Politics
QUINCY — Rep. Randy Frese (R-Paloma) has announced he is running for re-election to be one of three people who will represent Adams County in the Illinois House of Representatives. The new legislative maps divide Adams into the 94th, 99th and 100th Districts. The 99th House District consists of all or parts of Adams, Brown,…
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After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday against the Biden administration’s vaccine or testing mandate on employers of more than 100 employees, it’s expected the Illinois Department of Labor’s COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate will be withdrawn. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate on private sector businesses with more…
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SPRINGFIELD – A continuing sharp spike in COVID-19 cases being driven by the omicron variant has pushed the state’s hospital capacity to its limits and is prompting the state to bring in additional health care workers from other states and countries. Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday that more than 2,000 additional health care workers have…
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IDOC Pauses County Intakes to Protect Staff, Individuals in Custody from Latest Covid-19 Surge SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is temporarily pausing intakes from county jails as it responds to COVID-19 outbreaks at correctional facilities. These facilities include the Graham, Logan, Menard and Northern Reception and Classification Centers where county jails transport new…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health said Friday that the state had recorded 201,428 new cases of COVID-19 over the previous week, a 57 percent increase over the previous week, while the weekly number of deaths rose 15 percent, to 444 as the omicron variant of the virus continues to spread. Those cases…
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Rules filed Friday by the Illinois Department of Labor require vaccines or testing mandates for employers of more than 100 employees. Monday was the deadline for large employers to provide their vaccine or testing mandate policies to the federal government. The fate of the mandates remains uncertain. During Friday’s oral arguments in the case where…
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The Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates voted Monday night to return to classrooms later this week if the full membership approves. CHICAGO — Chicago’s public school students could be back in classrooms Wednesday. The Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates voted Monday night to approve a deal with the city to end their days-long remote…
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The last day on the job for the Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope was Thursday. The office is now vacant at this time. “We have to reeducate ourselves to fight the corruption that exists under the Capitol dome,” Sen. Jil Tracy, R–Quincy, who chairs the Senate Ethics Commission, said during a news conference Thursday. Pope,…
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Proposal would create new subcircuits in additional counties SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to redraw judicial subcircuit maps in Cook County and some of the surrounding collar counties while creating new subcircuits in several additional counties. The House gave its final approval shortly after 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the measure passed…
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The Illinois General Assembly begins a new session Jan. 5, but it is not expected to last long. They may have a new state budget and wrap up almost two months early. Illinois state legislators head back to Springfield Jan. 5 for what is expected to be the shortest legislative session in decades. The holiday…
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Arguments continue in cases brought by teachers challenging the governor’s vaccine mandates in schools and parents challenging mask and exclusion mandates on students. Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow heard Monday in Springfield arguments from defendants to have a different judge oversee the teacher’s case. That case has dozens of teachers and school staffing suing 22 districts. The judge said…
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The downsizing and redistricting of Illinois’ Congressional political map was probably going to pit some current members of Congress against each other and that appears to have come to fruition. Freshman Mary Miller of Oakland announced over the weekend she will run for the Republican nomination in the Illinois 15th District. Congressman Rodney Davis of…
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It’s the biggest federal corruption investigation in years, but the most remarkable thing about the Commonwealth Edison bribery probe in 2021 might be what didn’t happen. The year began with pressure mounting on Michael Madigan, the then-powerful House speaker whose ironclad grip on the General Assembly was slipping after being exposed the previous summer as…
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Illinois driver services facilities will be closed for two weeks to try to slow the spread of COVID-19 after the start of the year. Because of increased cases, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has announced the state’s driver services facilities will be closed for the first two weeks of the new year. “After careful…
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Chicagoans will be required to provide proof of vaccination and a photo ID before entering restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues in the city starting Jan. 3, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has decreed. Office buildings, airports and churches are exempt. Those with a religious exemption can provide a negative test, but the test option was not offered to those…
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After several months of negotiations and adjustments before the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), Ameren Missouri customers are set to see a rate increase for its services early next year. The new revenue will be earmarked for infrastructure and clean energy. Electric and gas customers will see an increase on their bills beginning Feb. 28, 2022, increasing Ameren’s annual…
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Missouri’s two largest counties will continue their efforts to overturn a court ruling that severely limits the powers of local health departments at the same time health officials warn the omicron variant will bring thousands of new COVID-19 cases. Missouri reported almost 10,000 new coronavirus infections Monday, making December the second-worst month of the pandemic this year.…
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Missouri is slated to receive more than $13 million in emergency relief funds from the federal government to repair roads and bridges damaged by flooding and storms in 2019. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded a nearly $2.4 million grant to address infrastructure damage from severe storms and flooding in March 2019 and almost $11 million for the fallout of…
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SPRINGFIELD – New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest Illinois is continuing to lose population. The latest estimates, released Tuesday, pegged the state’s population at 12,671,469 as of July 1, 2021, down by 113,776, or 0.9 percent, from the official 2020 census. Several factors contributed to the change, but the single largest was domestic outmigration.…
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Gov. JB Pritzker and other health officials from across Illinois on Monday identified unvaccinated people as the cause for healthcare systems stretched to their limits as the state experiences a fifth COVID wave driven by the virus’ extremely contagious Omicron variant. Five-hundred new COVID patients were admitted to Illinois hospitals between Sunday and Monday —…
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SPRINGFIELD – Minimum wage workers in Illinois will see a boost in their hourly pay to $12 per hour starting Jan. 1, while tenants in affordable housing units will be allowed to keep pets. Those are just some of the more than 300 new laws that take effect in the new year. The minimum wage increase is…
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On any political map, Illinois is a reliable blue state that has elected Democratic governors four of the last five elections and last backed a Republican presidential candidate before Michael Jordan was winning championships in Chicago. But as that political streak again gets put to the test in the high-stakes 2022 gubernatorial campaign, Democrats are…
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Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law on Friday that ends parental notification, a requirement that doctors notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion. “With reproductive rights under attack across the nation, Illinois is once again establishing itself as a leader in ensuring access to health care services,” Pritzker said. “This repeal was essential,…
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SPRINGFIELD – Several Illinois lawmakers said this week they are determined to pass a bill in the spring that would overhaul the way nursing homes are paid through the state’s Medicaid program to address critical staffing shortages, but the state’s largest nursing home industry group is still pushing back against the proposed changes. “We need…
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The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate fell -0.3 percentage point to 5.7 percent, while nonfarm payrolls increased by +19,500 in November, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The preliminary report for October monthly payrolls was revised from…
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