Politics
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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SPRINGFIELD – Police chiefs and sheriffs told a panel of state lawmakers Friday that they need more resources and support from the public and the General Assembly to combat a rising rate of violent crime in Illinois. Some said they don’t feel they are getting that now, especially in light of recently-enacted criminal justice reforms.…
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SPRINGFIELD – Hoping to make abortion care more accessible, a facility near St. Louis is set to be the “first of its kind” in providing financial assistance for travel-related costs. A Regional Logistics Center was opened Friday in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights. Using private funds, the center will pay for travel and…
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QUINCY — Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) was in Quincy Friday to be the guest speaker at a business event. Before heading to Town and Country Inn to speak at the Kohl Wholesale annual meeting, Davis stopped by the Muddy River News studios to discuss the current Washington climate and his upcoming June 28 primary contest…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Just as he had promised earlier in the week, Attorney General Eric Schmitt unveiled a slate of lawsuits against Missouri schools Friday in an effort to halt their mask policies. “School districts do not have the authority to impose, at their whim, public health orders for their schoolchildren. That is doubly true when the public…
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Republicans are calling for their Democratic counterparts in the Illinois House to join them in efforts to repeal criminal justice reforms, known as the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act. Reps. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, and Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, joined House GOP Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs,…
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QUINCY — Republican state Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy said Wednesday she will look to stay in the Illinois Senate in the newly created 50th District that covers stretches from Adams County to the Metro East across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Tracy has represented the 47th District since 2016 and was a state representative…
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SPRINGFIELD – Matt Plater has been in charge of school districts for more than two decades. Something is happening he’s never seen before. Jobs that used to draw hundreds of applications now get a dozen. More specialized positions might not get any at all. “It’s horrible,” he said. “This is my 23rd year as a…
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SPRINGFIELD – School officials across Illinois say a shortage of teachers and substitutes is forcing them to cancel course offerings, move them online or fill open positions with people who are not fully qualified. Those are the findings of the latest survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, the fifth such survey…
Read Full Article May 16, 2025
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