Lauren P. Duncan

Illinois lawmakers have made several attempts to require drug testing for public assistance recipients over recent years. Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glen Carbon, says his latest proposal is different. This one, he says, is aimed at helping welfare recipients who abuse drugs. Kay introduced legislation in the past that proposed requiring drug screenings of the federal […]

A plan to cut Illinois’ corporate income tax in half to create more jobs won’t work out, according to budget expert Ralph Martire.  Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan introduced a bill Jan. 30 to reduce the state’s corporate income tax from 7 percent to 3.5 percent. “I am hopeful this legislation will encourage CEOs to […]

State Rep. Raymond Poe A person who spends years working in the Capitol can predict how politics will unfold, according to Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield. “Being around here 20 years, you know how to read the tea leaves,” Poe said. Poe, who was first elected state representative in 1995, is one of the Springfield area’s […]

Gov. Pat Quinn PHOTO BY OLIVIER DOULIERY If Gov. Pat Quinn includes money in his budget to fund early childhood education, Springfield’s District 186 may be able to narrow down its pre-kindergarten wait list to fewer than its present 150 waiting children. Quinn announced during his Jan. 29 State of the State address his new […]

Ron Earley PHOTO BY LAUREN P. DUNCAN When Ron Earley sees something, he thinks, “How can I make that better?” The Springfield resident has been designing, building and selling inventions that began as his own ideas since the 1960s. Some of them have made it to buyers’ homes; others never made it past his garage doors. […]

Residential properties on North 11th Street and Ridgely Avenue are on the IDOT list for acquisition as a part of the 10th and Third Street rail consolidation project. PHOTO BY LAUREN P. DUNCAN After the Illinois Department of Transportation released a list of more than 150 properties along Springfield’s 10th Street rail line last summer, […]

Shirley Skinner PHOTO COURTESY ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS  The families of convicted murderer Shirley Skinner and her victim, Steven Watkins, have feuded for years. But at a clemency hearing Jan. 15, relatives sat next to each other to argue one question: Should Skinner die in prison? Family members of Watkins argued that the man didn’t […]

A rendering of the Scarritt Street crossing shows a house would have to be demolished unless the crossing is closed. To bring Springfield’s Third Street rail line up to safety standards, the state plans to acquire private property and shut down some railroad crossings. Leaders of the city’s rail consolidation and the state’s high-speed rail […]

A sign posted at the entrance of the Illinois Commerce Commission building at Capitol Avenue and Sixth Street in Springfield shows the carrying of firearms within the building is prohibited. PHOTO BY LAUREN P. DUNCAN Illinoisans who plan to carry a firearm may want to be on the lookout for where exactly guns will be […]