Illinois Politics
QUINCY — Quincy Police Sgt. Brent Holtman, Sgt. Ryan Witt and Det. David Distin spent last week in Chicago working as mobile field force members of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm Systems team (ILEAS) for the Democratic National Convention. During the convention, these officers and their team provided dignitary security at the hotels in thesurrounding…
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SPRINGFIELD – A law banning political parties from waiting until after the primary election to place a state legislative candidate on the general election ballot won’t keep any Republicans from running this November. The Illinois Supreme Court and State Board of Elections each made rulings Friday ensuring that a law rushed through by Democrats in…
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Since the 2022 election, far too many Illinoisans have been far too eager to pine for a repeat of the past. It started with non-stop rumors about Gov. JB Pritzker running for president. Every word he spoke, every position he took, every out of state trip he made was examined for signs of what everybody…
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CHICAGO – Cheered on by an Illinois delegation watching from the floor of the United Center, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday night embraced an identity that’s generally proven alienating in both Democratic and Republican politics: being extremely wealthy. “Donald Trump thinks that we should trust him on the economy, because he claims to be very…
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CHICAGO – In announcing Chicago would host of the 2024 Democratic National Convention more than a year ago, national party leaders referred to Illinois as a key part of the “blue wall” of Midwestern states crucial to President Joe Biden’s 2020 election. Instead of choosing a venue in a swing state, as they had done…
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An appeals court has reversed state regulators’ approval of a permit for the Illinois portion of an 800-mile, high-voltage transmission line, setting up a possible fight at the state’s Supreme Court. The Grain Belt Express, or GBX, is owned by Chicago-based Invenergy and is meant to carry renewable electricity generated by wind farms. It would…
Read Full Article Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch has said he thinks he can flip somewhere between four and six Republican-held House districts to Democratic control, upping his super-majority to between 82 and 84 seats, from his current 78. Which Republican districts are flippable? I talked with a high-level source close to Welch’s caucus who pointed to the…
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Prosecutors want a joint trial for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain to avoid the two men blaming each other for a nearly decade-long racketeering and bribery scheme. McClain, a former state lawmaker and former ComEd lobbyist known for his close association with Madigan, filed a request in July to sever his trial…
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has signed off on legislation prohibiting landlords from retaliating against tenants who lodge code violation complaints against them. The Landlord Retaliation Act also bans landlords from terminating leases, increasing rent, decreasing services or threatening lawsuits in instances of such disputes, as well as bars them from refusing to renew a lease…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Republicans say they are still as united about the upcoming election as they were at their national convention in Milwaukee last month, despite surge of enthusiasm for the Democrats’ new presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. “Republicans are ready,” state party chair Kathy Salvi told reporters at the Illinois State Fair Thursday.…
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PRINGFIELD – Democrats gathered in Springfield Wednesday for their annual rally at the Illinois State Fair amid a surge of enthusiasm and a renewed sense of optimism about their chances of retaining the White House in November. “There’s a new level of energy in this effort,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters just before the…
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Members of Sonya Massey’s family and their attorneys called a news conference Wednesday to push for federal and state legislation in the wake of Massey’s shooting. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump called former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson “a ticking time bomb waiting to explode,” but also blamed a system that failed to heed…
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SPRINGFIELD – A little over a month after the shooting death of Sonya Massey by a sheriff’s deputy, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell on Friday announced his retirement, effective no later than Aug. 31. His announcement comes amid intense pressure to resign, including from Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday. The Massey shooting raised questions regarding…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton issued a news release Tuesday night, calling for the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell following the death of Sonya Massey. A Sanagmon County deputy, Sean Grayson, was captured on video shooting and killing Massey on July 6. Grayson was fired and faces murder…
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There’s a lot more to the newly enacted law eliminating Illinois’ grocery tax in 2026. Local governments can now impose their own 1 percent tax, along with other sales tax increases. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday he signed House Bill 3144, touting relief he said the measure will bring. “Even with inflation cooling off every dollar…
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Attorneys on both sides of the federal corruption case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan didn’t agree on much this past month, but they are aligned on one thing: they’re prepared to go to trial on Oct. 8 in Chicago. The agreement to keep the already-delayed trial date in place kicked off a month…
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ROSEMONT – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at curtailing the practice of “captive audience” meetings – a strategy businesses sometimes use to dissuade workers from forming a union. The law, dubbed the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” was a top priority this spring for organized labor groups in Illinois, which played host…
Read Full Article A Facebook post last week by state Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago) created a stir, caused one of his fellow Democratic Senators to bow out of a planned joint fundraiser and, ultimately, the entire fundraiser was canceled. It’s all a good illustration of the ill-informed, rapid-fire insanity of our social media-fueled era. Sen. Preston posted an…
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CHICAGO – Calls of “Justice for Sonya” rang through the sanctuary of a church on Chicago’s West Side on Tuesday at a rally hosted in response to the death of Sonya Massey on July 6. Massey, a Black woman, was killed in her home by Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson, who is white,…
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CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law Monday that expands insurance coverage during and after pregnancy with the goal of lowering infant and maternal mortality rates, especially for Black Illinoisans. The law requires insurers that provide state-regulated health care plans to cover pregnancy and postpartum services for covered individuals, including midwife services, doula visits, and lactation…
Read Full Article “I support Karina’s Law,” Gov. JB Pritzker emphatically told me. It’s the strongest statement he’s made about the bill which stalled in the Senate last spring. The proposal would mandate that police remove firearms from a person who has been served with a domestic violence order of protection. But there still appear to be some Pritzker…
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SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed late Tuesday that it is “assessing the circumstances” surrounding the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black woman by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. Benjamin Crump, renowned civil rights attorney who represents the family of the woman, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the DOJ had…
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An Illinois lawmaker heading a child welfare committee said the state must strengthen its laws and policies to protect homeschooled children facing inadequate education, abuse and neglect. Rep. Terra Costa Howard, the chair of the Adoption and Child Welfare Committee in the Illinois House, called for action following a Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica investigation,…
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WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS VIOLENT ACTIONS AND GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AT THE 14 MINUTE MARK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFun2GydGyU SPRINGFIELD — Sangamon County officials have released a video of a county sheriff’s deputy fatally shooting a woman earlier this month. Sonya Massey called police to investigate a prowler at her home in the 2800 block of Hoover Avenue near Springfield…
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The leaders of the Illinois Democratic Party have announced they are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris to be their party’s nominee for president following Sunday’s decision by President Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Gov. JB Pritzker made his announcement on X (Twitter) Monday morning: Dick Durbin, the second highest ranking Democrat in…
Read Full Article November 12, 2024
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