Politics
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…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher fired his legislative director Wednesday, the latest in a series of departures from his office as he continues to face an ethics investigation into allegations of unlawful conduct. Erica Choinka had worked for the Missouri House since 2016, first as a legislative assistant and then as…
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SPRINGFIELD – Former President Donald Trump’s name will appear on the March 19 Republican primary election ballot in Illinois, barring any extraordinary action by state or federal courts to remove him. The Illinois State Board of Elections voted unanimously Tuesday to deny an objection based on the “insurrectionist clause” of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits former…
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A bipartisan task force of legislators and journalism industry leaders has filed a report to the General Assembly detailing the decline of local journalism in Illinois and exploring ways the legislature can help revive it. The Local Journalism Task Force, created in January 2022, found that about one-third of Illinois counties have either no source…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Elections will be asked to decide Tuesday whether former President Donald Trump is barred under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution from having his name appear on Illinois’ March 19 Republican primary ballot. It’s a question being asked in several states preparing to hold primary elections in the…
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Less than a day after a draft letter from state Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden’s home Republican county committee demanding his resignation began circulating on social media, the party’s chairman tried to retract it. The letter, which also called for Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin of Shelbina to resign, was never intended to be a…
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As the popularity of Delta-8 cannabis products grows, some are calling for more oversight in Illinois. Delta-8 THC is legal in Illinois and 21 other states, but unlike marijuana, which is regulated, taxed and can only be sold in licensed dispensaries, Delta-8 can be sold in convenience stores and online. While cannabis is still illegal…
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The increasing trend of “swatting,” faking dangerous crimes that cause police to respond with force to the victim’s home, has become a popular tactic in Illinois. Criminologist Currie Myers said these crimes are acts of domestic terrorism that put the lives of both victims and law enforcement in harm’s way. “Swatting is extremely dangerous. Somebody…
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A proposed bill that would ban certain food additives in Illinois is already receiving pushback. The Illinois Food Safety Act calls for prohibiting the use of certain additives to food, including brominated vegetable oil, Red Dye No. 3 and titanium dioxide. The bill’s sponsors said the additives have been linked to serious health problems, including hyperactivity, reproductive…
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Staffing agencies – a fast-growing industry that employs nearly a million Illinoisans – are not exempt from the state’s antitrust law, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled late last week. The decision comes 3 ½ years after Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued a trio of staffing agencies, alleging they used their mutual client to coordinate no-poach…
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The state of Illinois says “government has no authority” to impose criminal penalties for those not registering banned firearms. Illinois State Police have updated the gun ban registration numbers to include those who registered after the Jan. 1 deadline. On top of the 29,357 individuals who registered before the deadline, 5,867 have registered since. The total of…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a 2019 law that consolidated nearly 650 municipal police and firefighter pension funds, rejecting arguments from pension fund members that their voting power was diluted unconstitutionally. The law, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed soon after it passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the General Assembly, combined 649…
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The U.S. Department of Labor is currently holding more than $5 million in wages owed to more than 7,000 Illinois workers, and the department has launched a new website in an effort to return it. When an employee is underpaid for the work they do, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division can launch an investigation.…
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A new bill in the Illinois General Assembly would create a board of health care experts that would have the authority to set price limits on prescription medications. House Bill 4472 was introduced Wednesday by Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, and Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria. Using a variety of information related to the medication’s market, including the…
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As small town newspapers go by the wayside in Illinois, a new task force is studying ways to incentivize a revival of local journalism, including through the use of tax credits. The Local Journalism Task Force conducted a study on communities underserved by local journalism. It was formed by legislation that was signed into law…
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Illinois Statehouse Republicans wanting to end the state’s migrant sanctuary policies are getting rebuffed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Republicans held two separate news conferences this week to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis where Illinois has received about 35,000 non-citizen arrivals since August 2022. Republicans are calling for more transparency on how taxpayer dollars are being…
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SPRINGFIELD – New permanent rules will soon go into effect spelling out how people who own assault weapons and related items that are now heavily regulated in Illinois can register them with the Illinois State Police. The legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted along party lines Tuesday to let the rules go into effect,…
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Frustrated with legislative inaction on sports wagering, Missouri’s major sports franchises are going directly to voters. On Friday, a coalition that includes six major sports teams and is backed by major donations from two sports betting platforms announced an initiative campaign to put sports gambling on this year’s ballot. In a news release, St. Louis Cardinals President Bill…
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URBANA – As the 2024 election season draws near, voters in Illinois will once again choose whether they want to cast their ballots in person or by mail. But one lawmaker is proposing a bill in the Illinois House that could make that decision a lot easier, making voting by mail the default option for…
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Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched an online appointment system in September for Illinois drivers needing to come to a driver’s services facility, ostensibly to reduce wait times. The “Skip-The-Line” program introduced upgrades to the secretary of state’s website as well as a shift in policy, requiring appointments to be made for more than 40 of the…
Read Full Article November 14, 2024
FRANKIE SAY: ASHLEY BURNETT
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