Illinois Politics
Western Illinois University is the subject of a federal civil rights complaint about scholarships. Cornell University law professor William A. Jacobson is the founder of the Equal Protection Project, or EqualProtect.org, which claims that 16 scholarships at Western Illinois are discriminatory. “So these are scholarships which are open only to certain races, certain ethnicities and, in…
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As not only tradition but federal law, soon it will be time for Illinois residents to spring their clocks forward to take advantage of more daylight hours. Daylight saving time officially returns at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10, an annual ritual that for many is bittersweet. That’s because along with gaining sunlight daily, Illinoisans will…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois currently has no federally recognized tribal land within its borders, but that could change in the coming months. A bill pending in the General Assembly this year would give back roughly 1,500 acres of park land in DeKalb County to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. That tribe once occupied much of the Great Lakes…
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QUINCY — Former President Donald Trump’s name remains on the Republican ballot for the March 19 primary for now, and votes already cast for him through early ballots and mail-in ballots are unaffected. But stay tuned. Adams County Clerk Ryan Niekamp said Thursday no changes have been made to the primary ballot in the wake…
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SPRINGFIELD – A Cook County judge on Wednesday ordered former President Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the March 19 Republican primary ballot but stayed her order until Friday to give time for an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. In a lengthy decision, Judge Tracie Porter said the Illinois State Board of Elections…
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Capitol Fax, a weekday newsletter that has covered the ins-and-outs of Illinois State government for more than 30 years, posed the following question in its Monday online edition: Should AG Raoul try to yank this guy’s pension? This guy being Robert Adrian, who on Friday became just the fourth judge since 2005 to be removed from…
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday proposed growing state spending by about $1.8 billion in the upcoming fiscal year while making a handful of corporate, sports wagering and other tax changes to pay for the increase. Pritzker’s plan, laid out to lawmakers during his annual budget address, does not alter or increase state income…
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Former President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Bost on Tuesday, in what could be a decisive factor in the competitive primary to represent southern Illinois in Congress. The Murphysboro Republican, who is serving his fifth term, and his primary opponent, Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, had both sought the former president’s endorsement in their race in…
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The ailing local news industry in Illinois would receive compensation from Big Tech companies and benefit from state tax incentives and a new journalism scholarship program under sweeping legislation introduced in the General Assembly this month. “It is the most ambitious package of local journalism policy that I’ve seen,” Anna Brugmann, policy director for the…
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The Business Interruption Grant Program was to provide $585 million for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, but an audit done by the Office of the Auditor General shows $11 million was paid to applicants who weren’t eligible under state law. During a Legislative Audit Commission hearing Tuesday at the state capitol in Springfield, the…
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Gov. JB Pritzker will give his sixth state budget address this week, laying out his plan for a fiscal year that government forecasters in November predicted is on pace for a near-$900 million deficit unless corrective action is taken. Those same fiscal forecasters in the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, however, predicted that the…
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Illinoisans pay tens of millions of dollars each year to utilities to cover costs they accrue for lawyers, belonging to trade groups, making charitable contributions and purchasing advertisements meant to boost utilities’ public image. Consumer advocates are pushing for a change to state law that would bar utilities from collecting money from customers for those…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — As federal prosecutors were preparing to rest their case Thursday in the corruption trial of former Republican state Sen. Sam McCann, the one-time gubernatorial candidate had a change of heart. His attorney announced McCann would reverse his position of innocence he’s held since being indicted three years ago and plead guilty on…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — As federal agents wrapped up their first interview with former Republican State Sen. Sam McCann in the summer of 2018, one observed that there were “a lot of vehicles in your driveway.” “I gotta have wheels,” McCann told the agents a few moments earlier. “The only shot I got at winning is…
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A parents’ rights group is pushing back against a proposed bill equating denying children things like puberty blockers to child abuse. State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, proposed House Bill 4876 that would amend the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to say an “abused child” is one whose parents deny abortion services, or “gender-affirming services.” Awake Illinois…
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CHICAGO – For most of his adult working life, Tim Mapes only had one boss: former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. And for the more than 25 years he served as Madigan’s chief of staff, Mapes was known for his extreme loyalty to the powerful speaker. His office décor in the state Capitol in Springfield…
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SPRINGFIELD – Former Republican State Sen. Sam McCann, a onetime third-party candidate for governor, was taken into custody Friday ahead of his federal corruption trial on charges he misused campaign funds. The arrest caps a bizarre week that was supposed to have seen his corruption trial begin and end – until a last-minute hospitalization forced…
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QUINCY — Representatives from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (IFOP) were in Quincy Thursday to announce their endorsement of Kyle Moore for State Representative in the 99th District. “We are proud today to stand with Kyle,” said Chris Southwood, President of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police. “He displays the character and the qualities we…
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Battle lines are being drawn at the Illinois statehouse over whether to get rid of a lower minimum wage for tipped workers statewide. While some are advocating for tipped workers to get the minimum wage with tips on top, a legislator who also owns restaurants says such a move would be devastating to the economy.…
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QUINCY — The two men running to replace Randy Frese in the Illinois House of Representatives spoke at a political forum sponsored by the Quincy Tea Party Tuesday night at Tower Pizza and Mexican. Kyle Moore of Quincy and Eric Snellgrove of Beardstown each gave their pitches to the crowd of about 100 and answered…
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SPRINGFIELD – Instead of laying out his defense in his long-awaited federal corruption trial on Monday morning, former State Sen. Sam McCann was hospitalized in Missouri after a weekend of feeling unwell, according to his wife and a standby attorney. McCann had been granted an extension of his trial in late November after ditching his…
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As the influx of non-citizen migrants continues, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson say they are on the same page regarding handling the crisis despite reports of conflict between the two administrations. Chicago has seen more than 35,000 non-citizen arrivals over the past year and a half from the southern border. Many…
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Judge asked to overturn Board of Elections ruling SPRINGFIELD – A national voting rights organization is asking a Cook County judge to overturn a ruling from the Illinois State Board of Elections and block former President Donald Trump from being listed on the March 19 Republican primary ballot. Lawyers for the group Free Speech for…
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Nearly a year ago, the Illinois Supreme Court asked the General Assembly to clarify a 15-year-old law that’s led to hundreds of lawsuits and several high-dollar settlements with companies alleged to have illegally collected Illinoisans’ biometric data. Now, Democratic leaders in the legislature appear ready to revive talks to reform the state’s Biometric Information Privacy…
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A measure that would prohibit law enforcement from pulling people over for the sole violation of speeding, improper lane usage and other vehicle infractions is expected to stall at the Illinois Statehouse. House Bill 4603 would prohibit police from initiating pullovers for expired registration, excessive speeding that isn’t a misdemeanor or felony, improper lane usage, excessive…
Read Full Article November 13, 2024
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