Politics
The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday as to whether the smell of cannabis alone is grounds for police officers to search a vehicle, marking a test of the state’s 2020 recreational marijuana legalization law. The court heard two consolidated cases of individuals who were in vehicles that were searched after an officer used the…
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CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced today that adult use cannabis sales set a new annual record in 2023, exceeding $1.6 billion. Records were also set in sales to in-state residents and the number of items sold, with that total increasing more than 15 percent compared to 2022. Sales taxes…
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A group of Republican lawmakers raised concerns about the death penalty and advocated for legislation that would abolish it in Missouri during a Tuesday press conference at the state Capitol — characterizing it as an issue of restraining government overreach and protecting life. Rep. Chad Perkins, a Republican from Bowling Green, has filed legislation to abolish the…
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A Democratic state representative booted from her party’s caucus because of her association with a man described as a Holocaust denier and another called a conspiracy theorist is running for governor. State Rep. Sarah Unsicker of Shrewsbury went to Washington, D.C., and announced her bid for Missouri’s highest office in front of the U.S. Capitol. “What is happening in Missouri is…
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Nearly every abortion is illegal in Missouri, but that hasn’t slowed the pace of anti-abortion legislation in the Missouri statehouse. As lawmakers return to the Capitol for the 2024 legislation session, Republican lawmakers have already filed numerous bills seeking further restrictions on abortion and abortion providers. Yet even the staunchest anti-abortion activists concede it’s unlikely…
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BOWLING GREEN, Mo. — A local legislator is seeking to end the death penalty in Missouri. House Bill 1780, sponsored by Rep. Chad Perkins of District 40, which represents parts of Ralls, Pike, Monroe and Lincoln counties, abolishes the death penalty and specifies that any person who received the death penalty must instead be sentenced…
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Amid five straight years of record overdose deaths in Illinois, a new state program aims to alleviate a shortage of professionals who work to prevent substance use disorders. Illinois’ behavioral health counselor workforce “is aging while new entrants are declining,” according to a 2019 report to the General Assembly; 56 percent of certified substance use…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois is now among the growing list of states in which former President Donald Trump will have to fight to have his name appear on the 2024 election ballots. A group of five voters filed a joint objection to Trump’s candidacy Thursday, arguing Trump should be disqualified under the 14th Amendment to the U.S.…
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CHICAGO — Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan won’t be spending his 82nd birthday in a federal courtroom this spring after a judge on Wednesday granted his request to delay his bribery and racketeering trial originally set to begin April 1. Madigan claimed the small victory while appearing in court for the first time since he was…
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CHICAGO – Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s corruption trial shouldn’t be delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court considers another case focused on the federal bribery statute. Prosecutors wrote that most of the charges Madigan faces at his trial – set to start in April – don’t involve the federal…
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MAYWOOD, Mo. — Rachel Bringer Shepherd announced Monday in an email that she will not seek re-election as presiding circuit judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit, which includes Marion, Monroe and Ralls counties in Missouri, in 2024. She has held the position since 2010. “I have been very grateful for the opportunity to serve as a presiding…
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SPRINGFIELD – As the cost of higher education continues to rise in Illinois and elsewhere, a growing number of students are working to earn as many college credits as possible while they are still in high school. But even as the popularity continues to grow for “dual credit” offerings – courses in which a student…
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A bill to allow home-educated students to participate in Missouri public school activities is back for the upcoming legislative session — and has been coupled with provisions rolling back state oversight of homeschooling families. Sen. Ben Brown, a Washington Republican, pre-filed a 52-page bill that largely resembles the version he sponsored that cleared the Senate…
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More than 300 new laws will take effect Jan. 1, ranging from a ban on book bans to the regulation of “deepfake porn” and prohibitions on videoconferencing while driving. Thanks to a law signed in 2019, workers at the lowest end of the pay scale will see a pay raise with the new year as…
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For at least two hours of the ride home, Charles Collins feared someone was following his father’s car, looking to take him back to prison for the rest of his life. At an interstate rest stop between Western Illinois Correctional Center and Chicago, Collins said the reality of his freedom settled in and he let…
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A southern Illinois federal judge officially declined to issue an injunction to delay the Jan. 1 registration requirement under the state’s assault weapons ban. U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn issued the 34-page order on Friday. Gun rights advocates requested an emergency injunction to halt the registration of guns and accessories covered in the legislation, known as the…
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Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias rejected more than 304 vanity and personalized license plates this year that were deemed too obscene or defamatory. The Secretary of State’s office received 54,768 requests for vanity and personalized plates this year, including the 304 that were denied because of their inflammatory or offensive nature or because they…
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Small business advocates are discussing the impact new Illinois laws going into effect Jan. 1 could have on employers. Several laws will go into effect in 2024, including Senate Bill 2034, which extends bereavement time for workers when dealing with the loss of a child. Other measures include the previous General Assembly’s Senate Bill 208, which…
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With Illinois lawmakers scheduled to return to legislative session in less than a month, a recent government fiscal forecast provides an overview of the budgeting landscape that awaits them. The bottom line from the five-year forecast from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget: The current fiscal year is now projected to end with a…
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A judge on Monday temporarily postponed sentencing dates for four former executives and lobbyists at the state’s largest utility company convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The ComEd 4 — former state lawmaker and lobbyist Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former contract…
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The Adams County Board Chairman begins his final year in the chair as he wraps up 20 years on the board. He talks about roundabouts, jail construction and the passing of his dear friend and community leader Jeff Spear.
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Missouri’s highest court this week heard arguments over the constitutionality of a two-year-old state law terminating parental rights following a conviction for certain crimes against children. The case, heard Wednesday by the state Supreme Court, involves a Jefferson County father whose parental rights were terminated after he pled guilty to child molestation and sexual misconduct in…
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CHICAGO – The Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday curtailed proposed rate hikes and rejected grid plans from two major electric utilities, mirroring a series of bombshell decisions rendered last month that cut increases for Illinois’ four largest gas utilities. The ICC rejected the pair of plans from Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois that were…
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SPRINGFIELD – The U.S. Supreme Court issued two orders this week turning down requests to block enforcement of Illinois’ assault weapons ban while challenges to the law are still being heard in lower courts. On Wednesday, Justice Amy Coney Barrett turned down a request from Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins, of Decatur, and other gun rights advocates…
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A little over six months after pushing Democrats in the General Assembly to pass a law targeted at limited services pregnancy centers, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has agreed in a legal filing to stop the state’s enforcement of it. Raoul’s decision to permanently halt enforcement of the law came in an agreed order that…
Read Full Article November 14, 2024
FRANKIE SAY: ASHLEY BURNETT
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