Politics
CHICAGO – In early 2018, longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was facing a sexual harassment scandal that his closest advisors worried could doom his political future. A 28-year-old Democratic campaign operative named Alaina Hampton had publicly accused Madigan of mishandling complaints that another top political staffer within the speaker’s close orbit had made unwanted…
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Former House Speaker Michael Madigan has long been known as “The Velvet Hammer” for the way he quietly wielded power. But in a federal courtroom Monday, the man once considered Illinois’ most powerful politician may have been given a new moniker: Don Madigan. Testifying in the perjury trial of Madigan’s longtime chief of staff, Tim…
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SPRINGFIELD – The state’s ban on high-powered weapons and high-capacity magazines passed a state constitutional test Friday as it awaits a potentially more daunting challenge on the federal stage. In a split decision, the Democratically controlled Illinois Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the law characterizing dozens of firearms as “assault weapons” and preventing their manufacture…
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CHICAGO – Taking occasional notes – a habit hard-wired after more than 25 years as Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff – Tim Mapes sat and listened to opening statements in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial in a federal courtroom on Wednesday. Mapes allegedly lied to a grand jury in 2021…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — When Barry Louderman, launched his mayoral campaign Wednesday afternoon in front of the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, he said he had a reason. Louderman said St. Elizabeth’s “was once the jewel of Hannibal.” He told the group his late wife Betty worked there in the wound and diabetic center for Hannibal Regional…
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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…
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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,…
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BARING, Mo. — Volunteers from all over the United States have been landing in Baring following the devastating tornado that destroyed the tiny Knox County, Missouri town this weekend. The volunteers are from Weaverland Disaster Services, a Mennonite disaster response ministry that has responded to everything from New Orleans hurricane damage to Joplin. Locally they…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Ahead of next summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, top Democratic officials on Tuesday signed a “labor peace agreement,” reinforcing Democrats’ longstanding ties to organized labor and limiting potential disruptions at the highly watched event. The deal means that the Democratic National Committee will use union labor when available and that the unions won’t strike…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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 February 22, 2025
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