The Legislative Ethics Commission has appointed David Risley acting legislative inspector general effective the day following the Sept. 30 resignation of his predecessor. Risley is a former federal prosecutor who briefly served as Gov. Bruce Rauner’s director of public safety policy. He was an investigator in the LIG’s office under Carol Pope and an ethics […]
Jerry Nowicki
Jerry Nowicki is bureau chief of Capitol News Illinois and has been with the organization since its inception in 2019.
Before joining CNI, Nowicki spent two years on Illinois Senate staff as a legislative aide to state Sen. Steve Landek. Prior to that, he was editor of the LeRoy Farmer City Press, which won the 2015 David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy for Illinois’ best small weekly newspaper.
Complementing his Statehouse and reporting experience, Nowicki has lived in a variety of Illinois communities. He grew up in Evergreen Park, a southwest suburb of Chicago, and has lived for a time in each of New Lenox, Bloomington, Champaign and LeRoy. He currently resides in Springfield.
He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Illinois State University and obtained his master’s degree in communication from Purdue University in May 2019.
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Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey resigns amid criticism
Illinois’ legislature will once again soon find itself without a legislative inspector general. Michael McCuskey will resign that watchdog post amid criticism about his ability to handle investigations. It’s the latest twist for a post that McCuskey’s two immediate predecessors described as “broken” and a “paper tiger.” Prior to that, the LIG’s office sat vacant […]
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An overview of the 2026 State Fair
The 2026 butter cow invites Illinois State Fairgoers to “Take a Spin on Route 66” in honor of the Mother Road’s centennial. The grand marshal for the fair’s Twilight Parade this year is Route 66, and the fair’s theme is “Miles of Smiles” as a send-up to the Mother Road. This year’s cow is accompanied […]
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‘Credit card chaos’? Financial institutions bet big on repeal of first-of-its-kind Illinois law
“Credit cards may not work for sales tax or tips starting July 1.” By now, you’ve heard that claim, but whether it’s true depends on who you ask. The ads — funded by the Electronic Payments Coalition of banks, credit unions and card companies — argue that Illinois lawmakers must repeal the state’s first-in-the-nation Interchange […]
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Top Democrats say they would consider small changes to Illinois’ SAFE-T Act
Some of Illinois’ top Democrats say they’re open to considering targeted changes to Illinois’ controversial SAFE-T Act this spring if a forthcoming judicial report says they’re needed. Both Gov. JB Pritzker and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, say the changes — if ultimately deemed necessary — would be narrow despite Republicans’ desire to see […]
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Illinois, 4 other states targeted for $10B child care funding freeze win restraining order
llinois and the four other Democratic-led states that were subject to the Trump administration’s freeze on $10 billion in federal funding for child care and family services secured a restraining order on Friday in their lawsuit seeking to block the move. The restraining order, issued by Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York, means […]
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Here’s what’s in Illinois’ $50.6B six-year infrastructure plan
Illinois on Wednesday unveiled its latest six-year, $50.6 billion infrastructure plan for the state’s roads, bridges, railways, airports and more. The plan spans all 102 counties and includes $32.5 billion over six years for roads and bridges, including $25.7 billion for the state system and $6.8 billion for the local system. It covers 8.4 million […]
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Lawsuits against Trump’s immigration actions
Illinois cannot yet file suit against the federal government for an apparent plan to send federal troops to Chicago, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said, but if boots hit the ground, President Donald Trump “should expect a legal challenge here.” It would be the latest in a bevy of lawsuits that the state has filed against […]
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Pritzker says feds seeking Chicago troop deployment
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to send 100 military troops to Chicago, according to Gov. JB Pritzker, who assailed the move as the Trump administration’s latest — yet not unforeseen — push to consolidate power. “What he plans to do with that power now or during the 2026 elections should worry all of […]
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Jim Edgar, Illinois’ 1990s-era moderate GOP governor, dies at 79
Jim Edgar, Illinois’ 38th governor who served from 1991 to 1999, died Sunday after disclosing an aggressive cancer diagnosis earlier this year. He was 79. Though he’d been out of power for 26 years — more time than the two decades he spent in office as an elected official — the former governor was still active […]
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Pritzker signs police background check expansion in Sonya Massey’s honor
Police agencies in Illinois will soon be required to do more thorough background checks on prospective officers. The measure signed by Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday came in response to the July 2024 shooting death of Sonya Massey in Sangamon County by a sheriff’s deputy. Massey had called police to report a prowler and was in […]
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New taxes on sports bets, nicotine products as Democrats pass $55.2B budget
Giving almost no time for public review, Illinois Democrats pushed through a $55.2 billion budget for next fiscal year late Saturday, bolstering coffers with new taxes on sports bets, nicotine products and businesses. The $55.2 billion spending plan is supported by $55.3 billion of revenue, including just over $1 billion in new taxes and revenue […]
