Politics
Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote. And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2. “I’ve had people that I…
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SPRINGFIELD — Four Illinois state senators are calling on state and federal leaders to address concerns about recent federal data that shows thousands of non-citizens who have crossed into the United States are charged with serious crimes. State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet), State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley), and State Sen.…
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A judge on Wednesday denied former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s motion to dismiss some of the charges he faces before trial next week. Judge John Robert Blakey also denied a motion from Madigan’s co-defendant in the case, Michael McClain, for a separate trial. McClain, a former state lawmaker, lobbyist and longtime Madigan ally, had…
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Nearly 8,000 seniors and Missourians with disabilities could lose at-home care over the next year after a new eligibility algorithm went into effect this week, a spokesperson for the state health department told The Independent. Starting Oct. 1, Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services implemented a change in the scoring algorithm they use to…
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Early voting began Thursday in Illinois, and Capitol News Illinois has launched an interactive election guide to help Illinoisans navigate the voting process. Illinois gives voters 40 days prior to Election Day to cast their ballot – in most jurisdictions. Beginning Thursday, most Illinoisans can vote at their local election authority’s office – in most…
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SPRINGFIELD —The State of Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) announces the third stop on its series of statewide public hearings it is hosting to discuss reparatory actions for Black Americans in Illinois who are descendants of American chattel slavery. The next public hearing will take place in Springfield at Southeast High School on Saturday, Oct.…
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SPRINGFIELD – In a case testing the limits of a state law designed to protect citizen participation in government, the Chicago Sun-Times is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to dismiss a defamation suit filed against it by a former state official. Mauro Glorioso, a former chair of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board who later…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court last week vacated a lower court ruling and reinstated a statute that authorizes the state to revoke a person’s Firearm Owners Identification card once they’ve been charged with a felony, even if they haven’t yet been convicted. The case involved Aaron and Charles Davis, a father and son who were charged…
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As I’ve been telling Statehouse types for a long while, lobbyists and legislators need to be paying very close attention to what’s happening in the corruption trials relating to and involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan. For example, lots of folks rely on lawyers to help guide them through the Springfield swamp. Then-AT&T Illinois President…
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EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has presided over the trial, called attention to…
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CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in their deliberations over whether former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza bribed longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan via a no-work contract for the speaker’s political ally. After nearly 15 hours of deliberation over three days, the jury’s foreperson told…
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QUINCY — Although Quincy Mayor Mike Troup confirmed he was running for re-election back in March at the weekly Monday morning meeting with members of the Quincy/Adams County GOP, he officially launched his bid Wednesday night at Dick Bros. Brewery. Before many of the same supporters who back his winning campaign run in 2021, Troup…
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EAST ST. LOUIS – An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms. James Ronkainen, a former engineer for the Remington Firearms, said the AR-style…
Read Full Article CHICAGO – After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game over. We win,” AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza wrote to a…
Read Full Article It’s been an open secret for weeks that at least some members of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Intergovernmental Affairs staff would be leaving after the Democratic National Convention, including its director, Sydney Holman. That happened last week. Holman quit and two others were forced out of the IGA office, which liaisons with both the city…
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Adams County Board Chairman Kent Snider and Sheriff Tony Grootens sit down with MRN’s J. Robert Gough to discuss their plan to place school resource officers from the sheriff’s department into the county schools.
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SPRINGFIELD – One year after Illinois became the first state in the nation to eliminate the use of cash bail, the impact on the state’s criminal justice system appears to have been far less dramatic than people on either side of the debate had predicted. That, at least, is the early indication from an analysis…
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The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is asking for over $174 million in supplemental funding for this school year after receiving $1 billion less in appropriations compared to the previous year. When the State Board of Education reviewed the budget bill approved by lawmakers in May, Board Chair Charlie Shields predicted that “the mother…
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Illinois is one of just 12 states that still has a state estate tax. Thirty-eight other states do not have a state estate tax. To keep Illinois competitive, we need to eliminate this tax. The estate tax is imposed on a decedent’s estate before distribution to heirs. The amount of the tax is calculated after…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a pair of cases that test the authority of local courts to hold criminal suspects behind bars while they await trial. The cases come almost one year to the day after the court allowed a new law abolishing the use of cash bail in Illinois to take…
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CHICAGO – Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza, who federal prosecutors allege bribed once-powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation in Springfield. It’s the last in a series of related trials that have played out in Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Courthouse over the…
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Missourians will have the opportunity to vote to enshrine abortion in the state constitution this November, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a decision published less than three hours before the constitutional deadline to remove a question from the ballot, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling that recommended the measure be stripped…
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The Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether an abortion-rights will end up on the Nov. 5 ballot after a Cole County judge ruled the proposed amendment violated state law. The case bypassed the court of appeals over the weekend and headed straight to the state’s highest court, which scheduled oral arguments for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday…
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SEDALIA — On a hot and humid afternoon in the Swine Barn of the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, brothers Cole and Ty Murphy keep watch over their two hogs. Ty, 14, said he likes the hard work caring for pigs requires. “Every night we’re walking them for five to 10 minutes, working hair, cleaning…
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