Capitol News
General Assembly appoints new lawmaker watchdog as GOP decries search process
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly this week fast-tracked the approval of their party’s appointee to the watchdog position tasked with investigating lawmaker misconduct. A harshly partisan debate and near one-party approval for the legislative inspector general nominee, former federal Judge Michael McCuskey, came despite members…
Illinois Democrats vote to remove 9 maskless Republicans from House chamber
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House voted to remove nine Republican members from the House floor Thursday afternoon for their refusal to comply with face covering requirements, delaying the start of the legislative session for the third straight day. In a 66-39 vote, Democrats voted to remove Reps. Joe…
CAPITOL RECAP: Mask mandate will be partially lifted at end of month
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – If hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to decline for the rest of the month, Gov. JB Pritzker plans to lift his executive order that mandates face coverings indoors by Feb. 28. The plan does not apply to schools. It’s unclear what level of rise in hospitalizations could lead the state…
Governor, AG address expressway shootings, organized retail crime
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Two of the state’s top officials each held news conferences Monday morning to outline current and proposed responses to increasing crime, including expressway shootings and organized retail thefts. Gov. JB Pritzker appeared with Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly in Chicago to outline actions taken and…
State appeals court’s order on school COVID-19 mask, vaccine mandates
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration are asking a state appellate court to set aside a lower court order from late Friday that invalidated the mask and vaccine mandates that the state imposed last year for public schools. On Friday, Sangamon County…
Pritzker: ‘Stay tuned’ for new guidance on masks
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans should stay tuned for an announcement on the state’s indoor mask mandate, Gov. JB Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, although he declined to say specifically what changes might be coming. “I think I’ve said over the last few press conferences that I…
Pritzker plans to lift mask mandate by Feb. 28, except in ‘sensitive locations’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com An updated story including the governor’s full announcement can be viewed here. SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will make an official announcement on the state’s plan for lifting its indoor mask mandate at 2 p.m. in Chicago, but in a morning news conference in Champaign Wednesday, he noted…
Programming glitch takes rental assistance portal offline for two days
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An online portal through which tenants impacted by COVID-19 can apply for rental assistance went offline for two days last week after the discovery of a programming glitch that compromised some personal information. It was an applicant’s call on Feb. 1 to the Illinois Housing Development…
‘Coexist with COVID:’ Pritzker, Ezike address plan to lift mask mandate by Feb. 28
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – If hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to decline for the rest of the month, Gov. JB Pritzker plans to lift his executive order that mandates face coverings indoors by Feb. 28. The plan does not apply to schools. It’s unclear what level of rise in hospitalizations could…
Republicans cite SAFE-T Act as reason Chicago man not charged with murder
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House Republicans on Wednesday continued a push to repeal a criminal justice reform bill passed one year ago, citing the law as the reason a Chicago man was not charged with murder for his role in a shootout that left one bystander dead. A Cook…
Gas companies push back against effort to repeal surcharge
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Natural gas utilities in Illinois warned of job losses and possible risks to public safety if state lawmakers repeal a law allowing them to add a surcharge on customer bills that consumer advocates say is being used to gouge customers. “This provides around 500 good jobs…
AG asks state Supreme Court to force judge to impose legal sentence
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a petition on Thursday asking the Illinois Supreme Court to intervene in a controversial sexual assault case that ended with a circuit judge voiding his original guilty verdict and freeing the defendant early. Raoul petitioned for a writ of mandamus urging the Illinois…
Bills to address teacher shortages advance
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Two bills aimed at relieving the state’s teacher shortage, at least in the short term, advanced out of a Senate committee Tuesday. The Senate Education Committee unanimously endorsed two bills that would allow retired teachers to work as substitutes more days in a school year without…
Pritzker declares disaster for snow event; will forge ahead with in-person budget address
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With a massive winter storm expected to blanket the entire state in ice and snow, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration and activated members of the Illinois National Guard. He also announced that his regularly scheduled State of the State and budget address…
What’s in Pritzker’s proposed budget?
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Each year in February, Illinois’ governor must propose to lawmakers a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The General Assembly will then spend the next several months negotiating which proposals to include and which to scrap before sending the budget back to the governor for consideration. On…
FULL TEXT: Pritzker’s budget address
Below is the full text of Gov. JB Pritzker’s State of the State and budget address, delivered Wednesday, Feb. 2 at the Old State Capitol in Springfield. Leaders, Members, Lt. Governor, First Lady… Joining us today are a special group of distinguished guests… teachers, doctors, nurses and first responders. I want to sincerely thank ALL of…
Pritzker outlines $45.4 billion budget proposal, calling out his critics
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday offered a $45.4 billion general revenue budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that would include new spending on education and health care while also providing about $1 billion in tax relief that he said would soften the impact of inflation…
Comptroller says proposed budget could lead state to another credit upgrade
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she expects the state’s credit rating to improve and the remaining bill backlog reduced under Gov. JB Pritzker’s $45.4 billion proposed budget. Another credit rating upgrade would be noteworthy, as the state had gone 23 years without receiving such a vote of…
Black and Latino caucuses voice support for proposed budget
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus voiced their overall support for Gov. GB Pritzker’s budget in separate news conferences Wednesday, but said they will continue to push to address the lack of access to health care, affordable housing, economic development, and high…
CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker touts fiscal record in proposing $45.4 billion budget
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday offered a $45.4 billion general revenue budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that would include new spending on education and health care while also providing about $1 billion in temporary tax relief that he said would soften the impact of inflation on Illinois…
GOP reintroduces crime reduction package; Pritzker touts public safety spending
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Senate Republicans unveiled an updated package of crime bills this week that they say will help curb violent crime and provide a morale boost to law enforcement. It’s substantially similar to the package the GOP introduced three months ago during the fall veto session to little…
Nursing home group at odds with Pritzker over payment reform
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A political battle is shaping up between Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and one segment of the nursing home industry over a key element of the governor’s budget proposal, expanding the state’s health care workforce, particularly in long-term care facilities. On Wednesday, Pritzker outlined a $45.4 billion…
New law ends parental notification in Illinois
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law on Friday 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…
Illinois jobless rate falls to 5.7%
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The unemployment rate in Illinois fell three-tenths of a point in November to 5.7 percent as employers added 19,500 payroll jobs to the economy. Preliminary data released by the Department of Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the biggest job gains during…
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…