Capitol News
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……
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,……
Pritzker quickly wields expanded authority to freeze noncitizen health care enrollment
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration wasted no time last week in exercising new authority granted by lawmakers to limit the number of enrollees in a pair of state-funded health care programs for low-income noncitizens. In a move that drew intense backlash from immigrant rights advocates, Pritzker on……
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……
In Chicago visit, Biden heaps praise on Pritzker, touts economic recovery ahead of 2024
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – In a whirlwind visit to Chicago on Wednesday, President Joe Biden trotted out a re-election campaign message built on economic recovery – and effusively praised Gov. JB Pritzker for helping him win the White House in 2020. “There’s a guy that helped me more than –……
1% grocery tax to resume, gas tax to increase as new fiscal year begins July 1
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new state fiscal year will begin July 1, ushering in the reinstatement of a 1 percent tax on groceries and a second increase to the state’s motor fuel tax in 2023. Amid record-high inflation last spring, the General Assembly temporarily waived Illinois’ grocery tax for……
1 percent grocery tax to resume, gas tax to increase as new fiscal year begins July 1
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new state fiscal year will begin July 1, ushering in the reinstatement of a 1 percent tax on groceries and a second increase to the state’s motor fuel tax in 2023. Amid record-high inflation last spring, the General Assembly temporarily waived Illinois’ grocery tax for……
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.……
St. Louis-to-Chicago Amtrak route begins faster service
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — A trip from St. Louis to Chicago via Amtrak’s Lincoln Service will be about 15 minutes quicker starting this week due to track upgrades that allow for increased speeds. The Amtrak line ran its first 110 mph service on Monday, up from 90 mph previously, which……
Consumer advocates, utilities spar over potential energy price increases
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — Millions of Illinoisans could see higher energy bills next year, but the size of those increases will be determined by a state agency that has recently had its oversight powers expanded. Four gas utilities and the state’s two largest electric utilities are currently requesting authority from……
Pritzker quickly wields expanded authority to freeze noncitizen health care enrollment
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration wasted no time last week in exercising new authority granted by lawmakers to limit the number of enrollees in a pair of state-funded health care programs for low-income noncitizens. In a move that drew intense backlash from immigrant rights advocates, Pritzker on……
Stalled bills include repeal of subminimum wage for disabled workers, BIPA reform
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – While hundreds of bills cleared the General Assembly in the final month of the legislative session, some big-ticket measures will have to wait until at least the fall. Sponsors of several stalled bills say they will consider reviving their proposals when lawmakers return to the Capitol in October……
Illinois expands use of police surveillance drones
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky. A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings and participate in……
PHOTO TOUR: Construction crews ‘exposing the bones’ of state Capitol as renovations continue
By JERRY NOWICKI & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Over the past year, construction workers inside the Illinois Statehouse have stripped most of the building’s north wing down to its bare bones and are now in the process of restoring it to its original grandeur. That portion of the historic building, which……
PHOTO TOUR: Construction crews ‘exposing the bones’ of state Capitol as renovations continue
By JERRY NOWICKI & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Over the past year, construction workers inside the Illinois Statehouse have stripped most of the building’s north wing down to its bare bones and are now in the process of restoring it to its original grandeur. That portion of the historic building, which……
UPDATED: Jury convicts politically connected businessman for bribing pair of lawmakers
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday afternoon to reflect the jury’s guilty verdict. It originally ran under the headline “Bribery or coincidence? Federal jury to decide fate of politically connected businessman.” CHICAGO – It wasn’t quite “where’s the beef?” but when he stepped outside a suburban Wendy’s……
Bribery or coincidence? Federal jury to decide fate of politically connected businessman
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – It wasn’t quite “where’s the beef?” but when he stepped outside a suburban Wendy’s with a fellow lawmaker on a hot August morning in 2019, then-state Sen. Terry Link asked a question to the same effect as the fast food giant’s former slogan. “What’s in it……
New law limits venue for constitutional lawsuits to Sangamon, Cook counties
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – People who file lawsuits in state courts challenging the constitutionality of a state law, administrative rule or executive order will now have to file those cases in either Sangamon or Cook counties. Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed House Bill 3062, which applies only to cases……
Legislative watchdog Michael McCuskey sees job as educational opportunity
