Illinois General Assembly
CHICAGO — State officials suspended the legislative pension of former lobbyist Michael McClain after his conviction May 2 alongside the ‘ComEd Four’ on bribery charges, but the suspension may only be temporary. McClain, a former Illinois House representative and ComEd lobbyist with longtime ties to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was found guilty on nine counts of conspiring and falsifying…
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All 59 Republican members of the Illinois General Assembly are calling for legislative hearings on a state-run mental health center in rural southern Illinois, citing findings of a culture of abuse, cover-ups and poor patient care from a monthslong investigative series by Lee Enterprises Midwest, Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica. Late last week, the members sent a…
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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…
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SPRINGFIELD – Two days before lawmakers were scheduled to adjourn for the year, one of the lead negotiators of the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform filed a long-awaited amendment detailing several changes to the landmark cash bail overhaul. Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, filed a 308-page amendment to House Bill 1095 on Tuesday that contained several…
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SPRINGFIELD – Changes may yet come to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform before its Jan. 1 effective date, but some of its major proponents in the General Assembly said the results of the Nov. 8 general election have signified that the ship has sailed for drastic amendments to it. “I will say, when it…
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SPRINGFIELD – Republicans chose new leadership for their caucuses in the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday night, while the two Democratic leaders have each announced they have the votes to maintain their positions. House Republicans elected Tony McCombie of Savanna and Senate Republicans chose John Curran of Downers Grove. The change in leadership comes after…
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SPRINGFIELD – A new survey released this week suggests Illinoisans are more moderate on the issue of abortion than the current Democratic-controlled General Assembly, but it is unclear whether that will cost Democrats votes in November. The poll by the Chicago-based firm Ogden & Fry – which is owned by a Republican candidate for Cook…
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked until the early hours of Saturday to pass a $46.5 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as a $1.8 billion package of mostly-temporary tax cuts that Democrats said are intended to soften the impact of inflation on working families. The final proposals surfaced around 9 p.m.…
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SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic leaders of the General Assembly announced Thursday they had reached agreement on a $45.6 billion budget package that would include $1.8 billion of mostly-temporary tax relief. Senate President Don Harmon, of Oak Park, and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, of Hillside, said they expect a vote on the…
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The Illinois General Assembly begins a new session Jan. 5, but it is not expected to last long. They may have a new state budget and wrap up almost two months early. Illinois state legislators head back to Springfield Jan. 5 for what is expected to be the shortest legislative session in decades. The holiday…
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SPRINGFIELD — Lawyers for the General Assembly’s Democratic leaders filed documents in federal court Wednesday denying that newly drawn state legislative district maps amount to racial gerrymandering, instead accusing the plaintiffs in the three lawsuits of trying to use race to redraw districts for their own purposes. Wednesday’s filings are the Democrats’ response to proposed…
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SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly released a proposed set of new congressional district maps Friday, just days before lawmakers return to the Statehouse for the start of their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 19. All states redraw their congressional districts following each decennial census. The proposed new maps reflect the fact that Illinois…
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Ask state education board to adopt formal rules on enforcement actions By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Expressing concern that the Illinois State Board of Education might have overstepped its bounds by threatening to withhold funding from school districts that do not enforce its mask mandate, a legislative panel on Tuesday urged the agency…
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Closure of municipal coal plants remains sticking point By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate approved an energy bill in the early hours of Wednesday morning but it’s likely to change as negotiations continue in the House, which has not set a date as to when it will return. A lead negotiator…
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On Muddy River News This Week, furnished by Harvey’s, Bob Gough talks to State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) about the recently-wrapped up session in Springfield and the new 50th Senate District, which she’ll represent when she runs for re-election in 2022.
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Governor has issued just 11 vetoes in first three years By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With the first year of the 102nd General Assembly mostly wrapped up, lawmakers as of Friday had officially passed 664 bills through both houses for eventual consideration by the governor. Gov. JB Pritzker had signed 17 of them as…
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On Muddy River News This Week, Furnished by Harvey’s, We talk to the 94th District State Representative from Quincy about the recently wrapped-up (sort of) General Assembly session and how redistricting affects West-Central Illinois.
Read Full Article From CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS – The Illinois Senate is planning to come in Tuesday, June 15, and the Illinois House is planning to meet Wednesday, June 16. An announcement from Senate President Don Harmon’s office said, “It is expected that the Senate session will be one day only,” with the purpose of passing “clean energy…
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UPDATED from sun-times.com: Illinois residents who got their vaccine shot can now get a shot — or a beer or other alcoholic beverage of their choice — under a bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday signed into law. Pritzker said the bill, which takes effect immediately, offers “our hardest-hit businesses another lifeline as we recover…
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Federal money to fund housing, violence prevention, capital projects By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass a $42.3 billion state budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying…
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GOP, community groups complain of short notice By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois|phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed measures Friday to redraw state legislative and judicial district lines, less than 24 hours after the bills implementing the maps were introduced. The latest versions of the legislative maps were released about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The actual legislation…
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The revised legislative maps still keep Rep. Randy Frese (R-94, Quincy) and Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-100, Jacksonville) in the newly-configured 99th District. From THE CENTER SQUARE – Democrats put out revised legislative maps for redrawing the state’s political boundaries Thursday afternoon that they say factors in feedback from residents and advocacy groups. “After 50 public hearings across…
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From THE CENTER SQUARE With the end of the spring session for the Illinois Legislature just days away, it’s expected the Democratic supermajority will pass new district boundaries. Some advocacy groups oppose the maps that have been proposed so far. Democrats released proposed maps late Friday and another release of Google Map files on Sunday. Hearings this week…
Read Full Article By Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — The state Senate and House passed more than 750 bills between them last week, addressing isolated timeouts in schools, youth vaping, teaching Muslim history, the commemoration of Juneteenth and automatic voter registration in prisons, among other topics. Friday was the deadline for the General Assembly to pass bills out…
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