and urgent deadlines to think about the future. Former North Carolina governor Terry Sanford once observed there is no one in the governor’s office looking out the window, pondering the
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker signed into law a tax incentives package Tuesday this week that State lawmakers hope will help Illinois become a manufacturing hub for the budding electric vehicle industry. The Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois, or REV, Act, passed the General Assembly with near-unanimous bipartisan support
By Jerry Nowicki As global leaders met in Glasgow, Scotland, over the past two weeks to discuss the effects of and potential policy solutions to climate change, governor JB Pritzker made the case in a pair of speaking events that Illinois is doing its part to counteract troubling climate trends.
By Peter Hancock The latest draft of a new congressional district map for Illinois met with much of the same criticism as the first draft during a House committee hearing Tuesday. The latest proposal from legislative Democratic Party leaders was released Saturday. It divides the State into 17 congressional districts,
By Peter Hancock Democratic Party leaders in the General Assembly released a second draft of proposed congressional district maps over the weekend as they prepare to enter the final three days of their fall veto session. Similar to the first set of maps that were released October 15, the latest
By Jerry Nowicki Many aging LGBTQ Illinoisans face barriers to health care and financial security and fear discrimination in senior communities, according to a combined report from senior and LGBTQ advocacy groups released Tuesday. The Disrupting Disparities: Challenges and Solutions for 50+ LGBTQ Illinoisans report by the senior advocacy group
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and the city of Aurora government is offering a free home internet security course for families. The City of Aurora’s Information Technology Department is collaborating with KnowBe4, the world’s largest internet security awareness training platform, to offer Aurora residents a free home internet security
Halloween is almost here! To gear up, the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) will present a slew of scary, and some not so scary, programs throughout October! To start the Halloween season, our Paranormal Discussion Group for adults will rise from the grave Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at
Whenever I go to a high school or college football game, I cringe at the sight of players on the field, standing as if witless, which they aren’t, looking to the sidelines for instructions from the coaches for the play to call and defense to mount. I fear that coaches
By Jerry Nowicki A case before the Illinois Supreme Court centers on whether a former Super Bowl MVP has a right to learn the identity of a woman who accused him of sexual harassment, allegedly leading to the termination of contracts between his energy services company and a subsidiary of
By Jerry Nowicki The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked to consider the laws of the state of California and the U.S. Constitution in ruling on one man’s eligibility to be issued a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card by the Illinois State Police (ISP). The high court heard oral arguments
By Jerry Nowicki The State’s moratorium on enforcement of residential evictions will expire October 3, according to governor JB Pritzker’s latest COVID-19 executive order issued Friday. Pritzker had extended the order each month with minor to substantial revisions since March 2020. The extensions have come in 30-day windows, coinciding with
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker was joined by environmental and social justice activists, union representatives, and lawmakers from both parties Wednesday, Sept. 15 when he signed into law a sweeping energy regulation overhaul that aims to greatly reduce carbon emissions from the energy sector by 2045, while diversifying the
By Peter Hancock The Illinois House Thursday, Sept. 9 voted to accept changes to an ethics bill that governor JB Pritzker had requested, paving the way for it to become law once the governor signs it Thursday’s vote came a little more than a week after an earlier attempt fell
