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The state is accepting applications for the first $50 million in disbursements of a $420 million grant program aimed at increasing internet access across the state. Gov. JB Pritzker announced the release of funding Wednesday at Ridgely Elementary School in Springfield, noting that the rights to “health care and education and economic opportunity” are all “tied to digital connectivity” in the 21st century. “I want to be clear though,” he said, “this isn't about a person's ability to go online and just look at their Faceboo...
When an Illinois Senate panel met last March to discuss the state’s backlog of untested forensic evidence, there were more than 70 DNA samples in murder cases more than a year old awaiting action from Illinois State Police forensic investigators. That number is down to 14, representatives of the Illinois State Police told the same Senate Public Health Committee on Tuesday, but they noted the number is still too high and standard wait times for DNA processing are still too long. “We know that there’s a lot of DNA evide...
New Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, announced his leadership team Tuesday on the first day of the 2020 legislative session. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, will remain the chamber’s majority leader, while Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, will become an assistant majority leader and president pro tempore — a position once held by Harmon under former President John Cullerton before he changed the caucus’ leadership structure. Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, will serve in another newly created position — that of...
A Chicago resident is the second person in the United States with a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, and has killed at least 26 people in that country and sickened 900 worldwide. "At this time, the risk to the general public remains low," Gov. JB Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Friday. The individual who tested positive for the virus is a Chicago woman who recently returned from Wuhan. Pritzker said the number of people...
Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, is the new Senate president, thanks, in large part, to a group of moderate suburban and downstate Democrats who quietly supported him in his monthslong rise to the head of the chamber. The group, calling itself the "X Caucus" is made up of "approximately 10 to 12" members depending on the issue, said Democratic Tinley Park Sen. Michael Hastings. He also noted the caucus sought certain concessions in backing Harmon, including increased power at the...
Senator Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, was elected as the 39th president of the Illinois Senate on Sunday after hours of behind-the-scenes negotiations. The race had been weeks in the making, and by the time the closed-door negotiations began Sunday shortly after 11 a.m., the field of candidates was down to two – Harmon, who has served in the chamber since 2003, and Sen. Kimberly Lightford, a Maywood Democrat and the majority leader, who has served in the Senate since 1998. The n...
The state's agriculture director resigned last weekend at the request of Gov. J.B. Pritzker for failing to disclose contents of a 2012 email that pointed to the possible cover-up of a "rape in Champaign" and government "ghost workers," the governor's office said Monday. John Sullivan, a Democratic state senator from 2003 to 2017 who became ag director last year, knew about the July 2012 email "contemporaneously" but did not disclose its contents to state investigators,...
Illinois House Republicans on Wednesday blasted a draft final report from the special Property Tax Relief Task Force that lawmakers formed last year. They said the panel's Democratic majority summarily rejected dozens of proposals from Republicans. "Following the release of their draft within the last week, we once again see [House Democrats] refuse to be serious ... at a time when our citizens are so desperate and wanting for change in state government," House GOP Leader Jim...
Lawmakers from both parties are calling for an investigation of a 2012 email exchange between a government insider and then-Gov. Pat Quinn's staff regarding a possible cover-up of rape and other criminal activity. The bombshell report was published Tuesday by Chicago National Public Radio affiliate WBEZ-FM detailing emails from former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist Michael McClain and Quinn's staff. WBEZ reported that McClain - a close confidant of Illinois Democratic House...
Legislators and advocates began discussions Tuesday of what action the state can take to counteract the overuse of physical restraint and forced isolation of students in Illinois schools, particularly those serving students with special needs. At a joint Illinois Senate and House committee hearing in Chicago, several of those who spoke credited revelations unearthed by a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica investigation published in November for the increased interest in the topic. That investigation showed there were more than...
The state's minimum wage will increase by $1 hourly, recreational marijuana will go on sale to those over 21 years of age, and some state taxes and licensing fees will increase when the calendar hits January. The changes are among hundreds resulting from laws passed during a busy legislative session which adjourned in early June. Minimum Wage: The minimum wage will increase by $1 to $9.25 hourly on Jan. 1, the first such increase since 2010. The wage will increase to $10...
The number of parties suing medical supply sterilization company Sterigenics on claims that its ethylene oxide gas emissions caused serious health problems grew to 73 this week, according to a law firm representing 18 of the plaintiffs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, chronic exposure to ethylene oxide gas can cause increased cancer risks, reproductive effects and other major medical problems. Sterigenics used the chemical to sterilize medical supplies at its Chicago-area Willowbrook facility for more than 30...
A handful of Illinois House Republicans on Wednesday called for a special legislative session – or at least greater urgency in the upcoming regular session – to pass reforms to state ethics laws. "How can this government possibly move forward with credibility without robust anti-corruption safeguards in place," Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, asked during a Capitol news conference. He was joined by four of the more conservative members of the House GOP caucus in arg...
