Capitol News
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…
UPDATED: Cash bail will end in Illinois as justices rule SAFE-T Act provisions constitutional
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, paving the way for the change to take effect Sept. 18. The 5-2 decision – handed down on partisan lines – means that an individual’s wealth will…
BREAKING: Cash bail will be eliminated in Illinois after justices rule SAFE-T Act provisions constitutional
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, paving the way for the change to take effect Sept. 18. The 5-2 decision – handed down on partisan lines – means that an individual’s wealth will…
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…
State regulators work to avoid federal Clean Air Act sanctions
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois faces a deadline next month to either change the way it enforces air pollution emission limits on heavy industries or face federal sanctions that could eventually result in restricted access to billions of dollars in federal highway funding. But state agencies are working to avoid…
State regulators work to avoid federal Clean Air Act sanctions
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois faces a deadline next month to either change the way it enforces air pollution emission limits on heavy industries or face federal sanctions that could eventually result in restricted access to billions of dollars in federal highway funding. But state agencies are working to avoid…
Federal appeals court weighs constitutionality of Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court is now deciding whether state and local bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are constitutional. In a case that is being closely watched throughout the country – and one many believe is…
Illinois to make standard driver’s licenses available to noncitizens regardless of immigration status
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrants in Illinois with or without permission from U.S. immigration authorities will soon be able to obtain standard driver’s licenses that can be used for identification. Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed House Bill 3882, which will phase out the “Temporary Visitor Driver’s License,” or TVDL,…
State’s ‘rainy day’ fund hits record-high balance ahead of new fiscal year
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com There are no champagne toasts or fireworks, but when the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Saturday, it’s the start of a new year in Illinois – a new fiscal year, that is. And just as a new year is a time to contemplate recent accomplishments and make resolutions…
Capitol News Illinois to launch broadcast expansion, bolster southern Illinois presence with new hires
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Veteran journalists Jennifer Fuller and Molly Parker will join Capitol News Illinois’ newsroom this month, expanding the outlet’s southern Illinois, broadcast and investigative presence. Fuller joins CNI as its broadcast director, bringing more than two decades of experience in Illinois radio, television and digital media to the newsroom…
Pritzker signs bills altering Illinois’ health insurance market
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will dramatically alter the health insurance market in Illinois. The measures establish a state-based exchange for policies sold under the Affordable Care Act and give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to modify or reject proposed rate increases.…
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…
State leaves 3 administrators in charge at Choate despite troubled history of resident care
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois & MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises, along with Capitol News Illinois. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Allegations of patient abuse, cover-ups and misconduct continue…
Problems with abuse, neglect and cover-ups at Choate extend to other developmental centers in Illinois
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises and Capitol News Illinois. By MOLLY PARKER Lee Enterprises Midwest & BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois This year, Illinois officials announced what seemed like a solution to the outcry over abuse and cover-ups at a state-run developmental center: Downsize the facility…
Illinois hotels report record revenues for fiscal year 2023
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – For hoteliers, business is booming in Illinois. On Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker, the state’s legislative leadership and representatives of the hospitality industry announced that hotels in Illinois saw record revenues in fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30. Across the state, hotels brought in $307.8 million,…
State ends fiscal year with record $50.7 billion in base revenue, sparking small surplus
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com State revenues once again reached a record high in the fiscal year that ended June 30, creating what Gov. JB Pritzker called a “one-time” budget surplus of over $700 million. The $50.7 billion in base general revenues that the state collected in fiscal year 2023 – which exclude…
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…
State’s ‘rainy day’ fund hits record-high balance ahead of new fiscal year
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com There are no champagne toasts or fireworks, but when the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Saturday, it’s the start of a new year in Illinois – a new fiscal year, that is. And just as a new year is a time to contemplate recent accomplishments and make resolutions…
State’s ‘rainy day’ fund hits record-high balance ahead of new fiscal year
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com There are no champagne toasts or fireworks, but when the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Saturday, it’s the start of a new year in Illinois – a new fiscal year, that is. And just as a new year is a time to contemplate recent accomplishments and make resolutions…
Local News
Lions Club District 1A Helen Keller race draws big field
By Kelly White The damp weather from overnight rain did not deter more than 100 people on Sunday morning from getting some exercise. The 14th annual District 1A Helen Keller 5k Fun Run/Walk proudly took place along at Harold L. Richard’s High School, 10601 Central Ave., Oak Lawn. “This is a really great event,” Oak…
EPCHS students collect shoes for Christmas Without Cancer Sneaker Drive
From staff reports Students in Evergreen Park Community High School’s junior physical education leadership class teamed up with the non-profit organization Christmas Without Cancer to help local families battling the devastation of cancer. The class – taught by EPCHS physical education teacher Ree McDonald – helped gather donations for Christmas Without Cancer’s second annual Sneaker…
Swallow Cliff Chapter, NSDAR, honors JROTC cadets
From staff reports Swallow Cliff Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, participated in recent JROTC awards ceremonies held at Shepard High School in Palos Heights and Richards High School in Oak Lawn. The DAR JROTC award, consisting of a medal and certificate, was presented to Navy Cadet Emily Schrode at Richards High School…
Man charged with child abduction in Stickney Township
From staff reports A Chicago man was charged last week with child abduction and luring of a minor after Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives found he attempted to lure a minor into his vehicle, said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. According to police, about 4:43 p.m. on Monday, April 22, officers responded to an…
Worth Library celebrates 60th anniversary
By Kelly White The Worth Public Library has been around for decades. Resting in the heart of the village at 6917 W. 111th St., the library held an event focusing on its rich background story on April 23 with a historical photo exhibit. “It’s amazing because this library is still so important to the community,”…
Rose Zubik, Woman’s Club veteran, installed as 3rd District president
Rose Zubik, of Palos Heights, the new president of the 3rd District General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Illinois, lights a candle during the installation ceremony held April 27 at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park. Heather Linehan, the outgoing president, is beside her.By Dermot Connolly A longtime member of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club is now president…
Shots fired in Chicago Ridge Commons parking lot
From staff reports Shots were fired Wednesday night in the parking lot at Chicago Ridge Commons mall. Police said they received reports of the shooting about 9:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Multiple witnesses told police four men were walking through the parking lot from the XSport Fitness area. They approached two vehicles and separated…
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
By Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski, a resident…
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Gabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized and engaging response,…
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
By Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights. “We…