By Andrew AdamsCapitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Changes to primary election fundraising, the electoral college and the state’s voter registration database are now law after governor JB Pritzker signed a wide-ranging bill Monday his week. The legislation, containing several unrelated election measures, passed near the end of the legislature’s spring session on
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday, June 25, to create a new cabinet-level State agency dedicated to early childhood education and development. The new Department of Early Childhood, which will become operational in July 2026, will take over programs currently housed across three State agencies,
By Hannah Meisel State elections officials Tuesday, June 18 indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com A package of health insurance reform measures that Gov. JB Pritzker called for at the beginning of the legislative session will soon be headed to his desk for his signature. The Illinois House gave final approval Saturday to a pair of bills that limit the
By Dilpreet Raju, Cole Longcor, & Alex AbbedutoCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers missed a self-imposed Friday deadline for passing a budget, but they had approved more than 250 bills last week as of Friday afternoon. Amid the flurry of legislation was a measure prohibiting State universities from admitting students based
By Dilpreet RajuCapitol News Illinoisdraju@capitolnewsillinois.com In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton hosted a panel in Springfield this week at which he pledged to expand the state’s behavioral health services. With several dozen services providers from around the state in attendance,
By Cole LongcorCapitol News Illinoisclongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com After Illinois received another failing grade from a national advocacy group, state House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at further protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking. Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization that works to prevent sex trafficking, said in its 2023 Illinois
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Aurora is showing appreciation to the top teacher in the state. Aurora mayor Richard Irvin surprised Dr. Rachael Mahmood, the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year, with a special visit to her fifth-grade classroom at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora. Mayor Irvin presented
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com In 1977, then-president Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Nearly 200 years after Native Americans were forced out of Illinois, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has become the first federally recognized tribal nation in the State of Illinois after a decision from the recent U.S. Department of the Interior. The move represents the first
By Alex Abbeduto, Hannah Meisel, and Cole Longcor Governor JB Pritzker’s plan to create a new State agency to oversee Illinois’ various early childhood programs moved forward Friday, April 12 after the State Senate’s unanimous approval. It was one of 244 bills that cleared the Senate last week. Early childhood
By Alex Abbeduto & Cole Longcor Grocery startups can now apply for funding allocated in last year’s $20 million Illinois Grocery Initiative aimed at preventing and eliminating food deserts in Illinois. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which is administering the grants, is accepting applications in the second round
Last week my son walked away from his teaching career to manage valet parking services at a hospital, so the headline: “Illinois still suffers shortage of teachers,” on the front page of the March 28 issue of The Voice, caught my eye. With many friends and family members who are
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois continues to suffer from a shortage of teachers and other education professionals, although recent efforts by the State to ease the strain have made an impact. That’s according to the latest annual survey of school officials from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of
Tue, Feb. 13vs. Michigan, W 97-68Sat, Feb. 17at Maryland, W 85-80Wed, Feb. 21at Penn State, L 90-89Sat, Feb. 24vs. Iowa, W 95-85Wed, Feb. 28vs. Minnesota, W 105-97Sat, March 2at Wisconsin, W 91-83Tue, March 5vs. Purdue, L 77-71Sun, March 10at Iowa, W 73-61Big Ten TournamentFri, March 15vs. Ohio State, W 77-74Sat,
By Andrew Adams State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the State’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth Edison
By Jerry Nowicki Illinois’ two main fiscal forecasting agencies agree: Illinois’ finances will see a strong close in the final 3½ months of the fiscal year before things tighten a bit next year. It’s a picture laid out in governor JB Pritzker’s budget proposal last month, and it got a
By Dilpreet Raju Illinois State and community leaders Monday, Feb. 26 celebrated the planned opening of a new freestanding birth center on Chicago’s South Side while emphasizing proposed maternal health spending increases in governor JB Pritzker’s budget. The nonprofit Chicago South Side Birth Center will mark the City’s second active
Thu, Jan. 18at Michigan, W 88-73Sun, Jan. 21vs. Rutgers, W 86-63Wed, Jan. 24at Northwestern, L 96-91, otSat, Jan. 27vs. Indiana, W 70-62Tue, Jan. 30at Ohio State, W 87-75Sun, Feb. 4vs. Nebraska, W 87-84, otSat, Feb. 10at Michigan State, L 88-80Tue, Feb. 13vs. Michigan, W 97-68Sat, Feb. 17at Maryland, W 85-80Wed,
Insurance coverage for fertility treatments, child internet regulations also introduced By Andrew Adams Cole Longcor& Alex AbbedutoCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com After failing to pass a child tax credit last year, advocates returned to Springfield Wednesday to propose a scaled back version of the policy which they say would still reduce child poverty
