Capitol News
State driver services facilities to require appointments in more than 40 locations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Drivers who need to renew their license at a secretary of state facility will likely have to make an appointment starting this fall. Starting Sept. 1, 44 driver services facilities in medium- to large-sized cities around the state will require appointments for driver services – things like…
State watchdog investigating employees accused of bilking federal pandemic aid program
MOLLY PARKER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com Dozens of state employees across multiple agencies are under investigation by a state watchdog for claims they fraudulently obtained payments from a federal pandemic-era loan program, Capitol News Illinois has learned. Neil Olson, general counsel at the Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General, confirmed that “OEIG has been…
COVID unemployment surge led to $5.2 billion in overpaid benefits in Illinois – including fraud
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois overpaid unemployment benefits to the tune of $5.2 billion during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with much of it paid to fraudulent claimants, according to a comprehensive new audit. Included in that sum was $6 million paid to 481 dead people and…
Pritzker signs bill overhauling mandatory supervised release
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new law in Illinois aims to give former inmates a better chance to succeed outside of prison and reduce the likelihood that they’ll be sent back. Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed Senate Bill 423, a unanimously passed measure that overhauls the state’s mandatory supervised…
Illinois to invest more than $23 million in abortion access, reproductive health care initiatives
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com As another of Illinois’ border states is set to enact a near-total abortion ban this week, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced several new programs to help address the influx of out-of-state abortion seekers the state has seen in the 13 months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned…
Pritzker focuses on business development, clean energy jobs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has spent much of his time in recent weeks promoting the state’s electric vehicle industry and touting the impact of his signature Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, including during a weeklong trade mission to the United Kingdom. On Friday, Pritzker was…
Labor unions promise not to strike during next year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Ahead of next summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, top Democratic officials on Tuesday signed a “labor peace agreement,” reinforcing Democrats’ longstanding ties to organized labor and limiting potential disruptions at the highly watched event. The deal means that the Democratic National Committee will use union labor when…
‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ could face lawsuits under Illinois’ expanded consumer fraud act
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – So-called crisis pregnancy centers can now face lawsuits if they engage in “deceptive acts” aimed at deterring women from seeking abortions under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday. Crisis pregnancy centers are facilities often affiliated with anti-abortion, usually religious, organizations. CPCs range…
Pritzker signs bill overhauling mandatory supervised release
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new law in Illinois aims to give former inmates a better chance to succeed outside of prison and reduce the likelihood that they’ll be sent back. Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed Senate Bill 423, a unanimously passed measure that overhauls the state’s mandatory supervised…
‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ could face lawsuits under Illinois’ expanded consumer fraud act
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – So-called crisis pregnancy centers can now face lawsuits if they engage in “deceptive acts” aimed at deterring women from seeking abortions under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday. Crisis pregnancy centers are facilities often affiliated with anti-abortion, usually religious, organizations. CPCs range…
State announces 3rd manufacturing expansion spurred by new tax credit
By JERRY NOWICKI & MOLLY PARKER Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker announced another milestone Thursday in his administration’s push to expand the state’s role as a manufacturing hub in the renewable energy economy. At a groundbreaking ceremony at a Prysmian Group manufacturing plant in Du Quoin, the administration announced the signing of the…
State driver services facilities to require appointments in more than 40 locations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Drivers who need to renew their license at a secretary of state facility will likely have to make an appointment starting this fall. Starting Sept. 1, 44 driver services facilities in medium- to large-sized cities around the state will require appointments for driver services – things like…
COVID unemployment surge led to $5.2 billion in overpaid benefits in Illinois – including fraud
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois overpaid unemployment benefits to the tune of $5.2 billion during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with much of it paid to fraudulent claimants, according to a comprehensive new audit. Included in that sum was $6 million paid to 481 dead people and…
Pritzker signs bill aimed at ending homelessness
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday that seeks to effectively end homelessness in Illinois by marshalling the resources of multiple agencies into one effort. House Bill 2831 codifies an executive order Pritzker signed in 2021 that established the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and the…
Pritzker focuses on business development, clean energy jobs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has spent much of his time in recent weeks promoting the state’s electric vehicle industry and touting the impact of his signature Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, including during a weeklong trade mission to the United Kingdom. On Friday, Pritzker was…
Labor unions promise not to strike during next year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Ahead of next summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, top Democratic officials on Tuesday signed a “labor peace agreement,” reinforcing Democrats’ longstanding ties to organized labor and limiting potential disruptions at the highly watched event. The deal means that the Democratic National Committee will use union labor when…
Labor unions promise not to strike during next year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Ahead of next summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, top Democratic officials on Tuesday signed a “labor peace agreement,” reinforcing Democrats’ longstanding ties to organized labor and limiting potential disruptions at the highly watched event. The deal means that the Democratic National Committee will use union labor when…
AFSCME ratifies new 4-year contract with the state
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s largest public employee union announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a new contract that will provide a nearly 18 percent pay raise over four years, including a 4 percent raise this year. The contract also expands parental leave to…
Pritzker focuses on business development, clean energy jobs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has spent much of his time in recent weeks promoting the state’s electric vehicle industry and touting the impact of his signature Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, including during a weeklong trade mission to the United Kingdom. On Friday, Pritzker was…
IDOT unveils 6-year, $41 billion plan for infrastructure projects
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation unveiled a plan on Friday for spending nearly $41 billion in federal, state and local funds over the next six years to repair and upgrade roads, bridges, airports, rail lines and other infrastructure throughout the state. The latest version of the…
IDOT unveils 6-year, $41 billion plan for infrastructure projects
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation unveiled a plan on Friday for spending nearly $41 billion in federal, state and local funds over the next six years to repair and upgrade roads, bridges, airports, rail lines and other infrastructure throughout the state. The latest version of the…
Doug Scott, an architect of Illinois’ climate policy, takes gavel of state’s utility regulatory commission
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – When Illinois officials wanted to create a carbon-free energy sector, they called Doug Scott. Now, the man who became one of the architects of the state’s landmark energy reform policy – known as the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act – will be a key player in…
Lawmakers criticize Pritzker administration’s handling of noncitizen health care limits
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Members of a state rulemaking oversight committee voiced concerns Tuesday that Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration didn’t sufficiently seek public input on its plan to cap enrollment in Medicaid-like health care programs for noncitizens. The controversy centers on the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Health Benefits for Immigrant…
Air pollution rule change to move forward, preventing sanctions from federal government
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A proposed change in state air pollution regulations will move forward despite an objection from a legislative oversight committee, allowing the state to avoid federal sanctions that otherwise would go into effect next month. The change, which came from the Illinois Pollution Control Board and the…
Local News
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
By Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. Although exact…
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was “a man…
Archer Manor Little League starts its 2024 season
. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the boys and girls, moms and dads, umpires and coaches, and everyone else participating in Archer Manor Little League’s Opening Day parade and ceremonies at Archer Park. Since 1952, AMLL has provided athletic opportunities for thousands of boys and girls in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Central Stickney, Vittum…
Dread over car drifters on streets
. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…
Don’t raise pilots’ retirement age, García says
. From staff reports U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently led a letter joined by 121 Members of Congress urging House Democratic leadership to reject any changes to the pilot retirement age in a final version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. As it…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer feedback where…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic, officials said.…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to appear legitimate.…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Police Council rallies to save ShotSpotter
. By Alexis Bocanegra Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (773) 949-1509 • grcl.alex23@gmail.com . Chicago Lawn (8th) District Police Council members Mark Hamberlin, Al Cacciottolo and Jason Huff have created an online petition to save ShotSpotter. As you may have read in the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound back in March, Mayor Brandon Johnson…