Category: State News

Capitol News Illinois State lawmakers will face a projected budget deficit and slowing revenue when they return to Springfield in January, but a new report shows fiscal decisions made in recent years have put Illinois in a better position to handle a recession than any time in recent decades. No state is immune from the […]

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO – After an extraordinarily short day of trial Monday, jurors may only remember one detail: those high up in Gov. JB Pritzker’s 2018 campaign had nicknamed then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan “Sphinx.” The jury saw the mythological moniker in an email that Pritzker campaign-advisor-turned transition team director Nikki Budzinski sent internally […]

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – The smell of raw cannabis in a vehicle gives police probable cause to search it, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week. The ruling comes months after the court ruled the smell of burnt cannabis does not give police probable cause to search a vehicle, drawing a fine line for […]

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ assault weapons ban will remain in place, at least until a federal appeals court hears full arguments challenging a lower court ruling that found the law unconstitutional. In a brief, two-page order issued Thursday, Dec. 5, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago granted […]

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO – It was the last day of the General Assembly’s spring legislative session in 2018 when veteran Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain realized his bill wasn’t going anywhere. McClain was officially retired but still took on “assignments” from his longtime friend Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. But one particular project he took […]

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – A legislative committee and the Illinois Department of Agriculture agreed recently to delay finalizing new regulations governing hemp production amid an outcry of protests from small, independent producers. Those proposed rules have been in development for at least two years. But the most recent draft, submitted in September, contained significant […]

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — The state’s largest private water utility, Illinois American Water, will increase customer bills in the new year. The move comes after state regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission approved the requested increase on Thursday. The five-member board approved a $110 million increase for the company, a 30% reduction from the […]

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO – In the weeks following now-Gov. JB Pritzker’s November 2018 victory over one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan busied himself preparing for a brand new administration after years of conflict with governors of both parties. One of his first priorities was finding jobs for his political […]

Capitol News Illinois Every new presidential administration comes with policy changes, but the incoming second administration of President-elect Donald Trump and his proposed secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., could dramatically reshape the public health landscape. Kennedy, a former political rival of Trump, became a close ally of Trump over the […]

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO – The day after Christmas 2018, then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis signed an agreement with federal prosecutors, with whom he’d spent the last 2 ½ years working as a secret cooperating witness in a sprawling corruption investigation. Solis’ undercover work helped bring down two of Illinois’ biggest and longest-serving Democratic powerbrokers. Former […]