Capitol News
CAPITOL RECAP: New legislative maps passed on little notice; budget and ethics reforms approved, but college sports gambling bill on hold
By Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed measures Friday, May 28, to redraw state legislative and judicial district lines, less than 24 hours after the bills implementing the maps were introduced. The latest versions of the legislative maps were released about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The actual legislation to implement them was released in…
Lawmakers pass bills to close ICE detention centers, enhance deportation protections
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinois smansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers passed bills advanced by the Legislative Latino Caucus that would close the state’s three immigrant detention centers and strengthen existing protections against local and federal law enforcement. The Illinois Way Forward Act, or Senate Bill 667, requires that the existing agreements between local jails…
Some bills pushed by Democrats fail to pass in final session days
By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — In the final days of the legislative session, lawmakers passed bills to allow for college sports betting, to phase out isolation and seclusion practices at school, and to create more affordable housing units. Despite the hectic rush to move important legislation by the May 31 deadline, some…
Lawmakers pass follow-up criminal justice bill addressing police concerns
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The General Assembly this week passed legislation addressing lingering concerns from law enforcement about a massive criminal justice reform omnibus passed earlier this year. Introduced by Chicago Democratic Sen. Elgie Sims, an amendment to House Bill 3443 would act as trailer legislation for the SAFE-T Act, a…
Deal reported to be near on energy overhaul package
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are staying open for business as they await a possible deal on a sweeping energy proposal that would keep the state’s fleet of nuclear power plants online while providing incentives for development of more wind and solar generation. Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, issued…
UPDATED: Limited in-state college betting bill passes House
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An omnibus gambling bill that would allow Illinois bettors to wager on in-state college sports teams on a two-year trial basis passed the House early Tuesday morning, hours after its introduction the day prior. Anybody wishing to make such a bet in Illinois, however, would need to…
UPDATED: Lawmakers pass $42.3 billion budget after 2 a.m.
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass a $42.3 billion state budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying down a sizeable portion of the state’s debt.…
Lawmakers pass stricter ethics standards, some Republicans say they’re watered down
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Illinois Senate passed a bill aiming to improve ethics standards for elected officials after it was filed just hours earlier. An amendment to Senate Bill 539, introduced by Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, passed with bipartisan approval despite House Republicans’ concerns…
UPDATED: Both houses pass election bill postponing 2022 primary to June
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers passed an omnibus elections bill Monday that would push back the date of the 2022 primary elections amid other major changes to the state’s election code. The 156-page omnibus bill, an amendment to Senate Bill 825 filed by Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, would also strengthen the…
UPDATED: Limited in-state college betting bill unveiled on session’s final day
UPDATED: Limited in-state college betting bill unveiled on session’s final day Illinois college bets must be made in person; bill also prohibits local gambling taxation By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An omnibus gambling bill that would allow Illinois bettors to wager on in-state college sports teams on a two-year trial basis has…
UPDATED: Elections omnibus bill would postpone 2022 primary to June
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers are considering an omnibus elections bill that would push back the date of the 2022 primary elections amid other major changes to the state’s election code. It was filed Sunday night, and it passed through a House committee on a partisan roll call. Shortly after committee,…
Lawmakers set to consider $42.3 billion budget
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are poised to vote Monday night on a proposed $42.3 billion state budget for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying down a sizeable portion of the state’s debt. Lawmakers have been…
Senate Republicans still pushing for review of Prisoner Review Board appointments
By GRACE BARBIC Capitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Senate Republicans attempted to bypass the Senate Executive Appointments Committee Monday after its chairwoman did not call several Prisoner Review Board appointees for confirmation hearings. The Senate voted unanimously on the floor to waive posting requirements for the appointees, through motions brought forward by Republicans. But Sen.…
Elections omnibus bill would postpone 2022 primary to June
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers are considering a massive omnibus bill that would push back the date of the 2022 primary elections amid other major changes to the state’s election code. It was filed Sunday night, and the General Assembly could move it through committees and floor votes in both chambers…
Limited in-state college betting bill unveiled on session’s final day
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A gambling omnibus bill that would allow Illinois bettors to wager on in-state college sports teams on a two-year trial basis has been filed in the General Assembly on the final scheduled day of the legislative session. Anybody wishing to make such a bet in Illinois, however,…
House advances bill to lower small trailer license fees to $36
By GRACE BARBIC Capitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House passed a bill that would lower small trailer license fees from $118 to $36, which lawmakers said on the House floor Sunday could remedy an issue that has resulted in an uproar of complaints from their constituents. In 2019, lawmakers raised the fee for…
Senate passes bills creating affordable housing incentives, expanding telehealth services
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate passed an omnibus bill Sunday aimed at creating additional affordable housing units in the state. House Bill 2621 aims to create monetary incentives including a COVID-19 Affordable Housing Grant program to provide funding to support affordable housing in areas “disproportionately impacted” by COVID-19. The…
