Springfield
News from the Illinois state legislature, governor and lawmakers in Springfield.
Lawmakers must consider new taxes, combining four regional transit agencies under one board and changing fee structures. The report recommends the state prop up public transit with $1.5 billion.
In June, Gov. J.B. Pritzker first announced the partnership after allocating $1.6 million of this year’s budget to fund the program throughout Illinois.
Stacy Davis Gates complained online that reporters didn’t ask the CTU about the union’s reasons for not supporting a bill that would have given it a fully elected board right away.
Proponents say smaller nuclear reactors will help get the state to its goal of being carbon-free by 2045 by providing an alternative to coal and natural gas. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign the measure.
Lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to keep alive a program that sent 9,700 students to private schools this year with taxpayer support.
Divisions over the city’s elected school board remain — including disagreement over how many members should be appointed versus elected next year. The issue will likely be kicked to January when legislators return to Springfield.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon says he won’t back “woefully inadequate ethical provisions” of House measure allowing election of 10 board members and appointment of 10 by Mayor Brandon Johnson next year.
Supporters say it helps lower-income families send kids to private school. Opponents call it a back-door voucher program funded by taxpayers.
An amendment filed by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, would allow the board to be fully elected as soon as next year by splitting up memberships to two and four-year terms.
Private school tax credits, the lifting of a nuclear power plant moratorium and an elected school board map are among the most pressing issues facing lawmakers Tuesday.
Legislation in Springfield could open the door to keeping the River North gaming venue operating beyond 2026. Bally’s says its permanent venue should be ready by then.
The program was amended in 2021 to allow kids with financial needs to access scholarships toward a vocational trade school.
The court found that Illinois’ controversial gun law survived the first part of a two-step test laid out in a crucial June 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Give credit where it’s due: Pritzker helped the United Auto Workers Union and the White House put together a deal with Stellantis, Rich Miller writes.
Low-level offenses could be enforced by other means, such as ticketing by mail, a group of attorneys writes. Other states and cities have addressed the problem without sacrificing public safety.
This program is not broken. Invest in Kids is providing high-quality school choice for families, former Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin writes.
Think Big America’s contribution of $25,000 each to four state Senate Democratic candidates in Virginia, and an additional $150,000 to the state’s Democratic Party, comes ahead of a pivotal Nov. 7 election that may reshape abortion restrictions there.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County by GRI Holdings alleges the proposed Consume Cannabis dispensary at 605 N. Clark St. violates state law by opening within 1,500 feet of its Green Rose Dispensary.
Leaders should stop playing coy about key resignations at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Just last week, the director’s executive assistant quit when the Sun-Times pressed her about billings that reached $48K a month.
Landing the $11 billion National Semiconductor Technology Center in Chicago would further solidify Illinois as a quantum technologies leader.
So on this Thanksgiving Day let’s give thanks for the hope of a humanitarian pause to free victims from unspeakable carnage and pause as Americans to count our blessings — and try not to abandon each other.
Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones said, “You have to understand how devastating the Sept. 17 flooding was…some residents have lost everything in the house.”
Too many proponents seemed more interested in battling with teachers’ unions than seeking a deal to protect kids already in the program, Rich Miller writes.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, prosecutors and defense attorneys have seated 12 jurors at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse who will hear evidence that was used in 2019 to level criminal charges against Burke in a push against old-school, Chicago-style corruption.
Cost-of-living increases of 3% will be granted to all retired Chicago police officers, regardless of whether they were born before or after Jan. 1, 1966. Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2021 signed into law a similar measure for retired firefighters.
Test scores released Monday show accelerated academic growth in reading for elementary and high school students compared to gains before the pandemic.
Lawmakers in Springfield will decide whether to keep the law on the books for another year. It could be gut-check time for those who voted for criminal justice reform.
Harmon’s campaign funds have gotten nearly $2 million from a nursing home trade group. He’s supporting legislation that would provide millions in property tax relief for nursing homes in Cook County.
The claim of benefits of small modular reactors are fantasies. Turning to nuclear energy will mean more radioactive waste along with other problems, and will not help our state fight climate change.
His spokesman says it was an “oversight” that Harmon’s campaign funds took the money after the Oak Park Democrat voted to ban contributions from red-light camera operators.
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