Springfield
News from the Illinois state legislature, governor and lawmakers in Springfield.
The fateful 163-year-old document had been in an anonymous private collection until its purchase at auction by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and first lady M.K. Pritzker, who donated it to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Florida is the fourth ballot initiative Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s nonprofit Think Big America is supporting this year. Pritzker’s group is also supporting efforts in Nevada, Arizona and Montana.
Senate Republicans are pushing for reforms at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, including requirements for appointees to have served at least 20 cumulative years in the criminal justice system. The board is under fire following its controversial decision to release a convicted felon who then allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her 11-year-old son.
As Bally’s chairman Soo Kim tries to take the company private, a pair of influential investors say his bid should be rejected — and that a more experienced company should be brought in to build the city’s long-sought casino.
If Illinois follows through with legislation to create such a board, some medications could get pulled from pharmacies. People without means to travel out of state or pay cash would be left out.
Polling by former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn shows a big public appetite to let voters write tougher ethical constraints into the state constitution.
First, this is physician-assisted suicide. Second, a poll that showed a majority of people are in favor of it was conducted in a one-sided manner.
A Roman Catholic, Mr. Phelan used his executive powers as board president to restore abortion services to the county’s health care provider. Planned Parenthood Illinois Action created the yearly Richard J. Phelan Profile in Courage Award in his honor.
State senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.
The funds will help target a big problem for a city opening its doors to President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Convention in August. Just 17.94% of registered voters in suburban Cook County and 25.7% of registered voters in Chicago voted in the March 19 primary.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee chair, said she’s disappointed that Johnson and his allies in the Chicago Teachers Union backed away from the fully elected, 21-member board he once supported. “This is not going to be as easy a transition as people think,” she said. “We’re used to a top-down system.”
A hike from 15% to 35% of sportsbook revenue is a slam dunk to generate an extra $200 million for the cash-strapped state, according to the Illinois governor. But major gambling corporations say it will block growth in a market that has ballooned into one of the nation’s biggest.
The new report by ACLU of Illinois and Women’s Justice Institute shares stories from women who were pregnant while jailed across Illinois. Researchers also say a quarter of county jails don’t have written policies on how to care for people who are pregnant or postpartum.
While the mayor and union appear in lockstep on their vision for the school system, the city likely won’t have the money for more staffing and resources in schools. So the CTU says it’s shifting its target from City Hall to Springfield.
Based on unofficial results, O’Neill Burke now leads Harris 50.16% to 49.84%. They are separated by less than 1,700 votes.
Illinoisans should have the option to decide for themselves when they have suffered enough at the end of life so they can die peacefully, at home.
The governor wants a better deal that would leave the door open for more federal funding and an incremental construction process, records show.
Systems that complete driver’s license transactions came back online at 11:30 a.m. On-site driving tests and vehicle registration services were not affected.
In between meetings with film and business leaders in California, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will fundraise for the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, including a reception in Los Angeles, and for abortion rights ballot initiatives in Arizona and Nevada.
If the problems in Blagojevich’s complaint were fish in a barrel, the judge wrote, the lawsuit contained ‘an entire school of tuna.’
Whether the city’s low voter turnout on Tuesday is a sign of apathy or dissatisfaction, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and key Democrats are downplaying the significance for President Joe Biden. But one leading pollster calls it a warning bell for other key Democratic cities: ‘These cities need to be engines of turnout.’
Fewer folks are voting and, in no small part, it’s due to the disincentives elected officials have put in place.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost declared victory at about 9:41 p.m., and Bailey conceded 15 minutes later. Democratic U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Bill Foster held on to their suburban congressional seats.
Graciela Guzmán beats incumbent Sen. Natalie Toro in another test of Democratic establishment muscle
With almost 90% of the vote counted, Guzmán was declared the winner over Toro, defeating her with almost 50% of the vote to Toro’s 30%. Guzmán won despite raising less than $658,000, or about a quarter of the amount of money raised for Toro.
Crawford had the backing of Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch. However, Guzmán beats Senate incumbent Toro in another test of Democratic establishment muscle.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden clinched their party nominations ahead of Illinois’ primaries. The rematch is going to be a long, grueling, draining slog until Nov. 5.
Closing the facilities for an extended period would all too likely disrupt and potentially destabilize the prison system, the executive director of Council 31 writes.
Madigan is accused of leading a criminal enterprise for nearly a decade designed to enhance his political power and generate income for his allies and associates. The Southwest Side Democrat left office in 2021 and was indicted in March 2022.
In Meta’s latest flex, it’s threatening to cut news from Facebook because a bill in the Illinois Senate wants megaplatforms to give news outlets their fair cut of ad revenue. Our head of audience engagement has some words to share.
Niemerg’s Republican primary opponent, Jim Acklin, also faces nasty claims in the 102nd District race.
The plan still requires legislative approval and places the governor at odds with AFSCME Council 31, the union representing 10,000 corrections employees.
The daughter of one mayor and sister to another, Mrs. Martino “had extraordinary experiences,” Monsignor Kenneth Velo said. “And yet ... she was ordinary. She was down to earth.”