One month before the scheduled rollout of legalized marijuana in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a follow-up bill to the initial reform Wednesday and took questions about the next phases of the implementation. "It's new territory, we're seeing that in some of the cleanup that we're doing in this bill," said Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, who sponsored the initial marijuana legalization measure. Steans said the bill clarifies that public consumption of marijuana can be...
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is planning to spend $40,000 of his own money to renovate his State Capitol office next month, according to a news release distributed by his staff. Those changes will be mainly functional, however, with no major changes planned for the carpeting, wallpaper, furniture or other cosmetic areas. “The Office the Governor in Springfield will undergo renovations beginning the week of Dec. 10 with the goal of improving functionality for staff. It is expected to conclude before the end of the year,” Jord...
Just eight days after a nonprofit organization founded by conservative commentator Glenn Beck requested it be lent a priceless, handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address to display at a "pop-up" museum in Dallas, Texas, the staff at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum had the document packed and ready to move. The man who is said to have overseen and expedited that loan was fired in September by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and the state's Office of the...
The state’s board of education announced emergency rule changes Wednesday in response to a news story which detailed an overuse of “isolation rooms” in several Illinois public school districts, including those serving students with special education needs. That news investigation, published by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Tuesday, analyzed thousands of pages of records from Illinois schools which showed “every school day, workers isolate children for reasons that violate the law.” There were more than 20,000 documente...
The adjournment of the fall veto session Thursday night means a number of bills that failed to pass both chambers this week must wait for further action when the General Assembly returns on Jan. 28. House Bill 3904, allowing college athletes to be paid for the use of their name and likeness, was one of the most publicized efforts that stalled this week. Hillside Democratic Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, who successfully moved the bill out of the House with strong bipartisan...
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs on Monday continued to promote a new state program which he says is a first step to alleviating a nationwide "retirement crisis." At a Chicago news conference, Frerichs said more than 32,000 Illinoisans have saved more than $8.5 million for their retirement as part of Illinois Secure Choice, a program which has been implemented in the past year after it was created by state law in 2015. That number marks an increase of more than 8,000...
The Illinois House voted with an overwhelming majority Wednesday to advance a bill aimed at capping the out-of-pocket cost of prescription insulin for state-regulated health insurance plans. Senate Bill 667 passed 100-13 with one "present" vote. The House amended a portion of the bill pertaining to a required report on the cost of prescription insulin, so it will go back to the Senate for a vote before it can head to the governor. It already passed that chamber 48-7 on Oct....
Republican lawmakers added to their pile of recently-filed ethics legislation Wednesday, promoting two bills aimed at limiting conflicts of interest on the Illinois State Board of Elections. Sen. Dan McConchie, a Hawthorn Woods Republican, unveiled Senate Bill 2300 during a Statehouse news conference. The measure would prohibit a member of the State Board of Elections from contributing to or being an officer of a state or federal political committee. Per the bill, a member of the Board of Elections who serves as an officer...
A strict ethylene oxide regulatory bill passed the state House Wednesday with no votes to spare and promises of further discussion and potential amendments in the Senate. Just one Republican, Rep. David McSweeney of Barrington Hills, joined 59 Democrats in voting for House Bill 3888, while 47 lawmakers voted against it and four voted "present." The present votes were from Democrats Curtis Tarver of Chicago and Elizabeth "Lisa" Hernandez of Cicero, and Republicans Deanne Mazzoc...
A bill allowing college athletes in Illinois to be paid for the use of their image, name and likeness passed the state House Wednesday with broad bipartisan support after lengthy debate. Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, D-Hillside, pushed ahead with House Bill 3904 despite a Tuesday announcement from the NCAA – the association which oversees most intercollegiate athletics – which said it would "start the process" of changing its rules to allow athletes to profit from their nam...
The House Energy and Environment Committee diverged Monday on a pair of highly-publicized bills aiming to better regulate ethylene oxide gas emissions in the state, passing one while letting another remain in committee. The opposing votes represented a largely partisan split in a months-long effort from lawmakers to impose stricter regulations on, and create greater local authority to regulate, a known cancer-causing gas used in medical supply sterilization and manufacturing...
SPRINGFIELD — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out her budget plan Wednesday, announcing the city "will need cooperation from Springfield” in order to fill an $838 million operating deficit. Lightfoot called on state lawmakers to authorize the city to increase its real-estate transfer tax, “support a Chicago casino” and “develop a statewide pension reform package.” The mayor claimed that, “for the first time in our city’s history,” the budget will include full funding for police and fire pensions “at the level outside expert...