Politics
Missouri ranks in the bottom third of all states for children’s health, according to a recent report using data from 2021. The annual Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, released this month, evaluates states on four metrics of child well-being. Those are: health, economic well-being, education and family & community. For overall child…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – While hundreds of bills cleared the General Assembly in the final month of the legislative session, some big-ticket measures will have to wait until at least the fall. Sponsors of several stalled bills say they will consider reviving their proposals when lawmakers return to the Capitol in October and November for their annual…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO — Millions of Illinoisans could see higher energy bills next year, but the size of those increases will be determined by a state agency that has recently had its oversight powers expanded. Four gas utilities and the state’s two largest electric utilities are currently requesting authority from the Illinois Commerce Commission to increase rates.…
Read Full Article 
For decades, there’s been a global movement urging “plain packaging” on tobacco products — or packaging with limited colors and frills — after numerous studies found it makes cigarettes less appealing to young people. Missouri will soon be a testing ground to see if plain packaging has the same impact for recreational marijuana. When voters passed the constitutional…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO – Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky. A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings and participate in public relations events. House Bill 3902 passed 56-1…
Read Full Article 
Lifelong Missourian Lacey Miller recently announced her intentions to run for Marion County Western District Commissioner. The position covers Marion County’s western district and Hannibal’s 1st ward. A Republican, Miller’s primary election will take place in August 2024. “For the past 20 years, I have dedicated my time to working for not just the farmers…
Read Full Article 
Ameren Missouri plans to open four solar farms by 2026 capable of powering a combined 95,000 homes, the company announced Tuesday. Ameren, an investor-owned electric utility serving St. Louis and eastern Missouri, said in a release it would build or purchase the four solar farms, which would have a combined capacity of 550 megawatts. Mark…
Read Full Article 
Ameren Missouri’s nearly 1.3 million electric power customers will be paying more in the near future but exactly how much more, and when the rates will take effect, has yet to be determined, the Missouri Public Service Commission said in a news release Thursday. The commission approved a plan for the utility to increase revenues…
Read Full Article 
The number of patients seeking abortions from Planned Parenthood of Illinois increased dramatically since last June after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The amount of patients seeking both medication and procedure abortions rose 54% in the last year, Planned Parenthood reported Monday. Patients needing financial and travel help also more than doubled…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Monday that seeks to protect public and school libraries from pressure to ban, remove or restrict access to books based on “partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” Speaking at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago, Pritzker said there were 67 attempts in 2022 to have various books removed…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s portrait has joined the “Hall of Governors” in the Illinois Capitol. The Winnetka Republican-turned-Florida resident on Monday unveiled the portrait, which was painted by Chicago Artist Richard Halstead and privately funded by Rauner. The 42nd governor of Illinois who served from 2015 to 2019, Rauner said he returns to the…
Read Full Article 
The state has collected more than 73,000 survey responses that reflect details such as who is substitute teaching in Missouri public schools, what they’re paid and where they work. The data, released Wednesday by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, may not offer a clear reason why some school districts struggle to recruit substitute teachers,…
Read Full Article 
Illinois is reinstating the state grocery tax on July 1 after an election-year suspension. Illinois will again become an outlier by taxing food at the supermarket: 37 states don’t tax groceries at all. Among the 10 most populous states, Illinois is the only one with a grocery tax. Among the 13 states that tax groceries, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas and…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state’s operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday, marking the first spending plan of his second term as governor. The $50.4 billion spending plan anticipates about $50.6 billion in revenues for the fiscal year that begins July 1, making for a projected surplus of roughly $183…
Read Full Article 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A week into Pride month, Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation banning minors from beginning gender-affirming care and limiting sports participation for transgender athletes. In a press release announcing his decision to sign the bills, Parson said he supports every person’s right to “his or her own pursuit of happiness.” However, he continued,…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — On Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 3062 into law, which requires any constitutional challenge to state laws to be filed in either Cook or Sangamon counties, a measure supporters say is intended to put a stop to what they describe as “venue shopping.” This was one of the final bills…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed 566 bills through both chambers of the General Assembly in the recently concluded legislative session – all but one of them in May. It sets the table for an approximate three-month bill-signing season for Gov. JB Pritzker. That’s because the state’s constitution gives legislative leaders 30 days from a bill’s…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY— Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker stopped by John Wood Community College Monday afternoon to discuss the state’s recently passed budget and a large increase in Monetary Award Program for higher education. MAP grants, which do not need to be repaid, are available to eligible Illinois residents who attend approved Illinois colleges and demonstrate financial need, based on the information provided…
Read Full Article 
Todd Maisch: A Man Proud of the Place in Which He LivedBy State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) President Abraham Lincoln had an inspirational quote that, for me, epitomizes the life and career of Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch, and what he meant to our state and its many businesses. I like…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – The 2023 spring legislative session came to an end in the early hours of Saturday morning after the Illinois House gave its approval to a $50.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. The 73-38 party-line vote came around 2:30 a.m. after lengthy debate during which Democrats called the budget…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House is planning to work until the early hours of Saturday morning to finalize a $50.6 billion state spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That announcement came early Thursday evening, more than 24 hours after Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly announced…
Read Full Article 
UPDATE: The budget was filed as a 3,409-page amendment to Senate Bill 250 late Wednesday evening. This story has been updated to reflect the latest developments as of Wednesday night. SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic leaders announced Wednesday they’ve agreed to a framework for next year’s roughly $50 billion state spending plan, even as negotiations continued…
Read Full Article 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri legislative session for 2023 ended at 6 p.m. May 12, the day and time as required by law, with a number of bills left unheard. Two senators filibustered to protest bills that were not being passed. Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, read aloud from a biography of Ronald Reagan,…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers didn’t finish their spring legislative session by Friday’s scheduled adjournment as negotiations over the state budget remain in flux. The May 19 end to the General Assembly’s spring session had been on the calendar for months, but it’s not a deadline; lawmakers still have until the end of May before a constitutional…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate on Thursday passed an amended version of a bill that would allow businesses and public institutions to provide multi-occupant all-gender bathrooms if they choose to do so. House Bill 1286 would change current state law, under which single-occupancy bathrooms are automatically designated for all genders, but multi-occupancy bathrooms must be designated…
Read Full Article February 22, 2025
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: BEN ROBINSON GUITARS
Current Weather
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI