Gov. JB Pritzker
SPRINGFIELD – The 2023 spring legislative session came to an end in the early hours of Saturday morning after the Illinois House gave its approval to a $50.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. The 73-38 party-line vote came around 2:30 a.m. after lengthy debate during which Democrats called the budget…
Read Full Article 
There are few entertainment experiences that outshine live theater. The Quincy Community Theatre again proved this with its superb production of RENT and outstanding performances by Trey Ehrhart, Lance Frederick and other cast members. I saw RENT on Broadway years ago in the throes of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The medical progress in confronting HIV/AIDS has…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois has recently experienced a prolonged stretch of good financial news, a new state fiscal forecast notes that if spending continues to grow at its recent pace it could lead to future budget deficits. It would mark the reversal of a recent trend during which the state logged considerable surpluses this fiscal…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers advanced a bill last week that would effectively abolish life sentences for any incarcerated individual who was under the age of 21 when they received their sentence. In January, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that makes any individual who was under the age of 21 when sentenced to life in prison eligible…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 208 into law Monday, ensuring at least 40 hours of paid leave for Illinois workers. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, workers will begin to earn paid leave on their first day at a rate of one hour of leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours of paid…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday highlighted a proposed grant program that would direct $70 million per year over the next three years to school districts facing the greatest teacher shortages. The Teacher Pipeline Grant Program, which Pritzker included in his budget proposal to lawmakers, would target vacancies in 170 school districts that…
Read Full Article 
ELGIN, Ill. — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker visited Streamwood High School in Elgin to highlight a new teacher pipeline initiative aimed at addressing chronic shortages in the state’s most understaffed districts. The proposed Teacher Pipeline Grant Program will direct $70 million per year over the next three years to the 170 school districts with the…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday announced the release of nearly $60 million in grant funding to help local governments develop public parks and open spaces, over 20 percent of which will go to “distressed” communities. The money through the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grants was distributed to 118 projects, all but…
Read Full Article 
MACOMB, Ill. — Gov. JB Pritzker is touring the state to promote his Smart Start Illinois program. His travels brought him to Macomb on Tuesday afternoon, where he visited with staff and students at MacArthur Early Childhood Center. “Every study about early childhood says the same thing: 90% of brain development occurs (during ages) zero…
Read Full Article 
State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) and other Republican lawmakers commented Wednesday about Gov. JB Pritzker’s Budget Address. “In his State of the State/Budget Address, Gov. Pritzker is claiming fiscal success, but it is important to remember that any improvement in the state’s fiscal outlook is the direct result of a massive influx of federal dollars and higher-than-expected tax…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday laid out a $49.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that calls for significant new spending for early childhood education and efforts to combat homelessness among other areas. He also claimed credit for putting the state back on more secure financial footing. Speaking to a joint…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s second-term legislative agenda will kick off in earnest next week as he proposes his fifth annual state budget to lawmakers in the General Assembly. But while a governor’s proposal usually provides the framework for the state’s annual spending plan, it rarely makes it through the General Assembly untouched by lawmakers…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced the state’s public health emergency will end on May 11, aligning the state with the federal government’s decision to end the national public health emergency. Ensuring Illinois’ and the federal government’s health emergencies were linked brought in additional federal funding and expanded healthcare access for residents across the state.…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Rifle Association has joined forces with other gun rights advocates in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s new ban on the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. It’s the latest legal challenge to the law, which went into effect upon Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature on Jan.…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would guarantee a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave per year for all Illinois workers passed both chambers of the General Assembly Tuesday and will soon head to Gov. JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it. Under Senate Bill 208, workers begin to earn paid leave on their first…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Adams County Sheriff Tony Grootens was one of several sheriffs in Downstate Illinois to announce they will not be fully enforcing the new Protect Illinois Communities Act, which has also been called an assault weapons ban. In a statement issued Wednesday, Grootens said he believes the new law is a “clear violation of…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will attend a ceremony today where the last structural beam will be placed atop the new long-term care facility at the Illinois Veterans Home. The Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Capital Development Board are hosting the topping-off ceremony at 10:30 a.m where the last beam will be…
Read Full Article 
At Tuesday night’s Adams County Board meeting, a bid for $700,000 was approved to replace the camera and door access systems installed in the Adams County Jail. Verkada, a San Mateo, California-based company, won the bid over two other companies. The new system will be cloud-based and replace a system less than five years old.…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – On the first full day of his second term, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed a bill banning the sale, distribution and manufacture of high-power assault weapons, .50 caliber rifles and ammunition, and large-capacity magazines while still allowing people who already own such weapons to keep them. Pritzker signed the bill during…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. JB Pritzker was sworn in to his second term Monday with the state’s other constitutional officers, promising a bold and ambitious agenda for the next four years. The ceremony was held at the Bank of Springfield Center, the same venue that for several months served as a makeshift House floor during…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois minimum wage is set to increase another dollar on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, making the new required minimum wage $13 an hour. Minimum wage workers are encouraged to keep a close eye on their paychecks in the new year as any time worked in 2023 must reflect the new $13 an hour…
Read Full Article CHICAGO – Governor JB Pritzker signed HB1095 on Tuesday, which provides a series of amendments and clarifications to the SAFE-T Act, originally passed in 2021. The bill clarifies the detention net, expands processes for transitioning to cashless bail on January 1, and offers specifying definitions of willful flight and dangerousness, among other changes. “I’m pleased that…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Lawmakers on Thursday passed a long-awaited amendment to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform’s provisions that will eliminate cash bail when the calendar hits 2023. The measure expands the list of crimes for which a judge can order pretrial detention, adds to what a judge can consider when determining if a defendant…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO – The Illinois Housing Development Authority announced the Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund is now open to support qualified homeowners who need help with past-due mortgage payments and related expenses due to financial hardships associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible households may apply for grants of up to $60,000 — doubling the assistance previously available…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker and State School Superintendent Carmen Ayala on Thursday touted some of the more positive findings from the 2022 school report card, insisting that Illinois schools are on the right track while also acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on student learning. “To say that these last two-and-a-half years have…
Read Full Article June 08, 2025
MUDDY RIVER TV+: LUXE SUNDAY SITDOWN
Obituaries
Current Weather
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
