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
Aurora • RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, and McCullough Park, Illinois Avenue and Lake Street, music, games, food, kids activities, will start at 7 p.m.. Fireworks will be Monday, July 4 at 9:15 p.m. over the Fox River with viewing at McCullough Park and RiverEdge Park. • Fourth of July
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 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
During and since my time as an active-duty officer in the U.S. Army, I have devoted much time and energy to protecting military service members from financial predators. Last year I focused on the passage of the Predatory Lending Prevention Act (PLPA), and the nationwide repeal of a Comptroller of
Illinois is known across the land for political corruption. I always get a hearty, knowing, chuckle when I tell Rotary Club luncheons that I have worked for three unindicted Illinois governors. True: Ogilvie, Thompson, Edgar. The other four across that era were all measured for striped suits: Kerner, Walker, Ryan,
By Peter Hancock A three-judge federal court panel has upheld the legislative redistricting plan that state lawmakers approved during a special session last summer, thus leaving in place the new maps that will govern state legislative elections for the next 10 years. In their 64-page opinion, released Thursday, Dec. 30,
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
