Gov. JB Pritzker
As the influx of non-citizen migrants continues, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson say they are on the same page regarding handling the crisis despite reports of conflict between the two administrations. Chicago has seen more than 35,000 non-citizen arrivals over the past year and a half from the southern border. Many…
Read Full Article Illinois Statehouse Republicans wanting to end the state’s migrant sanctuary policies are getting rebuffed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Republicans held two separate news conferences this week to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis where Illinois has received about 35,000 non-citizen arrivals since August 2022. Republicans are calling for more transparency on how taxpayer dollars are being…
Read Full Article More than 300 new laws will take effect Jan. 1, ranging from a ban on book bans to the regulation of “deepfake porn” and prohibitions on videoconferencing while driving. Thanks to a law signed in 2019, workers at the lowest end of the pay scale will see a pay raise with the new year as…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – The U.S. Supreme Court issued two orders this week turning down requests to block enforcement of Illinois’ assault weapons ban while challenges to the law are still being heard in lower courts. On Wednesday, Justice Amy Coney Barrett turned down a request from Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins, of Decatur, and other gun rights advocates…
Read Full Article QUINCY — State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said the Pritzker Administration should not be diverting millions of taxpayer dollars to non-citizens – especially without any input from Illinois lawmakers. On Nov. 16, Gov. JB Pritzker announced he is re-allocating $160 million from the Illinois Department of Human Services to help assist Chicago with its influx…
Read Full Article Gov. JB Pritzker is self-funding the launch of a new political advocacy group aimed at fighting for abortion rights across the U.S. – an extension of sizable donations he’s been making in Democratic politics for several years. The billionaire governor, whose rising national profile had garnered feverish speculation about a run for president in 2024,…
Read Full Article FROM THE NEW YORKER: “Last fall, on a sunny day in the Chicago exurbs, J. B. Pritzker, well on his way to reëlection as the Democratic governor of Illinois, was knocking on a few doors and talking up his candidacy. A Republican had won every gubernatorial election in DuPage County since 1932, until Pritzker came…
Read Full Article On Sept. 1 of this year, Illinois Veterans Home Quincy Administrator Troy Culbertson as asked by Veterans Affairs Director Terry Prince to sign a letter of resignation or he would be terminated. After gathering facts about this situation, it was caused by a minor racial incident between an employee and a resident of the home.…
Read Full Article Marc Smith is one of 3 state agency leaders to announce end-of-year departure plans Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith will resign effective Dec. 31, he told colleagues in an all-staff town hall meeting Wednesday morning. For years, critics had called on Smith to resign or be fired, amid legislative hearings,…
Read Full Article A new battery manufacturing plant is set to open in northern Illinois next year after the state offered more than $330 million in tax incentives to make it happen. Gotion, a Chinese battery manufacturing and development company, announced on Friday that it will build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Manteno, about 50 miles south…
Read Full Article CHICAGO – A coalition of elected officials and business leaders in Illinois is calling on President Joe Biden to ease work restrictions for asylum seekers and other long-term undocumented workers – a move they say is both humane and would help solve ongoing labor shortages. In the year since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other…
Read Full Article $1,000 grants to FFA chapters will be available this fall Farmers and residents of rural communities often face stigma when it comes to mental health challenges, but state leaders hope to change that. Governor JB Pritzker announced Tuesday that chapters of FFA – the group once known as Future Farmers of America – will be…
Read Full Article Communities across Illinois that lack access to nearby stores that sell high quality food may soon see that change. Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed a bill that sets up a program to distribute $20 million for grants and technical assistance for grocery stores as well as funding research into food insecurity. The grants will go to…
Read Full Article Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday vetoed a measure that would have granted existing utilities in downstate Illinois, notably Ameren Illinois, the “right of first refusal” for transmission line construction. This would have given Ameren, the electric utility that serves much of downstate Illinois, authority to build new transmission lines without going through a competitive bidding…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – A gun trade association has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new Illinois law that restricts how gun dealers and manufacturers market their products. The Connecticut-based National Shooting Sports Foundation filed the suit in the Southern District of Illinois on Monday, just two days after Gov. JB Pritzker signed it into law. “The…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – A new law in Illinois restricts the way gun dealers and manufacturers can market and sell their products and subjects them to civil penalties for violations. Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday signed House Bill 218 into law. Labeled the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act, it took effect immediately. “We hold opioid manufacturers accountable. Vaping companies accountable.…
Read Full Article As another of Illinois’ border states is set to enact a near-total abortion ban this week, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced several new programs to help address the influx of out-of-state abortion seekers the state has seen in the 13 months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Indiana joined Missouri and…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has spent much of his time in recent weeks promoting the state’s electric vehicle industry and touting the impact of his signature Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, including during a weeklong trade mission to the United Kingdom. On Friday, Pritzker was in Joliet where he joined other elected…
Read Full Article State revenues once again reached a record high in the fiscal year that ended June 30, creating what Gov. JB Pritzker called a “one-time” budget surplus of over $700 million. The $50.7 billion in base general revenues that the state collected in fiscal year 2023 – which exclude one-time pandemic-related federal funds – topped last year’s previous…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Immigrants in Illinois with or without permission from U.S. immigration authorities will soon be able to obtain standard driver’s licenses that can be used for identification. Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed House Bill 3882, which will phase out the “Temporary Visitor Driver’s License,” or TVDL, which noncitizens currently use to drive legally in…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will dramatically alter the health insurance market in Illinois. The measures establish a state-based exchange for policies sold under the Affordable Care Act and give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to modify or reject proposed rate increases. “Since day one of my administration, I’ve…
Read Full Article CHICAGO – In a whirlwind visit to Chicago on Wednesday, President Joe Biden trotted out a re-election campaign message built on economic recovery – and effusively praised Gov. JB Pritzker for helping him win the White House in 2020. “There’s a guy that helped me more than – I can say this without equivocation –…
Read Full Article Frankie, Bobby and Ashley discuss having kids at certain ages and about the ever-shifting landscape and evolution of local media.
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