Politics
CHICAGO – In the summer of 2018, Tim Mapes’ name had only recently faded from unflattering headlines after he was forced to resign from three top jobs he held under powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Mapes, who’d served as Madigan’s chief of staff for more than two decades, had been accused of sexual harassment…
Read Full Article QUINCY — U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) hosted a rural health care roundtable discussion Monday with leaders of local Quincy-area medical institutions to discuss the challenges that patients and providers in rural communities face. Durbin spoke about the new “Roadmap to Grow Illinois’ Rural Health Workforce,” a partnership with hospitals, community health centers,…
Read Full Article Dozens of state employees across multiple agencies are under investigation by a state watchdog for claims they fraudulently obtained payments from a federal pandemic-era loan program, Capitol News Illinois has learned. Neil Olson, general counsel at the Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General, confirmed that “OEIG has been investigating allegations of Paycheck Protection Program…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Members of the Adams County Circuit Clerk’s office are meeting Thursday night with Eighth Circuit Chief Judge Frank McCartney about the issue of mold in the Adams County Courthouse. An inspector with the Illinois Department of Labor replied to a complaint regarding the mold put forth by the Machinists Union, which represents the…
Read Full Article DECATUR – Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, TCCI, Richland Community College, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) on joined local leaders and partners to break ground on TCCI’s new electric vehicle (EV) Innovation Hub in Decatur. A global leader in electric compressors for commercial, heavy-duty, and automotive specialty markets, TCCI’s EV Innovation Hub is…
Read Full Article As another of Illinois’ border states is set to enact a near-total abortion ban this week, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced several new programs to help address the influx of out-of-state abortion seekers the state has seen in the 13 months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Indiana joined Missouri and…
Read Full Article CHICAGO – So-called crisis pregnancy centers can now face lawsuits if they engage in “deceptive acts” aimed at deterring women from seeking abortions under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday. Crisis pregnancy centers are facilities often affiliated with anti-abortion, usually religious, organizations. CPCs range from volunteer-run outfits that can’t offer much…
Read Full Article The Illinois Supreme Court on July 18 ruled as constitutional a new law making Illinois the first state to eliminate cash bail, and giving local law enforcement a Sept. 18 start date. The Pretrial Fairness Act portion of the SAFE-T Act originally suffered from conflicting and layered standards for detaining suspects before trial, but was amended to…
Read Full Article In the predawn hours of July 29, 1993, I sat with Earl Buck outside his New Franklin mobile home as the Missouri River rose two inches an hour on a sandbag levee he built with help from neighbors and volunteers. After three days of stacking, there were no more bags. In the darkness, when water…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Illinois overpaid unemployment benefits to the tune of $5.2 billion during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with much of it paid to fraudulent claimants, according to a comprehensive new audit. Included in that sum was $6 million paid to 481 dead people and $40.5 million in unemployment checks written to…
Read Full Article Drivers who need to renew their license at a secretary of state facility will likely have to make an appointment starting this fall. Starting Sept. 1, 44 driver services facilities in medium- to large-sized cities around the state will require appointments for driver services – things like renewing a license, updating a license to meet…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s largest public employee union announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a new contract that will provide a nearly 18 percent pay raise over four years, including a 4 percent raise this year. The contract also expands parental leave to 12 weeks and calls for new joint…
Read Full Article Child care providers who accept a subsidy from the state to serve low-income families will see a boost in payments next month, thanks to a $78.5 million funding increase approved by Missouri lawmakers earlier this year. The funding hike, included in the state budget signed by the governor, went into effect July 1. It won’t…
Read Full Article The fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri, with record numbers of overdoses in the last four years and 2023 on course to be another record year. Data points to a nearly 75% increase in overdoses in Missouri since 2019, and last year was the second consecutive year that fentanyl accounted for over two-thirds of…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has spent much of his time in recent weeks promoting the state’s electric vehicle industry and touting the impact of his signature Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, including during a weeklong trade mission to the United Kingdom. On Friday, Pritzker was in Joliet where he joined other elected…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Fourth District Appellate Court Justice Amy Lannerd has officially launched her campaign for a full term. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White and her colleagues on the Supreme Court unanimously assigned Lannerd to the Illinois Appellate Court, and she was sworn in on Dec. 5, 2022. Lannerd filled the vacancy when Justice…
Read Full Article QUINCY — As part of requirements of the National Voter Registration Act and Help America Vote Act, new voter registration cards are being mailed to all active Adams County voter during the month of July. If you do not receive a card and believe that you are currently an active voter of Adams County, contact…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha said he wasn’t surprised with this week’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling that upheld a state law to virtually eliminate no cash bail. Farha said his office was told on Friday the action was coming. He said the Illinois General Assembly made amendments to the law during last…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD — Without comment, the Illinois Supreme Court moved Monday to suspend the law licenses of former Commonwealth Edison CEO Ann Pramaggiore and ex-company lobbyist Michael McClain after their felony bribery convictions.
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois is set to become the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail after the state Supreme Court justices ruled Tuesday that a landmark criminal justice reform law did not violate the state’s constitution.
Read Full Article QUINCY — While the agenda items were mostly nondescript at Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting, the no-confidence vote taking against Mayor Mike Troup last week was still a point of discussion. Steve Kennedy, Republican committeeman for Quincy Precinct 27 and a former vice-chairman of the party’s Central Committee, asked both the mayor and the…
Read Full Article Missouri’s school districts are struggling not just with a teacher shortage but a scarcity of bus drivers, custodians and other essential personnel. In the 2022-2023 school year, teachers with inadequate teaching certification taught more than 8 percent of Missouri public school classes, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The crisis has led…
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