Politics
SPRINGFIELD — Confusion and pushback regarding the enforcement of masks mandates spilled over onto the House Floor Wednesday afternoon during the chamber’s regular legislative session after Republicans refused to comply with face covering requirements. Amid the pandemic, lawmakers approved House rules requiring face coverings to be worn in the chamber unless eating, drinking or speaking…
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Don’t expect the Illinois State Board of Education to take up a proposed rule requiring the COVID-19 vaccine or testing for school staff. The item was removed from the board’s agenda. The agenda for Thursday’s ISBE meeting initially showed an item for a proposed rule for adoption requiring mandatory vaccinations of school personnel. At last…
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SPRINGFIELD — A legislative panel on Tuesday voted to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools, saying in part that those rules are still being litigated in a state appellate court. The Joint Committee on Administrative rules voted 9-0, with two members voting “present,” to object to the rules and suspend them…
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A bill in the Illinois House would do away with the sub-minimum wage paid to waitresses, bartenders and other tipped service workers. Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, introduced House Bill 5139 last month. If the bill becomes law, workers who supplement their wages with tips will receive the state’s minimum wage starting on Jan. 1, 2025, in addition…
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Illinois will lift the statewide indoor mask mandate for most residents Feb. 28, joining nearly all other states nationwide that have rescinded emergency pandemic protocols as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rapidly decline. The growing push for the post-pandemic transition has seen 11 states announce expiration dates for their universal indoor masking requirements since Feb.…
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Couples across Illinois are planning for the upcoming Valentine’s Day weekend, but gathering their loved one’s favorite flowers or candy comes with a painful reminder: inflation has made virtually everything more expensive in the past year. Inflation has reached its highest level since 1982, with average consumer prices jumping 7.5% from January 2021-January 2022, according to the…
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is going to ask the Illinois Supreme Court to order Adams County Circuit Judge Robert Adrian to impose a new sentence to Drew Clinton. Raoul today filed a mandamus complaint and a motion for supervisory order asking the Court to direct Adrian to sentence Clinton “in accordance with state law.”…
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SPRINGFIELD — If hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to decline for the rest of the month, Gov. JB Pritzker plans to lift his executive order mandating face coverings indoors by Feb. 28. The plan does not apply to schools. It’s unclear what level of rise in hospitalizations could lead the state to change its course, but…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker will make an official announcement on the state’s plan for lifting its indoor mask mandate at 2 p.m. in Chicago, but in a morning news conference in Champaign Wednesday, he noted that he plans to lift the indoor mandate for some settings by Feb. 28. That won’t be the lift…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Senate’s anticipated contentious debate on congressional redistricting is underway — and in the midst of a long week. HB 2117, which was amended during a Senate hearing in late January to include an emergency clause, was brought to the floor shortly after 5 p.m. Monday. The Senate did not adjourn until about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. …
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SPRINGFIELD — Illinoisans should stay tuned for an announcement on the state’s indoor mask mandate, Gov. JB Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, although he declined to say specifically what changes might be coming. “I think I’ve said over the last few press conferences that I really believe that we ought to be…
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SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration are asking a state appellate court to set aside a lower court order from late Friday that invalidated the mask and vaccine mandates that the state imposed last year for public schools. On Friday, Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow granted a temporary…
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QUINCY — Jesse Sullivan is attempting to break out of a crowded field of Republicans hoping to square off against J.B. Pritzker in the fall. Sullivan, a Petersburg native, stayed overnight Saturday in Quincy, attended Mass at St. Peter Parish Sunday morning, had breakfast at The Coach House and made numerous other stops to introduce…
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Quincy Public Schools Superintendent Roy Webb released a statement Saturday evening saying District 172 would no longer enforce masking requirements for students and staff and would cease testing of unvaccinated staff. This comes on the heels of Friday’s ruling by a Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow that “deemed null and void” Governor J.B. Pritzker’s…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After a week derailed by snow and the governor’s appointees, the Missouri Senate is expected to take up congressional redistricting again next week. “I’m hopeful next week goes off without too much fanfare, but I believe we will get a map done next week,” Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz said…
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Each year in February, Illinois’ governor must propose to lawmakers a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The General Assembly will then spend the next several months negotiating which proposals to include and which to scrap before sending the budget back to the governor for consideration. On Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker delivered his fourth…
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SPRINGFIELD – Senate Republicans unveiled an updated package of crime bills this week that they say will help curb violent crime and provide a morale boost to law enforcement. It’s substantially similar to the package the GOP introduced three months ago during the fall veto session to little fanfare from Democratic supermajorities in either chamber of the…
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday offered a $45.4 billion general revenue budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that would include new spending on education and health care while also providing about $1 billion in tax relief that he said would soften the impact of inflation on Illinois consumers. In his budget address…
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Wednesday speech will outline plan to ease grocery, motor fuel, property taxes SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will propose a roughly $1 billion package of tax relief measures aimed at mitigating the impact of inflation on Illinois consumers when he gives his budget address Wednesday. The “Illinois Family Relief Plan,” as it is being called,…
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A pair of Missouri counties is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a 2019 law that stripped them of their ability to set their own rules for concentrated animal feeding operations. Under the law, county commissioners are prohibited from setting policies that are “inconsistent with or more stringent than” state rules for CAFOs. The law nullified…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next week for their first in-person sessions since Jan. 4. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said Thursday that the recent decline in COVID-19 cases makes returning to the Capitol possible. “Our goal is to be productive while also keeping everyone safe, so masking and social…
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SPRINGFIELD – Demanding what they call “common sense ethics reform,” Senate Republicans plan to take action in addressing unethical behavior by elected public officials. Upon introducing the ethics reforms package, Senate Republicans called for the legislative inspector general position to be filled through an independent search committee. Republicans said Democrats need to end the “political…
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METRO EAST — Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that $111.4 million has been awarded to transit providers downstate as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital program. The governor also announced an additional $108.3 million for public ports in Illinois. The two announcements, combined with earlier commitments of $40 million…
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Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has announced that for the next two months, additional larger downstate and central Illinois Driver Services facilities will require appointments for behind-the-wheel road tests, REAL IDs, standard driver’s licenses and ID cards. Vehicle services, such as renewing a license plate sticker or applying for a vehicle title, do not…
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MRN Publisher J. Robert Gough talks with Congresswoman Mary Miller about redistricting and having to run in a new part of Illinois. Muddy River News is furnished by Harvey’s Furniture.
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