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois nschoonover@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – After 15 months as Illinois’ Legislative Inspector General, Judge Michael McCuskey is moving to Springfield. Since he first assumed the role in February 2022 – several months after the high-profile resignation of his predecessor – McCuskey has commuted to his Capitol Complex office from his Peoria……
Pritzker puts final stamp on $50.4 billion state spending plan
By ANDREW ADAMS & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state’s operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday, marking the first spending plan of his second term as governor. The $50.4 billion spending plan anticipates about $50.6 billion in revenues for the fiscal year that begins……
Pritzker signs anti-book ban legislation
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Monday that seeks to protect public and school libraries from pressure to ban, remove or restrict access to books based on “partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” Speaking at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago, Pritzker said there were 67 attempts……
Former Gov. Rauner’s portrait added to state Capitol’s ‘Hall of Governors’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s portrait has joined the “Hall of Governors” in the Illinois Capitol. The Winnetka Republican-turned-Florida resident on Monday unveiled the portrait painted by Chicago Artist Richard Halstead and privately funded by Rauner. The 42nd governor of Illinois who served from 2015 to 2019,……
Health care workers who cover up patient abuse face stiffer penalties under new law
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. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law on Friday that strengthens the range of penalties that a state watchdog can mete out for……
Lawmakers approve measure giving utilities control over new downstate transmission lines
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — In the final hours of their spring session last week, lawmakers approved a controversial measure that would give existing power companies in downstate Illinois, notably Ameren Illinois, the first crack at installing new transmission lines. The measure applies to companies that already own or operate electric……
Local News
Rainbow Cone adds 4 new flavors
By Bob Bong Chicago’s iconic Original Rainbow Cone has been evolving over the past few years. First, it joined forces with the folks at Buono Beef and expanded its presence from its original location in Beverly to offer cones at Buono Beef locations and a few stand-alone stores as well as food trucks. Last year,……
Park Lawn opens day program in Palos Heights
By Kelly White Promoting inclusion and individuality, Park Lawn provides services that promote choice and access to community living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The mission behind the organization focuses on encouraging people with disabilities to discover their passion, to take pride in their accomplishments, to live more independently and to continue to……
EPCHS adds Emmy-winning actor Gary Sievers to Hall of Fame
Evergreen Park Community High School has added a name to its list of Hall of Famers. Gary Sievers, a 1968 EPCHS graduate who became well-known for his acting, public speaking, work in radio and television, community service, civic leadership and teaching, was posthumously inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame during the Honors Night ceremony……
Worth vehicle sticker applications ‘lost’ in the mail
By Joe Boyle Worth Village Clerk Bonnie Price said that even though application forms for village vehicle stickers were sent out to the post office last month residents were still waiting to receive those applications. “We have been doing this for 15 years,” Price said during the Worth Village Board meeting May 7. “This has never……
It’s ‘Play ball!’ for Midway Baseball & Softball
. If smiles were home runs, the boys and girls of the Midway Baseball & Softball Association were clearly the champions of West Lawn last Saturday, as they paraded through the streets of the community before beginning their 2024 season. – Photos by Steve Neuhaus To view this page you will need to log…
Hunt killer in ‘drifting’ slaying
. Police seek witnesses, video of 59/Western . By Tim Hadac Police are appealing to the public to help find those responsible for the slaying of a 20-year-old West Englewood man during a takeover of the intersection at 59th and Western at 3:21 a.m. Sunday, May 5. The victim–identified as Guillermo “Memito” Caballero Jr., of……
Mom gets 20 years in babies’ murder
. Stuffed her newborn twin boys in an alley garbage cart . By Tim Hadac The books closed this month on a double murder that shocked and sickened many in the Garfield Ridge area more than 20 years ago. Antoinette Briley, 44, pled guilty on May 7 to murdering her twin baby boys 21 years……
Ladies lead the way to stylish Kentucky Derby fun
As a tip of the cap–so to speak–to the Kentucky Derby, acclaimed chef Gloria Hafer (second from right) visited the Garfield Ridge Satellite Senior Center last week to cook a burgoo (a thick stew traditionally popular in the South). For an added bit of fun, the center had a derby contest. Among the very best……
Seek donations for charity at Two Holy Martyrs
. By Tim Hadac The Society of St. Vincent de Paul chapter at Two Holy Martyrs Parish will host a bundle weekend on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19. Volunteers will staff two trailers at the St. Rene Goupil Church parking lot, 64th and New England, from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and 7……
Palos Park finance director heading to Westmont
By Jeff Vorva Palos Park was in good hands with Altic. Finance director/treasurer Allen Altic is leaving the village later this month to take a similar position in Westmont, just a few miles from his home in Downers Grove. Altic was an assistant finance director in Bloomingdale from 2012 to 2020, when he was hired……