General Assembly action: Seclusion and restraint ban will go to governor
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOISnews@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill to phase out the use of isolated timeouts and prone physical restraint in public schools will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker. The Illinois House on Sunday voted unanimously to concur in changes the Senate made to House Bill 219, which include putting a virtual halt…
House sends controversial FOID card bill to Senate
By TIM KIRSININKAS Capitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Saturday that would require gun owners to submit fingerprints when applying for or renewing a Firearm Owner Identification card. Representatives debated for over an hour and a half regarding House Bill 1091, otherwise known as the “Fix the FOID Act.”…
College athletes could profit from likeness under bill passed by Illinois House
By GRACE BARBIC Capitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – College athletes in Illinois would be able to independently profit from their image or likeness under a bill passed by the Illinois House Saturday. It’s the latest development in a decades-old debate regarding policies overseen by the NCAA, which is the governing body of most intercollegiate athletics.…
Illinois House passes bipartisan ban on deceptive interrogation of minors
By RAYMON TRONCOSO Capitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House unanimously passed a bipartisan juvenile justice reform Saturday that outlaws the use of deceptive interrogation techniques on minors. The measure, contained in amendments to Senate Bill 2122, makes confessions by minors in custody inadmissible if they were obtained by “a law enforcement officer or…
House passes bill requiring 30 minutes of recess for K-5 students
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Elementary school children in all public schools in Illinois would be entitled to at least 30 minutes of unstructured playtime each day under a bill that passed the state House on Saturday. That’s only half the amount of playtime that the original bill would have required as…
CAPITOL RECAP: New legislative maps passed on little notice
By Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed measures Friday, May 28, to redraw state legislative and judicial district lines, less than 24 hours after the bills implementing the maps were introduced. The latest versions of the legislative maps were released about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The actual legislation to implement them was released in…
New legislative maps pass less than 24 hours after introduction
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois|phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed measures Friday to redraw state legislative and judicial district lines, less than 24 hours after the bills implementing the maps were introduced. The latest versions of the legislative maps were released about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The actual legislation to implement them was released in…
Local News
Rashid calls college demonstrators ‘student heroes’
. Rips Israel over “apartheid’ and ‘genocide’ . From staff reports The crisis in Palestine is taking a terrifying turn as the Israeli military is preparing to invade Rafah where more than one million Palestinians have been forced to after their homes in northern Gaza were destroyed, State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-21st) said in an…
Titanic memories haunt Worth Library
By Kelly White This year marks the 112th anniversary of the Titanic’s fateful ship crossing. Bringing the ship back to life was the Worth Public Library on April 15 with a program called, The Haunted Titanic, with local historian Bob Trzeciak, who walked patrons through the history, the lasting impact, and why it has remained…
Spring cleanup day in Bridgeview set for Saturday
By Steve Metsch Any Bridgeview resident with clutter to clear will be busy Friday night, May 10. That’s when they will be putting all kinds of things on the parkway as the village prepares for its annual spring cleanup day set for Saturday, May 11. All items must be at the curb by 6 a.m.…
Family of man killed in McCook struggling with his absence
By Steve Metsch On what would have been his 37th birthday, the family of Morales Ricardo Lopez gathered at his grave in Evergreen Park Cemetery. Lopez, of Blue Island, was gunned down in McCook early Feb. 17, leaving behind a widow and three children. His family, other relatives and friends gathered at his grave on…
Southwest Symphony presents ‘American Song Book’
From staff reports Southwest Symphony Orchestra will perform “The American Song Book” this weekend at Trinity College in Palos Heights. The performance will feature Grammy nominated Helen Welch under the direction of David Crane at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Trinity Christian College’s Ozinga Auditorium. Welch will perform some of America’s best loved classics. The evening…
Shoppers welcome back Evergreen Park Farmers Market
By Joe Boyle Rain was forecast for the morning of May 2, but nothing could dampen the spirits of customers who dropped by the Evergreen Park Farmers Market. The large crowd that attended were instead greeted with mostly sunny skies. Beth Novotney, director of the Evergreen Park Office of Citizen Services that oversees the market,…
Evergreen Park recognizes police for valor
By Joe Boyle The Evergreen Park police have been cited for valor after several key arrests that occurred the past couple of months. Police Chief Michael Saunders requested commendations for the officers during the Evergreen Park Village Board meeting Monday night. Mayor Kelly Burke and the board applauded the efforts of the force. Police were…
Hickory Hills police bid adieu and say welcome
By Nuha Abdessalam The Hickory Hills Police Department bid a fond farewell to Lieutenant Glenn Tienstra and welcomed new Officer Daniel Balzhiser. On a memorable Thursday evening, April 25, city hall was filled with the warmth of community family, friends, officers, and council members, all gathered to joyfully celebrate Officer Balzhiser and respectfully commemorate Lieutenant…
Mother Mac unveils new lights and scoreboard
By Kelly White Across the nation, women’s sports are on the rise in terms of viewership, enthusiasm, sponsorship and excitement. Mother McAuley is no stranger to the impact that women’s athletics has on the development of an individual, strengthening of a team and key skills and attributes developed along the way. South Side community partners…
Cicadas in the park in Palos Park
By Kelly White Cicadas are coming and the Village of Palos Park is ready. The village hosted its 31st annual Arbor Day Celebration on Sunday, May 5, themed, “The Wonder of Trees” at The Center in the Lodge, 12700 Southwest Highway, with featured speaker, Tricia Bethke of The Morton Arboretum who presented, “Cicadas in the…