Politics
QUINCY — Adams County Board Chairman Bret Austin has made committee assignments and named chairmen of each of the board’s four main committees. Taking Austin’s place as Finance Committee chair will be Travis Cooley (R-District 4). Cooley, who is a senior Vice President of Liberty Bank, previously served as the committee’s second chair behind Austin.…
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QUINCY – The Republican leaders of the counties that make up the Illinois 99th House District selected State Representative-elect Kyle Moore to take his seat early upon the retirement of Randy Frese. Moore said he’s ready to hit the ground running next week as the Illinois General Assembly meets in its “lame duck” session next…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers could soon make it easier for children in foster care to live with their relatives or other people close to them. Child welfare experts have long touted the benefits of foster children staying with kin. Advocates say those arrangements offer children more stability, decrease the trauma they experience, improve their mental…
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SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers in early January could consider easing requirements for residents to change their names, a move proponents say will reduce risks for victims of domestic abuse, transgender residents and others. The measure must clear the full Senate in the first week of January to reach Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk, otherwise it must…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation has outlined its progress made across the state in 2024. Made possible by Gov. JB Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital program, projects transformed highways, transit, railroads, airports, waterways and active transportation everywhere Illinois residents call home, creating safer and more reliable travel options while boosting economic opportunity for generations to…
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The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum is saddened by the passing of President Jimmy Carter. President Carter is being remembered as a true public servant and ardent patriot. He visited Hannibal and the Boyhood Home on Monday, Aug. 23, 1979. He came to town aboard the Delta Queen on the Mississippi River. Hannibal City…
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The 99th Representative District Committee announced a vacancy in the Illinois House of Representatives due to the resignation of Randy Frese. The Committee’s appointment will serve the remainder of Frese’s term in the 103rd General Assembly. In accordance with state statute, vacancies created in the General Assembly must be filled within 30 days. Former Quincy Mayor and current…
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The minimum wage in Illinois will increase to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, completing a six-year transition period since the increase was approved in 2019. Beginning New Year’s Day, Illinois workers making minimum wage will see wages rise by $1 and tipped workers will see their paychecks bump to $9 an hour. Youth workers…
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Time to study up, Illinois. When the clock hits midnight on New Year’s Day, 293 new state laws will take effect. Those include some of the defining bills of the 2024 legislative session and others that will change how people get IDs, evaluate job postings and even cancel gym memberships. In addition to the laws…
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We’re less than nine months from when candidates can begin circulating petitions for the 2026 election, so we’re rapidly approaching the time when major figures will need to decide whether to run or not. Because of that, a lot of people are polling. The state’s two big dogs, US Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. JB…
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I’ve mentioned a time or two I spent time on the Quincy Park Board of Commissioners, including two years as president. I was asked for a comment Thursday night regarding the latest episode of “As John Frankenhoff Turns” since my name was mentioned, so I obliged. I can’t really give a “no comment,” right? First,…
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When Bill Veeck owned baseball teams and sat in the bleachers or Harry Caray broadcast baseball games from the cheap seats, it was funny. But when Alderman Mike Farha (R-4th Ward) sat in the audience during Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting, it was not funny. When roll was called, he said he was just going…
Read Full Article The Democratic legislative leaders and the governor agreed to squirrel away $260 million in lump-sum appropriations to various state agencies last spring. But now some groups are figuring out that a big pile of state money is just sitting there and they are trying to stake their claims. This came to light last month when…
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SPRINGFIELD – More than five years after Illinois began issuing permits for legal production of industrial hemp, Gov. JB Pritzker said Friday he now favors legislation to bring the industry under tighter regulation. At a news conference in Chicago, Pritzker said in the short time since both the state and federal governments legalized hemp production,…
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CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declined to acquit former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza after his September trial on charges that he bribed ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan ended in a hung jury. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman was forced to declare a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict in…
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MRN This week goes on the road to the Missouri state capitol to interview the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, Mary Russell. Russell, a Ralls County native and graduate of Hannibal High School, Truman State and the University of Missouri School of Law, has been on the state’s highest court for 20 years.
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CHICAGO – After nearly a dozen years working for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Tom Cullen went out on his own in 1999, building up a lengthy roster of diverse – and often high-paying – clients that kept him busy. Even so, Cullen continued to volunteer with the Democratic Party of Illinois, overseeing campaigns and…
Read Full Article April 20, 2025
MRN THIS WEEK: QFD CHIEF STEVE SALRIN
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