By Peter Hancock The Census Bureau released new survey data last weeksuggesting the population of Illinois may have been undercounted by nearly 2% in the 2020 headcount. That was one of the findings of the Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey, or PES, something the bureau does after each decennial census to
By Peter Hancock The cost of renovating the north wing of the Illinois Statehouse will be more expensive than officials initially estimated. Only one bid came in for the project, which is about to get underway. CORE Construction Services of Illinois Inc. priced the job at $243.5 million, well over
By Peter Hancock Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing Session Recap series in which Capitol News Illinois is following up on many of the more-than 200 measures that passed both houses of the Illinois General Assembly during the final week of Spring session which adjourned at 6
By Peter Hancock A bill that allows teachers and other school and university employees or contractors who are fully vaccinated to take paid administrative leave if they have to miss work due to coronavirus (COVID-19)-related issues cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday and will soon be sent to governor JB Pritzker.
By Peter Hancock Seven teams of Republicans and one team of Democrats lined up to challenge governor JB Pritzker and lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton in the 2022 elections. Monday was the March 14 deadline for candidates to turn in their nominating petitions to the Illinois State Board of Elections for
By Peter Hancock The 2022 campaign season got under way in earnest Monday this week and candidates lined up in front of election offices to turn in petitions to get their names on the June 28 primary election ballot. Hundreds of candidates and their aides braved cold wind and snow
By Peter Hancock Facial coverings are now optional in most public places in Illinois, including schools, after governor JB Pritzker issued new guidance Monday to comply with new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. “Across the state, Illinoisans are taking their masks off today knowing that most eligible
By Peter Hancock Two bills aimed at relieving the State’s teacher shortage, at least in the short term, advanced out of a Senate committee Tuesday this week. The Senate Education Committee unanimously endorsed two bills that would allow retired teachers to work as substitutes more days in a school year
By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker Monday vetoed a bill that would have provided paid administrative leave for public school and university employees who miss work due to COVID-19-related issues and instead negotiated “compromise” legislation that would provide such leave to only those who are fully vaccinated. “Vaccines are a
By Peter Hancock School officials across Illinois say a shortage of teachers and substitutes is forcing them to cancel course offerings, move them online, or fill open positions with persons who are not fully qualified. Those are the findings of the latest survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents
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 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 Peter Hancock The Illinois unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point in October to six percent as employers added 40,900 jobs during the month, the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said recently. According to the preliminary data, the industry sectors with
By Peter Hancock Governor JB Pritzker Tuesday, Nov. 23 signed legislation redrawing the State’s congressional district maps, saying they reflect Illinois’ diversity and preserve minority representation. “These maps align with the landmark Voting Rights Act and will ensure all communities are equitably represented in our congressional delegation,” Pritzker said in
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 A three-judge federal court panel in Chicago ruled Tuesday this week that the legislative redistricting plan that governor JB Pritzker signed into law in June – before official 2020 U.S. Census numbers were available – was unconstitutional because the population variances among districts violated the “one-person, one-vote”
By Peter Hancock A railway improvement project intended to greatly improve traffic congestion between St. Louis and Chicago reached a milestone Tuesday, Oct. 12 as work began on a multimodal transportation hub in the capital city. Governor JB Pritzker was joined at a groundbreaking ceremony by U.S. senators Dick Durbin
By Peter Hancock State attorney general Kwame Raoul joined local and federal prosecutors Monday to announce new efforts to combat a rise in online child exploitation in Illinois. The efforts include greater outreach and education for parents and teachers, and a new mobile computer forensics unit that will be deployed
By Peter Hancock Former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama returned to their old neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side Tuesday to officially break grounad on the Obama Presidential Center, a project they hope will become a hub for the development of new leadership and an economic boost
By Peter Hancock In spite of opposition from Republicans as well as reform groups, governor JB Pritzker Friday signed into law the revised State legislative district maps that lawmakers passed in August, which opens the door to almost certain court challenges. “These legislative maps align with the landmark Voting Rights
