Politics
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is now deciding whether the state’s recently enacted assault weapons ban violates certain provisions of the Illinois Constitution. In March, a circuit court judge in Macon County sided with a group of plaintiffs led by state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, and declared the law unconstitutional. The state appealed directly…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Quincy couple received two years’ probation Tuesday on misdemeanor charges stemming from the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Christina Gerding and Jason Gerding pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating and picketing inside the Capitol building. They could have received up to six months in jail and up to…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — Exelon, the parent company for Commonwealth Edison, has been paying the legal fees for two now-convicted former Edison executives who were part of a conspiracy to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, WBEZ has learned. The move has created an unusual dynamic. On one hand, the company’s subsidiary, ComEd, is cooperating with federal investigators…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are considering further legislation restricting the possession and marketing of firearms, even as state and federal courts are weighing the constitutionality of an assault weapons ban passed in January. On Wednesday, the Illinois House passed a bill that would subject firearms manufacturers and dealers to the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Illinois would become one of the first states to make so-called crisis pregnancy centers subject to the same consumer fraud standards as car dealerships, retailers and service-based businesses under a bill that will soon head to Gov. JB Pritzker. Upon the measure becoming law, crisis pregnancy centers could be sued under the Illinois…
Read Full Article The Missouri Senate held itself together longer than most had expected. But on Friday, hours before the constitutionally mandated adjournment, it went off the rails. Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican running for governor next year, attempted a procedural move to force a vote on personal property tax cut legislation. Instead, the chamber voted…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — In 2007, Reginald Lane shot and killed Jwonda Thurston, his pregnant girlfriend. For the murder, he was sentenced to life in prison, following state statute for someone who is found guilty of killing “more than one victim.” On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments in Lane’s case, specifically around whether Lane was…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – A measure that would ban the use of electronic cigarettes inside of public buildings in Illinois needs only a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law after it received final approval from lawmakers this week. House Bill 1540 passed the Senate on a 42-11 vote this week after passing the House 85-22 in March,…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — State officials suspended the legislative pension of former lobbyist Michael McClain after his conviction May 2 alongside the ‘ComEd Four’ on bribery charges, but the suspension may only be temporary. McClain, a former Illinois House representative and ComEd lobbyist with longtime ties to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was found guilty on nine counts of conspiring and falsifying…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers are considering creating a grant program that would send state dollars to grocers in Illinois communities that have few options for buying food. Senate Bill 850 would direct the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or DCEO, to establish the “Grocery Initiative,” a program that would study “food deserts” in Illinois and…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. JB Pritzker recalls being handed a report from researchers at the University of Illinois. The analysis was written by scientists and mathematicians who were trying to estimate how many deaths and hospitalizations would occur under different scenarios – one if the state took no…
Read Full Article The Missouri House sent legislation to the governor’s desk Wednesday morning barring transgender youth from beginning gender-affirming care. The bill passed 108-50. Only three Republicans joined every Democrat in opposition: House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, a doctor, Rep. Chris Sander, who is gay, and Rep. Gary Bonacker. Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth of St. Louis asked…
Read Full Article On Tuesday, former Gov. Pat Quinn was at the Capitol to add his ideas to the mix. He delivered a letter to Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic leadership in the General Assembly calling for a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to enact stricter ethics laws directly by initiative petition and binding referendum. “We need our…
Read Full Article With just about an hour to spare before the constitutional deadline, Missouri lawmakers on Friday approved a record state budget of almost $51 billion that increases pay for highway patrol troopers and direct care workers and one of the biggest boosts in years for higher education. The $50.7 billion spending plan headed to Gov. Mike…
Read Full Article DECATUR, Ill. — Forgery and misconduct charges filed against Brent Fischer were thrown out by a Macon County judge Thursday afternoon. Macon County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Geisler ruled in favor of the defense’s argument that Macon County was not the proper venue to consider the charges Fischer. The accusations were made against him when…
Read Full Article A measure that passed the Illinois House would require school districts to implement full-day kindergarten across the state. State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, filed the proposed legislation, which has the backing of the Democratic majority in the House and Senate. House Bill 2396 would benefit parents and children alike, according to Canty. “Full-day kindergarten programs…
Read Full Article Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is still blocked from enforcing an emergency rule limiting gender-affirming care after a St. Louis County judge granted a 14-day temporary restraining order Monday. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and Lambda Legal, alleges that Bailey abused the state’s consumer protection law to create the…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – A federal judge in East St. Louis issued an order Friday blocking enforcement of Illinois’ ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines until a lawsuit challenging the law is resolved. Judge Stephen P. McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois said the law known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act is likely to…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Medicaid recipients in Illinois should be on the lookout for correspondence from the state regarding their coverage as the normal renewal process resumes for the first time in three years. Medicaid is a health insurance program for low-income and disabled people that is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Throughout the pandemic,…
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