Politics
Chariton County cannot block construction of the Grain Belt Express electric transmission line by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county could…
Read Full Article Illinois Senate President Don Harmon continues piling up campaign money. His latest quarterly report for his personal campaign committee showed Harmon had $13.4 million in the bank, up almost $2 million from the previous quarter. His caucus committee ended with $2.6 million in the bank, up about $800K from the previous quarter. And his two…
Read Full Article Chariton County cannot block construction of the Grain Belt Express electric transmission line by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled this week. The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — Two of Gov. JB Pritzker’s top staffers have opened their own communications strategies firm. Jordan Abudayyeh and Jason Rubin have announced the launch of Abudayyeh Rubin Communications Strategies (ARC Strategies) to help companies and organizations raise their profiles, message targeted audiences and perform crisis navigation and management. ARC Strategies offers services including crisis communications, public…
Read Full Article Have you ever noticed the bike path along Columbus Road and Cannonball Road, running each side of Wismann Lane? Did you know it has a name? It is the Erin East Memorial Bike Path. Erin was a 13-year-old, seventh-grade student at Quincy Junior High School. The weather in November 1988 reached the high 60s. …
Read Full Article CHICAGO — The jury that will determine the fate of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is nearly complete after three slow days of jury selection this week. But in addition to the 11 jurors who have already been chosen, one final jury member must survive challenges, plus six alternates — a larger number than…
Read Full Article Illinois surpassed $2 billion in tax revenue last year from all types of gambling and the state lottery – a record bolstered by continued growth in video gambling, sports betting and the opening of several new casinos. But that growth comes at the expense of Illinois’ traditional riverboat casinos and the horse racing industry, which…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) has been named a Champion of Free Enterprise by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to the defense of free enterprise and job opportunities for all Illinoisans. Tracy also received the chamber’s inaugural Bridge Builder award, which recognizes two lawmakers from each legislative chamber who…
Read Full Article Last year, the Democratic Party of Illinois and Gov. JB Pritzker targeted local school board races to defeat candidates who wanted to ban books and/or were receiving support from right-wing political organizations. The governor ended up claiming victory in more than 70 percent of those campaigns. The push was unusual because the state’s Democratic Party,…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) and Senate Republican Caucus Whip Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) filed an official resolution calling for an independent audit by the Illinois Auditor General into serious accusations of violence against children under the state’s care at Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center in Chicago, as well as what appears to…
Read Full Article Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote. And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2. “I’ve had people that I…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD — Four Illinois state senators are calling on state and federal leaders to address concerns about recent federal data that shows thousands of non-citizens who have crossed into the United States are charged with serious crimes. State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet), State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley), and State Sen.…
Read Full Article A judge on Wednesday denied former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s motion to dismiss some of the charges he faces before trial next week. Judge John Robert Blakey also denied a motion from Madigan’s co-defendant in the case, Michael McClain, for a separate trial. McClain, a former state lawmaker, lobbyist and longtime Madigan ally, had…
Read Full Article Nearly 8,000 seniors and Missourians with disabilities could lose at-home care over the next year after a new eligibility algorithm went into effect this week, a spokesperson for the state health department told The Independent. Starting Oct. 1, Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services implemented a change in the scoring algorithm they use to…
Read Full Article Early voting began Thursday in Illinois, and Capitol News Illinois has launched an interactive election guide to help Illinoisans navigate the voting process. Illinois gives voters 40 days prior to Election Day to cast their ballot – in most jurisdictions. Beginning Thursday, most Illinoisans can vote at their local election authority’s office – in most…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD —The State of Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) announces the third stop on its series of statewide public hearings it is hosting to discuss reparatory actions for Black Americans in Illinois who are descendants of American chattel slavery. The next public hearing will take place in Springfield at Southeast High School on Saturday, Oct.…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – In a case testing the limits of a state law designed to protect citizen participation in government, the Chicago Sun-Times is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to dismiss a defamation suit filed against it by a former state official. Mauro Glorioso, a former chair of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board who later…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court last week vacated a lower court ruling and reinstated a statute that authorizes the state to revoke a person’s Firearm Owners Identification card once they’ve been charged with a felony, even if they haven’t yet been convicted. The case involved Aaron and Charles Davis, a father and son who were charged…
Read Full Article As I’ve been telling Statehouse types for a long while, lobbyists and legislators need to be paying very close attention to what’s happening in the corruption trials relating to and involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan. For example, lots of folks rely on lawyers to help guide them through the Springfield swamp. Then-AT&T Illinois President…
Read Full Article EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has presided over the trial, called attention to…
Read Full Article CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in their deliberations over whether former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza bribed longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan via a no-work contract for the speaker’s political ally. After nearly 15 hours of deliberation over three days, the jury’s foreperson told…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Although Quincy Mayor Mike Troup confirmed he was running for re-election back in March at the weekly Monday morning meeting with members of the Quincy/Adams County GOP, he officially launched his bid Wednesday night at Dick Bros. Brewery. Before many of the same supporters who back his winning campaign run in 2021, Troup…
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