For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on June 14 – at least for now – when only three lawmakers made it to Springfield for the Commission […]
Capitol News Illinois
Posted inNews
General Assembly passes 466 bills this season
A bill banning what unions refer to as employer-sponsored “captive audience” meetings about religion and politics has cleared both chambers of the General Assembly. It was one of 466 measures to do so during the Illinois legislature’s recently concluded spring session, including measures targeting artificial intelligence and allowing for digital driver’s licenses. A Capitol News […]
Posted inNews
Democrats pass $53.1 billion budget
After a near-derailment and an all-nighter to wrap up the General Assembly’s spring session, supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House gave final legislative approval to the state budget as the sun rose the morning of May 29. Despite holding 78 seats in the chamber, it took Democrats three tries to reach the 60 votes needed […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers further regulate carbon dioxide pipeline development
After state regulators rebuffed several proposed carbon transport projects over the past year, lawmakers have moved to formally ban new projects until the federal government sets forth new safety rules. The technology is used to take carbon dioxide – a powerful greenhouse gas – and move it through pipelines before storing it deep underground. While […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse was rampant in state-run juvenile detention centers
Rampant sexual abuse occurred unchecked for decades at Illinois’ juvenile detention centers, a new lawsuit filed on behalf of 95 former detainees alleges, citing hundreds of incidents over more than two decades. The plaintiffs were boys between 12 and 17 years old when the alleged abuse occurred and are now adults. The alleged perpetrators were […]
Posted inOpinion
State to enforce law aimed at ending lending discrimination
In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make credit available in all parts of the communities they […]
Posted inOpinion
State considers ban for certain food additives
The Illinois Senate passed a bill April 18 that would ban four food additives that are found in common products including candy, soda and baked goods. Senate Bill 2637, known as the Illinois Food Safety Act, passed on a 37-15 bipartisan vote and will head to the House for consideration. The banned chemicals would include […]
Posted inNews
What’s happening at the Capitol
Weeks after two high-profile resignations at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Gov. JB Pritzker on April 15 appointed the first-ever executive director to help lead the beleaguered agency. To fill the newly created position, the governor tapped Jim Montgomery, who most recently served as director of administrative services with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department in […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers question Pritzker’s plan for new early childhood agency
Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to consolidate the state’s early childhood programs into one new cabinet-level agency ran into tough questions during a House budget committee hearing. The plan, which Pritzker first announced in October and which he included in his budget address in February, would consolidate a host of programs and services currently run by three different agencies […]
Posted inOpinion
Bill ending state’s tipped wage advances but prospects uncertain amid pushback
An Illinois House committee advanced a measure that would end the state’s subminimum wage for tipped workers amid bipartisan opposition this week, but the bill’s sponsor said she’d seek further compromise before presenting it for a vote. Current Illinois law allows employers to pay their tipped workers 60% of the state’s minimum wage. That amounts […]
Posted inOpinion
Local food measures, student teacher pay advance at Statehouse
Although Illinois is one of the nation’s leading agricultural states, it can still be a challenge for consumers here to shop for food that comes from local farms, dairies and ranches. The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony March 7 on two bills that seek to make Illinois-grown food more accessible to the state’s consumers. Senate […]
Posted inOpinion
In crisis, she went to an Illinois facility. Two years later, she still isn’t able to leave.
Kaleigh Rogers was in crisis when she checked into a state-run institution on Illinois’ northern border two years ago. Rogers, who has cerebral palsy, had a mental health breakdown during the pandemic and was acting aggressively toward herself and others. Before COVID-19, she had been living in a small group home; she had been taking […]
