Politics
QUINCY — From precinct committeemen to governor, candidates for elected office in 2022 made their way to courthouses and elections offices across Illinois on Monday. It is filing day for those who seek to be on the June 28 primary ballot. For those seeking state and federal offices, they stood in line outside the Illinois…
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Parents of kids under 14 are one step closer to legally deciding when it’s safe to leave their children home alone. The Illinois House unanimously passed a bill amending the child abandonment statute. House Bill 4305 instead lets parents determine maturity based on the individual child, not a minimum age. Illinois’ minimum age of 14 is the highest age in the…
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SPRINGFIELD — In a 106-page, 22-count indictment, federal prosecutors painted a picture of former House Speaker Michael Madigan as the leader, along with a longtime confidante, of a sweeping criminal enterprise that influenced legislation for personal power and financial gain. “The Madigan Enterprise,” as prosecutors called it in the document filed Wednesday, benefitted from Madigan’s…
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Statement from Michael Madigan, former Illinois Speaker of the House, regarding Wednesday’s federal indictment on 22 counts of racketeering conspiracy and running a criminal enterprise: Statement from Madigan’s attorneys, Sheldon Zenner and Gil Soffer, on the indictment: Statement from Patrick Cotter, attorney for Quincy attorney and lobbyist Michael McClain, Madigan’s confidant, co-defendant and alleged co-conspirator:
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Indictment: Used position as speaker, Democratic Party chair for personal gain UPDATED SPRINGFIELD – Longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 22 counts for allegedly using his position as the top House Democrat to solicit “personal financial rewards” for himself and others, according to the U.S. Attorney’s…
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QUINCY — Two Illinois gubernatorial candidates, a congresswoman and an assortment of other politicians made their way to Quincy’s industrial section of the Riverfront Tuesday evening. The Quincy Tea Party has been holding its meetings in the lower level of Tower Pizza and Mexican, but with a larger than usual crowd expected to gather, the…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike will resign on March 14 after three years leading the agency and two years navigating a deadly pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 32,000 Illinoisans. Ezike, who was appointed IDPH director in 2019, became a widely recognized public figure in the…
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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan for pausing a scheduled automatic increase in the state’s motor fuel tax is facing opposition from several quarters, including engineering companies that design road and bridge projects. On Thursday, officials from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois said pausing the scheduled increase could have long-term consequences that…
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QUINCY — After weeks of speculation and scuttlebutt, Quincy Mayor Mike Troup pulled the trigger at Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting and nominated former Adams County Board Chairman Mike McLaughlin as the city’s newest police and fire commissioner. The City Council then approved the nomination by a 7-5-1 vote, with Troup casting the eighth…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Senate Democrats outlined legislation during a Thursday news conference that aims to address the ongoing teacher shortage throughout the state. The bills would extend the number of days retired and substitute teachers would be able to teach in a school year, waive substitute teaching licensing fees, and lower the minimum age for…
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Although the mask sightings have been fewer and fewer in our area as the weeks have passed, as of 12:01 a.m. Monday, masks are no longer “mandated” to be worn indoors in many locations in Illinois. Some areas will still see a restriction including long-term care facilities, day cares and health care facilities. Federal regulations…
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PETERSBURG, IL – Republican candidate for governor Jesse Sullivan announced Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha as a member of his Safe Streets Leadership Council, a bipartisan group of more than 20 Illinois leaders who support Sullivan’s plan law enforcement initiative. “I’ve experienced firsthand the denigration and destruction of law and order as a result of…
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SPRINGFIELD – A House revenue committee this week heard projections of an Illinois economy that is steadily moving back toward a level of pre-pandemic normalcy, which means revenue spikes realized due to temporary changes in consumer spending habits and federal stimulus packages are expected to subside. Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris characterized the…
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The Illinois Supreme Court denied Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appeal over his school mask mandates on Friday, determining that the lower court decisions were moot, vacating the temporary restraining order by the circuit court and remanding the case to the circuit court for further consideration. This decision likely brings to an end the litigation over mask mandates in…
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QUINCY — Illinois Democratic Party Chair and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) made a stop in Quincy Friday evening to meet with local Democrats to encourage participation in local government at all levels. Kelly met with party leaders, then met with local media, before addressing Democrats as a whole in a function at The Taproom in…
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CHICAGO — The blind trust set up to manage Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s vast wealth bought stock in one of the state’s biggest Medicaid contractors in 2020, the same year his administration made several decisions that benefited the company’s bottom line. The purchase of stock in health insurance giant Centene Corp. was made on behalf of…
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SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, resigned his seat Wednesday and will reportedly plead guilty next month to federal corruption charges. Cullerton, 52, a former chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and was seated in 2013. In August 2019, he was indicted on multiple charges…
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Parson signs Missouri's $4.6 billion spending plan, House approves bill targeting Medicaid expansion
The first bill sent to Gov. Mike Parson from this year’s legislative session includes a pay raise for state employees, money to fund Medicaid through the end of the fiscal year and federal COVID-19 recovery funding for schools. The Missouri House on Thursday voted 133-12 to pass the $4.6 billion supplemental spending bill approved Wednesday evening in the state Senate.…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked to review the state’s mask mandate and other COVID-19 mitigation orders for K-12 schools on an expedited schedule. Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a petition for appeal Tuesday, along with a motion for an emergency stay of a Sangamon County judge’s order to block enforcement of…
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The attorney who has challenged Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandates with lawsuits has set his sights on statewide office. Greenville attorney Thomas DeVore has confirmed he will run for Illinois Attorney General. DeVore, a Republican, had earlier launched a campaign for appellate judge, but will now join Rockford Attorney Steve Kim in a primary…
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Saying private dollars shouldn’t be used to pay public employees, an Illinois lawmaker has introduced legislation that would prevent Gov. J.B. Pritzker from paying state employees out of his pocket on top of the salaries taxpayers already pay for. Pritzker doles out $1.5 million a year to subsidize the salaries of 15 employees in his administration in…
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QUINCY — U.S. Congresswoman Robin Kelly, chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, is traveling the state on a listening tour Friday. She will meet with Adams County Democrats from 6-7 p.m. at the Taproom, 104 N. Sixth. Kelly has dedicated her career to public service. Since being elected to serve the 2nd Congressional District in…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House voted to remove nine Republican members from the House floor Thursday afternoon for their refusal to comply with face covering requirements, delaying the start of the legislative session for the third straight day. In a 66-39 vote, Democrats voted to remove Reps. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, Blaine Wilhour,…
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An Illinois appellate court dismissed Governor J.B. Pritzker’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling against his mask mandate in schools, calling the request “moot” after a legislative committee suspended the requirement’s renewal. On Thursday, the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court rejected the appeal, noting that the state’s department of public health on Feb. 14 had…
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SPRINGFIELD — The question of whether K-12 schools in Illinois can continue to enforce mask mandates and other COVID-19 mitigations remained unclear Wednesday as all three branches of state government tried to grapple with it. Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday that his executive order requiring those measures remains in place, at least in districts not…
Read Full Article May 01, 2025
FRANKIE AND THE KLITZ: Shingles anybody?
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