Gov JB Pritzker
Gov. JB Pritzker said last week that the extreme uncertainty with the US government and the international economy might mean that the legislature may have to reconvene to reconfigure the state budget after it adjourns at the end of next month. “It may very well be that we’re going to have to come back at…
Read Full Article Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch didn’t sound all that enthused about passing any new ethics reforms during an interview last week. In the wake of former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s conviction on 10 felony counts earlier this month, I asked Speaker Welch if he believed Madigan’s conviction called out for new reform laws. “I didn’t…
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CHICAGO – Cheered on by an Illinois delegation watching from the floor of the United Center, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday night embraced an identity that’s generally proven alienating in both Democratic and Republican politics: being extremely wealthy. “Donald Trump thinks that we should trust him on the economy, because he claims to be very…
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CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law Monday that expands insurance coverage during and after pregnancy with the goal of lowering infant and maternal mortality rates, especially for Black Illinoisans. The law requires insurers that provide state-regulated health care plans to cover pregnancy and postpartum services for covered individuals, including midwife services, doula visits, and lactation…
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The leaders of the Illinois Democratic Party have announced they are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris to be their party’s nominee for president following Sunday’s decision by President Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Gov. JB Pritzker made his announcement on X (Twitter) Monday morning: Dick Durbin, the second highest ranking Democrat in…
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When Gov. JB Pritzker proposed his budget for the upcoming fiscal year in February, he sought authority from lawmakers to raise more than $1 billion in revenue through various changes to the state tax code. Among other things, he sought to raise $526 million through extending an expiring cap on losses that corporations can claim…
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SPRINGFIELD – With about three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring legislative session, supermajority Democrats showed their strength as fiscal forecasters noted state revenues remain on track. April is typically a make-or-break month for state coffers, as income tax filings can often yield higher- or lower-than-expected returns,…
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With Illinois lawmakers scheduled to return to legislative session in less than a month, a recent government fiscal forecast provides an overview of the budgeting landscape that awaits them. The bottom line from the five-year forecast from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget: The current fiscal year is now projected to end with a…
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Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed into law a measure that will allow for the limited development of new nuclear power generation technology in the state. The measure, House Bill 2473, does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that are already operational in the state, but rather allows for new smaller-scale…
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CHICAGO – As winter quickly approaches, Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday announced plans for the state to spend an additional $160 million to aid and house a sustained influx of migrants sent to Chicago from the nation’s southern border. The administration sold the plan as a three-phase approach: “welcome, shelter, independence” – aimed at meeting…
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Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday condemned the deadly attacks on Israel over the weekend by the militant group Hamas, telling those gathered outside a synagogue in Chicago’s north suburb of Glencoe that Illinois “unequivocally stands” with the people of Israel. The governor, who himself is Jewish, was one of a handful of elected officials and…
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CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker was in Hyde Park Tuesday at the University of Chicago’s library to discuss Illinois’ fight against book bans. The university is building a collection of every book that has been banned in the U.S. and is partnering with the Digital Public Library of America to make books more accessible where…
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This article is an update to the original story, which was produced by WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR news station, and Injustice Watch, a nonprofit news organization in Chicago focused on issues of equity and justice in the court system. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker defended the number of dying and disabled prisoners released under a landmark law that went into…
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SPRINGFIELD – A new state fiscal year will begin July 1, ushering in the reinstatement of a 1 percent tax on groceries and a second increase to the state’s motor fuel tax in 2023. Amid record-high inflation last spring, the General Assembly temporarily waived Illinois’ grocery tax for the coming fiscal year and delayed the…
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CHICAGO – Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky. A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings and participate in public relations events. House Bill 3902 passed 56-1…
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UPDATE: The budget was filed as a 3,409-page amendment to Senate Bill 250 late Wednesday evening. This story has been updated to reflect the latest developments as of Wednesday night. SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic leaders announced Wednesday they’ve agreed to a framework for next year’s roughly $50 billion state spending plan, even as negotiations continued…
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SPRINGFIELD – In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. JB Pritzker recalls being handed a report from researchers at the University of Illinois. The analysis was written by scientists and mathematicians who were trying to estimate how many deaths and hospitalizations would occur under different scenarios – one if the state took no…
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A Kankakee County judge has ruled that the part of the controversial SAFE-T Act that ends cash bail across is unconstitutional. Judge Thomas W. Cunnington issued the ruling Wednesday night and it comes four days before cash bail was to be abolished across the state. In his ruling, Cunnington wrote “the appropriateness of bail rests…
Read Full Article June 06, 2025
CLUB MUDDY: BIRD WATCHING WITH MARCY PHILLIPS
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