Illinois Politics
SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly released a proposed set of new congressional district maps Friday, just days before lawmakers return to the Statehouse for the start of their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 19. All states redraw their congressional districts following each decennial census. The proposed new maps reflect the fact that Illinois…
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign released summary documents of his 2020 tax returns Friday, which showed the first family reporting $5.14 million in adjusted gross income, all from taxable interest and dividends. The campaign released seven pages summarizing the governor’s and first lady MK Pritzker’s returns, which were prepared by Deloitte Tax LLP. It…
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Gov. J.B Pritzker said Illinois will need to show a steady decline in state COVID-19 transmissions before he considers lifting the statewide indoor mask mandate he revived in August. When asked what metrics were needed for Pritzker to rescind his executive order, the governor pointed to high hospitalization rates and new case numbers relative to metrics when Illinois “fully…
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Money is being raised in several Chicagoland school districts to join a consolidated action against Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health, The Kerr Report has learned. Tom DeVore, an attorney based in downstate Greenville, plans to file the action within the next week to 10…
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To mark October as Manufacturing Month, state officials Wednesday touted the thousands of manufacturing jobs in Illinois, but an industry official paints a different picture. State officials celebrated the 40th new manufacturing announcement this year in Illinois, with news that a magnesium casting plant in Dixmoor is expanding, adding 40 jobs. Chicago Magnesium Casting Co.,…
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A judge in Effingham County has issued a temporary restraining order against the Illinois State Board of Education and reinstated the recognition status of two public schools that aren’t following the governor’s COVID-19 mask mandate. The case was brought by attorney Thomas DeVore on behalf of Red Hill, Woden-Herrick and Beecher City school districts. While…
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday he’s looking for clear signs that coronavirus transmission is on the decline in Illinois before he’ll consider lifting the indoor mask mandate he reinstated in late August amid a surge driven by the virus’ highly contagious delta variant. “We’re watching to make sure that we’re on a good downward trajectory,” Pritzker said…
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SPRINGFIELD – The state’s eviction moratorium expired Sunday, and what comes next for renters will likely depend on their county of residence, as county courts and sheriffs will all have different approaches to executing evictions. The original eviction moratorium was issued in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down the state and national…
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SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Thursday announced the awarding of the first $24 million in “Back to Business” grants, a program funded with federal relief aid to help businesses recover and reopen from the pandemic. The announcement took place at a Mexican restaurant in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Mi Tierra…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois community colleges have a multi-billion dollar impact on the state’s economy and will be “integral in making a recovery from the pandemic an equitable one,” according a new report from the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies. The Illinois Community Colleges’ Economic Impacts and Student Employment Outcomes report said the indirect…
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Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for nearly double the debt burden of just 12 years ago. That’s according to a new report on the fiscal state of the state. Truth In Accounting (TIA) has been evaluating state governments for how much debt the state has versus how much they bring in. Their Financial State of…
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday the state will award more than $40 million in workforce training grants, focusing on communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and youth who are particularly at risk of violence. That includes $40 million in Workforce Recovery Grants that will go out in two phases over the next…
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A new analysis shows Illinois ranks 41st in the country in unemployment recovery, with unemployment down 40 percent from this time last year. The study was done by WalletHub and shows Illinois’ job recovery post-pandemic. The survey was conducted from March 15, 2021, to August 30, 2021, showing a 69 percent decrease in unemployment claims…
Read Full Article Attorney who is fighting governor’s orders calls latest one “nonsense” On top of his most recent 30-day COVID-19 disaster proclamation, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his 90th executive order, which is about who can be excluded from schools, such as those with possible exposure to COVID-19. Pritzker on Friday reissued a majority of orders from the past 19 months. On…
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SPRINGFIELD – The state’s moratorium on enforcement of residential evictions will expire on Oct. 3, according to Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest COVID-19 executive order issued Friday. Pritzker had extended the order each month with minor to substantial revisions since March 2020. The extensions have come in 30-day windows, coinciding with his monthly reissuance of a disaster proclamation…
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued dozens of executive orders since March 2020, affecting everything from the economy to education and healthcare. He started by limiting dine-in restaurants for two weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19. That’s evolved over the past 19 months to mask mandates in schools and vaccine mandates for health care workers,…
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Employers warn inaction by state lawmakers could ‘cripple’ businesses and the COVID-19 economic recovery. Illinois state leaders missed the Sept. 6 deadline to repay a $4.2 billion federal loan to the state’s unemployment insurance fund, which leaves Illinois taxpayers on the hook to pay $60 million in annual interest on that loan. The unemployment fund has been depleted during…
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SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker was joined by environmental and social justice activists, union representatives, and lawmakers from both parties Wednesday as he signed into law a sweeping energy regulation overhaul that aims to phase out carbon emissions from the energy sector by 2045 while diversifying the renewable energy workforce. His signature marked a celebratory…
Read Full Article Three children in Effingham County can’t be forced to wear masks without an official quarantine order from the county health department, a judge ruled Wednesday. Later in the day, a different judge enjoined an entire school district from requiring masks without a court order. The attorney who brought the cases anticipates more such cases across…
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Ask state education board to adopt formal rules on enforcement actions By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Expressing concern that the Illinois State Board of Education might have overstepped its bounds by threatening to withhold funding from school districts that do not enforce its mask mandate, a legislative panel on Tuesday urged the agency…
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Senate takes final legislative step on bill creating massive renewable, nuclear investment By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate put the final legislative stamp on an energy regulation overhaul bill Monday, sending it to Gov. JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it. It’s the culmination of years of negotiation, and it…
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SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House approved an energy regulation and decarbonization bill Thursday, a major step forward for a wide-ranging omnibus bill that had eluded lawmakers throughout the legislative session and the governor’s three years in office. The measure that aims to bring Illinois’ energy generation sector to 100 percent carbon-free by 2050 and 50…
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A new bill would give the Illinois State Board of Education the authority to issue, withhold and revoke state recognition of schools who fail to comply with COVID-19 health regulations. Notably, the bill has not yet been introduced to a committee, meaning beyond being drafted and introduced, there has been no legislative activity on the measure. The…
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SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House is scheduled to return to Springfield Thursday to try again at passing an elusive energy regulation overhaul days after the governor’s office announced support for a new proposal. It’s the latest push for a legislative accomplishment that has eluded Gov. JB Pritzker in his three years in office, and it’s…
Read Full Article After more than 17 months of expanded benefits, federal pandemic unemployment programs are set to end on Labor Day, cutting off weekly payments to 7.5 million people — including 452,000 in Illinois. The sudden expiration of emergency federal assistance, which some economists have likened to a fiscal cliff, could precipitate everything from a flood of…
Read Full Article November 12, 2024
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