By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate is scheduled to return to the Capitol Tuesday to consider an energy regulatory overhaul bill that is years in the making but was not yet filed in its final form as of Monday night. The House is scheduled to return Wednesday. But several…

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate adjourned Tuesday without calling a comprehensive energy regulatory reform package for a vote. After adjournment, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, made a statement similar to one he made June 1 after the Senate failed to call an energy bill for a vote…

‘Juneteenth’ becomes official state holiday Day marks anniversary of last enslaved Americans learning of freedom By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The day that marks the anniversary of the day in 1865 when some of the last enslaved Americans learned that they had been freed is now an official state holiday in…

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House on Wednesday passed a Firearm Owner Identification card law change that would strengthen law enforcement’s ability to retrieve guns from those with suspended or revoked FOID cards and allow for voluntary fingerprinting to expedite renewals.   Renewals FOID card applicants would not be…

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The latest draft of an energy regulatory overhaul bill that has been in negotiations for months was unveiled late Thursday ahead of lawmakers’ planned return to the Capitol to vote on it next week. While the bill as it stands provides $694 million in subsidies to nuclear…

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A second lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Illinois seeking to block the use of a redistricting plan that Democrats pushed through the General Assembly, this one by a group that represents Latin American communities. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF,…

By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — As Illinois begins its official reopening and residents flock to state parks this summer, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources faces a severe staffing shortage, according to IDNR chief of staff Kristin DiCenso. “It’s very, very difficult to manage,” DiCenso said. “We get a lot of complaints…

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Starting Friday, Illinois will be in Phase 5 of the COVID-19 reopening plan, meaning businesses and organizations can resume normal activity, although some limited restrictions will remain in place. Under Phase 5 guidelines, capacity limits are being lifted for both indoor and outdoor activities while people who…

By SARAH MANSUR Capitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Members of the state’s task force on statues and monuments discussed ways to relocate the statue of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and improve the statue’s image in the context of King’s legacy in Illinois. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White testified Wednesday during…

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Republican leaders in the Illinois House and Senate filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of the new legislative district maps that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law June 4. Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, of Hawthorn Woods, and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, of Western…