Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday he is “all in” for President Joe Biden after visiting the White House last week with other Democratic governors. He headed to Washington, D.C., to meet with the president and members of the Democratic Governors Association last Wednesday on the heels of Biden’s performance during the first of two scheduled […]
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.
Posted inNews
Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview with “Illinois Lawmakers”
With fiscal year 2025 beginning July 1, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers,” Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal as proof of his administration’s effectiveness in luring businesses to […]
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 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 inNews
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 inNews
Cash bail will end in September
A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled July 18, paving the way for the change to take effect Sept. 18. The 5-2 decision – handed down on partisan lines – means that an individual’s wealth will no longer play a role in whether they […]
Posted inNews
Cash bail will end in Illinois as justices rule SAFE-T Act provisions constitutional
A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled July 18, paving the way for the change to take effect Sept. 18. The 5-2 decision – handed down on partisan lines – means that an individual’s wealth will no longer play a role in whether they […]
Posted inNews
Lawmakers advance state government pay raises, also Pritzker’s ‘closing fund’
Officials at the highest levels of state government appear set to receive substantial pay raises this month after the House and Senate passed a budget bill that would also advance a $400 million business incentive fund proposal pushed by Gov. JB Pritzker. Under the bill, lawmaker salaries would increase to $85,000 annually, up from just […]
Posted inNews
Supreme Court sets March timeline for oral arguments in cash bail appeal
An appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of a state law that would end cash bail appears to be at least three months away from resolution under a new timeline approved by the court Thursday. Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed the agreed motion setting the timeline for the high court’s appeal of […]
Posted inNews
Judge invalidates cash bail reform in some counties; Supreme Court appeal pending
A Kankakee County judge ruled Wednesday, Dec. 28, that lawmakers overreached their constitutional authority in passing a measure to abolish cash bail in Illinois, while other provisions in the wide-ranging SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform were not affected by the ruling. The ruling by Judge Thomas W. Cunnington leaves the impending cash bail reform in […]
Posted inNews
The pandemic brought a new era of emergency housing. Now it faces a fiscal cliff.
For Illinois’ homeless populations and those that serve them, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a crisis – the volunteer, mostly faith-based shelters that had long been the backbone of the state’s emergency housing system were closing their doors. But with the crisis – and a sudden influx of temporary federal, state and philanthropic funding – came […]
Posted inNews
Pretrial detention changes to SAFE-T Act will head to governor
Lawmakers on Thursday passed a long-awaited amendment to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform’s provisions that will eliminate cash bail when the calendar hits 2023. The measure expands the list of crimes for which a judge can order pretrial detention, adds to what a judge can consider when determining if a defendant is a risk […]
