Politics
QUINCY — The Great River Economic Development Foundation announced Tuesday that MadisonBadgley Peters has been promoted to the position of Vice President of the organization. This is a newly-created post as GREDF and its president, Kyle Moore, prepare for the likelihood that Moore will be elected to the Illinois House of Representatives next month. Moore…
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CHICAGO — Opening arguments began Monday in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who faces 23 bribery, fraud, racketeering and conspiracy charges related to five “episodes” over the last 14 years. The former speaker wore a charcoal suit with a red tie, watching dispassionately and taking notes as federal prosecutor Sarah…
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QUINCY — Mike Rein’s dalliance with the idea of running for mayor lasted about a week. Rein, an alderman in Quincy’s 5th Ward, recently pulled petitions to run for re-election as alderman, but he also pulled petitions to run for mayor. He had to choose between which office he wanted to run for by Oct. 28.…
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Ranked-choice voting is on the rise in the U.S., with two U.S. states and 45 U.S. cities now using some version of it. This November, Missourians will have the opportunity to ban it. Advocates of ranked-choice voting argue that it solves the problems of other voting methods, while detractors counter that it makes elections unnecessarily complicated. Here in the U.S., plurality…
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QUINCY — Two GOP mayoral candidates turned in petitions at the beginning of the filing period Monday morning at Quincy City Hall. Brink was first in line with 740 signatures on his petitions. Troup was third in line behind former City Clerk Janet Hutmacher, who was turning in the petitions for City Clerk Laura Oakman.…
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The Pritzker administration continues to deny the state is losing population. During a panel discussion about pensions with the Better Government Association this week, Deputy Gov. Andy Manar was asked about the state’s economic trends, including population decline. “There has never been more people living in the state of Illinois than there is today,” Manar…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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. …
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Abortion has become one of the most significant issues to this election cycle following the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in the summer of 2022, especially among women and undecided voters. As a traditionally conservative and religious region, many residents in our area have been outspoken about their support for President Trump…
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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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 November 29, 2024
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