Politics
Taylorville congressman will be representing West-Central Illinois should he win in 2022. U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) on Tuesday announced he’ll run for a sixth term in Congress, ending months of chatter about his possible entrance in the Republican primary to unseat Gov. JB Pritzker in 2022. “Democrats in Washington have put our nation in…
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WASHINGTON — Enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of health care workers was blocked in 10 states on Monday, after a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp affects the states involved in the lawsuit, including Missouri. The others are Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire,…
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Driving on Illinois’ dilapidated roads and bridges could cost as much as $1,119 extra a year, a new study finds. Illinois ranked 14th worst in the nation, an analysis of state road infrastructure found. Illinois has 20 percent of its roads ranked non-acceptable and 12 percent of bridges in poor condition by Federal Highway Administration standards. But the state…
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SPRINGFIELD — Lawyers for the General Assembly’s Democratic leaders filed documents in federal court Wednesday denying that newly drawn state legislative district maps amount to racial gerrymandering, instead accusing the plaintiffs in the three lawsuits of trying to use race to redraw districts for their own purposes. Wednesday’s filings are the Democrats’ response to proposed…
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation redrawing the state’s congressional district maps, saying they reflect Illinois’ diversity and preserve minority representation. “These maps align with the landmark Voting Rights Act and will ensure all communities are equitably represented in our congressional delegation,” Pritzker said in a statement. Due to the state’s declining population,…
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SPRINGFIELD – With a pair of major policy victories in hand, Gov. JB Pritzker traveled to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, at the beginning of the month and shared a vision for his home state: “Illinois intends to become the best place in North America to drive and manufacture an electric…
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Benefits to Be Paid Through Direct Deposit or Paper Check, Debit Cards No Longer Used SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has announced that in the coming weeks, unemployment insurance benefit payments will no longer be made by debit card. Beginning December 27, 2021, claimants who defaulted to a debit card option as…
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State Income Tax Range: 4.95% (flat rate)Average Combined State and Local Sales Tax Rate: 8.83%Median Property Tax Rate: $2,165 per $100,000 of assessed home value Sorry, Illinois, but you’re the least tax-friendly state in the country for middle-class families. For all three taxes we’re tracking – income, sales, and property taxes – you tax middle-income…
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Education professionals from across the state are being put on unpaid leave or fired for not complying with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. And their unions have been of no help. It’s not known how many teachers or other education professionals have been put on unpaid leave or fired for not complying with the…
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As costs increase and the winter months approach, Missouri is expanding its energy assistance benefits for low-income residents. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program offers eligible Missourians assistance on heating and cooling bills. While the summer program has been offered from June-September with the winter program running from November-May, the Department of Social Services (DSS) expanded the program this week to…
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Court decision has no effect on vaccine mandates applying in healthcare settings or to federal contractors and subcontractors On Thursday, November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that establishes minimum COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for private employers with 100 or more employees throughout the United…
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In a 7-0 vote Nov. 16, the Illinois State Board of Elections dismissed a campaign spending complaint against Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino’s old Illinois House campaign committee. Back in May, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Mautino’s campaign committee did violate Illinois campaign finance law by spending $225,109 from 1999 until 2015 on gas and repairs to vehicles the…
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SPRINGFIELD – Plaintiffs in three lawsuits challenging the new legislative district maps that Democrats pushed through the General Assembly earlier this year have submitted their proposed changes, which would create more Latino- and Black-majority districts in Cook County and the Metro East region. The latest filings, submitted to a three-judge federal court panel Wednesday night,…
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One recent death due to COVID and 30 have died from it since the inception of the pandemic. From Illinois Veterans Home-Quincy Administrator Troy Culbertson sent to staff and residents on Wednesday: Since our last COVID-19 update there have been zero additional cases of COVID-19 among residents at our home, for a total of 141…
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For calling an attorney challenging his executive orders in court a “grifter,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker faces a summons in Sangamon County Circuit Court to answer to a defamation allegation. Thomas DeVore, an attorney who has filed multiple lawsuits against the governor over COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools and businesses, sued Pritzker late last month, claiming…
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Illinois’ sluggish labor market is driven by a record number of workers quitting their jobs at the same time there are fewer job opportunities than in nearly any other state. Even though an all-time record number of workers quit, Illinois was only No. 7 in the “Great Resignation.” Illinois’ sluggish labor market is driven by…
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If nothing is done soon to address Illinois’ unemployment trust fund debt, employer groups say the costs to do business in Illinois will continue to increase. Illinois is past due on its unemployment insurance trust fund debt and the interest continues to grow. As of Monday, the U.S. Treasury showed Illinois’ outstanding unemployment trust fund debt is…
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Even as nursing homes worked through the summer to get Missouri over the halfway mark in employee vaccinations, the state fell further behind peers, dropping to last in the nation. And while neighboring Kansas has fared better, both states have large swaths of nursing home staff to get vaccinated before a federal deadline next month.…
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About half of Missouri is now required to adhere to 10-digit dialing to make local calls to accommodate a new phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved 988 as the nationwide shorthand number for the hotline last summer. Similar to the 911 system, the three-digit dialing option will allow callers to…
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2020-2021 Pre-K-12 enrollment fell 3.6 percent from previous year SPRINGFIELD – The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant drops in enrollment, academic performance and the likelihood of graduating high school on time, according to the latest school report card released recently by the Illinois State Board of Education. The report card is an annual report that tracks how…
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With the 2016 relocation of the Rams back to Los Angeles tied up in court, there has been some speculation of St. Louis receiving an NFL expansion team as a way to appease it for the loss. Rams owner Stan Kroenke and other team owners are embroiled in a massive legal battle with St. Louis over allegations the team improperly moved…
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Before slavery ended in 1865, large numbers of Missourians didn’t count in the population base used to allocate the seats in the General Assembly. In the 1821 Missouri Constitution, only “free white male inhabitants” counted in the distribution of Missouri House seats, leaving out white women and all Blacks, free or enslaved. A change in 1849 added white…
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ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Court of Appeals at St. Louis on Tuesday rejected a bid by the Los Angeles Rams, its owner and the National Football League to move January’s relocation lawsuit out of St. Louis. An order signed by Robert M. Clayton III of Hannibal, the eastern district appeals court’s presiding judge, denied…
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SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers gave final approval in the early hours of Friday morning to a new congressional redistricting plan that divides the state into 17 districts, one fewer than it currently has due to its loss of population since the 2010 U.S. Census. It was the fourth draft plan that legislative Democrats had proposed over the…
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SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House late Wednesday gave final passage to a bill that repeals the state’s Parental Notice of Abortion Act, clearing the way for Gov. JB Pritzker to sign it into law. The bill narrowly passed out of the Senate on Tuesday night on a 32-22 vote, with three Democrats voting no and six…
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