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 en la Villita, […]
Capitol News Illinois
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Governor reinstates indoor mask mandate
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 Monday, people will be required to wear masks indoors, Pritzker announced. The vaccine […]
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State announces $250 million ‘Back to Business’ grant program
The state announced a $250 million “Back to Business” grant program aimed at assisting small businesses in the recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic shutdowns. The program is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Joe Biden, and it includes specific set-aside amounts for certain uses. Those include […]
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Statewide COVID-19 ICU bed usage jumps 15 percent overnight
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 jumped by more than 13 percent from Sunday to Monday night, Aug. 2, while intensive care bed usage jumped 15 percent as the delta variant of the virus continued to cause a surge nationwide. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 1,107 individuals with COVID-19-like illness were hospitalized as of Monday […]
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State “encourages” colleges to require students to get vaccine
The state’s higher education agencies released updated COVID-19 guidance July 19 encouraging all public and private higher education institutions in Illinois to issue mandatory vaccine policies. “Vaccination against COVID-19 is now widely available, and all persons over the age of 12 are eligible,” the guidance document reads. “Vaccination is the leading prevention strategy against COVID-19 […]
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Session ends with major legislation, but no energy bill
Illinois lawmakers finished a two-day special session June 17 by passing some important legislation but without reaching agreement on the one issue they had hoped to resolve – an energy bill that would phase out all carbon emissions from power plants over the next 30 years. “I think a very successful legislative session got a […]
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Woman freed after serving 19 years for murder
A woman found guilty of a McHenry County murder had her conviction vacated last week after serving 19 years of her 27-year sentence and maintaining her innocence throughout her imprisonment. With the help of the lawyers from the Illinois Innocence Project, Jennifer McMullan was released from prison June 16 as a result of a plea […]
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State task force considers changes for MLK statue
Members of the state’s task force on statues and monuments discussed ways to relocate the statue of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and improve the statue’s image in the context of King’s legacy in Illinois. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White testified June 9 during the task force hearing that the image […]
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Senate adjourns with no energy deal
The Illinois Senate adjourned Tuesday, June 15, without calling a comprehensive energy regulatory reform package for a vote. After adjournment, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, made a statement similar to one he made June 1 after the Senate failed to call an energy bill for a vote. “There are still some points of contention […]
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Lawmakers pass $42.3 billion budget
Illinois lawmakers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning, June 1, 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 down a sizeable portion of the state’s debt. Lawmakers have been working on the […]
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Lawmakers pass stricter ethics standards
Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, June 1, the Illinois Senate passed a bill aiming to improve ethics standards for elected officials after it was filed just hours earlier. An amendment to Senate Bill 539, introduced by Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, passed with bipartisan approval despite House Republicans’ concerns that it was watered down. “This […]
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Auditor general’s committee violated election law
The campaign committee of former state Rep. Frank Mautino, who is now the Illinois auditor general, violated state law when it spent campaign funds on gas and car repairs for personal vehicles, the Illinois Supreme Court decided Thursday, May 20. But the court did not find Mautino’s committee violated a separate section of state election […]
