Gov. JB Pritzker
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker responded to the lawsuit filed by attorney Thomas DeVore against 145 schools, Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education behalf of hundreds of parents of students over COVID-19 orders affecting school children. “Well, you know, he’s a grifter who is taking money from parents who are being taken advantage of,”…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced Monday his administration has reached agreement with multiple trade unions requiring certain state workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but it is extending the deadline for workers to get their first shot to Oct. 26 while negotiations continue with the state’s largest public employees union. Pritzker issued executive orders in late…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign released summary documents of his 2020 tax returns Friday, which showed the first family reporting $5.14 million in adjusted gross income, all from taxable interest and dividends. The campaign released seven pages summarizing the governor’s and first lady MK Pritzker’s returns, which were prepared by Deloitte Tax LLP. It…
Read Full Article 
Gov. J.B Pritzker said Illinois will need to show a steady decline in state COVID-19 transmissions before he considers lifting the statewide indoor mask mandate he revived in August. When asked what metrics were needed for Pritzker to rescind his executive order, the governor pointed to high hospitalization rates and new case numbers relative to metrics when Illinois “fully…
Read Full Article 
Money is being raised in several Chicagoland school districts to join a consolidated action against Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health, The Kerr Report has learned. Tom DeVore, an attorney based in downstate Greenville, plans to file the action within the next week to 10…
Read Full Article 
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday he’s looking for clear signs that coronavirus transmission is on the decline in Illinois before he’ll consider lifting the indoor mask mandate he reinstated in late August amid a surge driven by the virus’ highly contagious delta variant. “We’re watching to make sure that we’re on a good downward trajectory,” Pritzker said…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Thursday announced the awarding of the first $24 million in “Back to Business” grants, a program funded with federal relief aid to help businesses recover and reopen from the pandemic. The announcement took place at a Mexican restaurant in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Mi Tierra…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Brent Fischer was fired from his position as the executive director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board on Sept. 8 after an investigation and three-month suspension with pay, Fischer, who is from Quincy and formerly served as Adams County Sheriff, confirmed his discharge in an interview with Muddy River News…
Read Full Article 
Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for nearly double the debt burden of just 12 years ago. That’s according to a new report on the fiscal state of the state. Truth In Accounting (TIA) has been evaluating state governments for how much debt the state has versus how much they bring in. Their Financial State of…
Read Full Article Attorney who is fighting governor’s orders calls latest one “nonsense” On top of his most recent 30-day COVID-19 disaster proclamation, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his 90th executive order, which is about who can be excluded from schools, such as those with possible exposure to COVID-19. Pritzker on Friday reissued a majority of orders from the past 19 months. On…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD – The state’s moratorium on enforcement of residential evictions will expire on Oct. 3, according to Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest COVID-19 executive order issued Friday. Pritzker had extended the order each month with minor to substantial revisions since March 2020. The extensions have come in 30-day windows, coinciding with his monthly reissuance of a disaster proclamation…
Read Full Article 
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued dozens of executive orders since March 2020, affecting everything from the economy to education and healthcare. He started by limiting dine-in restaurants for two weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19. That’s evolved over the past 19 months to mask mandates in schools and vaccine mandates for health care workers,…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker was joined by environmental and social justice activists, union representatives, and lawmakers from both parties Wednesday as he signed into law a sweeping energy regulation overhaul that aims to phase out carbon emissions from the energy sector by 2045 while diversifying the renewable energy workforce. His signature marked a celebratory…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Educators throughout Quincy are scrambling to put together plans to implement a vaccine mandate issued Thursday by Gov. JB Pritzker that must be in place by Sept. 5. All P-12 teachers and staff, all higher education personnel and all higher education students must be vaccinated. People who can’t or won’t receive the vaccine…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Quincy Superintendent Roy Webb heard the news Thursday morning about the vaccine mandate issued by Gov. JB Pritzker. Now Webb must figure out how to implement that mandate. The vaccine requirement goes into effect Sept. 5. It will apply to “all P-12 teachers and staff, all higher education personnel, all higher education students…
Read Full Article 
A member of Illinois’ Joint Committee on Administrative Rules says the Illinois State Board of Education needs to explain its authority to punish schools for following the governor’s mask mandate. About 51 of the more than 850 school districts in Illinois are on probation for not following Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate. Probation is the…
Read Full Article State warns of decreasing intensive care bed capacity amid latest surge SPRINGFIELD – The statewide mask mandate indoors is back, and educators and health care professionals will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday amid an ongoing surge in the pandemic that first arrived in Illinois in March 2020. Beginning…
Read Full Article 
The federal government is handing Illinois schools and local government a “boatload” of money for COVID-19 relief, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the money should go to property tax relief. “This is a great year for local communities to consider freezing or lowering their property taxes,” Pritzker said Aug. 17. “Why is this a good year to…
Read Full Article 
SPRINGFIELD — A capacity crowd packed into the Illinois State Board of Education room on Wednesday as many more stood outside the building to protest the state’s new indoor mask mandate in all public and nonpublic schools. “I’m so tired of hearing how resilient our kids are. Resilience is something you choose,” said Ruby Johnson,…
Read Full Article 
Remember the scene in the movie “Talladega Nights” when Ricky Bobby is arguing with the owner of his racing team and says, “With all due respect” before makes a disparaging remark? The owner replies, “Just because you say that doesn’t mean you get to say whatever you want to say to me!” And Ricky Bobby…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker didn’t directly say Monday whether he would extend the state’s eviction moratorium for those facing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic as cases, deaths and hospitalizations for the virus continue to rise. “We’ve looked at that. We continue to look at it. We’ll make a decision about that soon,” Pritzker…
Read Full Article 
Local school boards might want to pay attention. The Illinois State Board of Education isn’t messing around. A letter signed by Carmen Ayala, state superintendent of education, was emailed Wednesday to Timothy Christian Schools in Elmhurst, Ill., informing Superintendent Matt Davidson the school’s status as a recognized nonpublic school was removed “effective immediately.” Davidson announced…
Read Full Article 
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – A new law in Illinois will make it easier for part-time school and college employees to receive paid family and medical leave. Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill Tuesday lowering the threshold for those workers so that most will be eligible for the benefit after one year of…
Read Full Article 
MENDON, Ill. — The Community Unit School District No. 4 School Board voted 5-2 during a special meeting Wednesday night to make masks optional for students during the 2021-22 school year. The board’s vote defies Gov. JB Pritzker’s Tuesday announcement that masks are required for students, teachers and staff at pre-K through 12th grade schools…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday that masks will be required for students, teachers and staff at pre-K through 12th grade schools and day cares across Illinois, regardless of vaccination status. The new requirement formalizes the CDC guidance released in July on universal masking for both unvaccinated and vaccinated people in schools. The mask…
Read Full Article 
