Insurance industry officials defended recent homeowners insurance rate spikes this week, blaming such factors as inflation and climate change while warning that attempts to regulate their ability to set rates would be bad for consumers. In testimony during a virtual meeting Wednesday of the Senate Insurance Committee, officials pushed back against criticisms by Gov. JB […]
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City Council adopts cited property registry
The Springfield City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night creating a registry of properties with repeated housing code violations. The registry will include rental properties, personally owned residences and commercial properties – but not all of them. This is not the comprehensive landlord registry advocates have pushed for since the council voted it down two […]
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Billboard promoting far-right group Proud Boys springs up in southern Illinois
A billboard rising from a Clinton County cornfield near Breese that appears to be a recruiting tool for the Proud Boys — a far-right extremist group tied to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — has touched off outrage in the small southern Illinois community. The sign is located at Old U.S. Route […]
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Massey Commission strives for long-term change
While Illinois law enforcement agencies will soon be required to ask for, and provide, entire employment records for any applicants seeking to become a police officer, the Massey Commission is seeking to continue its work in order to actualize its upcoming recommendations. The law was a response to the killing of Sonya Massey, who called […]
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Naturalization ceremony at the State Fair
The Illinois State Fair is home to many iconic American traditions and Midwestern staples, from 4H displays to corndogs and lemon shake-ups. This year, for the second time in a row, it was also home to the American tradition of welcoming new citizens through naturalization. The ceremony fell on Governor’s Day, with Gov. JB Pritzker […]
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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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Which Republicans are seeking statewide office in 2026? So far, hardly any.
With U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Comptroller Susana Mendoza and other members of Congress not seeking reelection in 2026, robust fields are growing in the Democratic primaries for the open seats. Gov. JB Pritzker is seeking a rare third term and has been on the campaign trail for more than a month. Three high-profile Democrats are […]
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A civic center for Jacksonville
A Jacksonville organization has signed an option to purchase the historic Illinois Theater building in the city’s downtown and has embarked on an ambitious three-month, $8.8 million fundraising campaign to finance the purchase and pay for the building’s transformation into a new multipurpose civic center. “This civic center will become not only a cultural hub […]
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Massey Commission nears end, prepares recommendations
The Massey Commission’s law enforcement work group met Aug. 4 and tried to finalize recommendations to offer up to the full commission, largely focusing on how to strengthen the SAFE-T Act’s transparency provisions. Work groups are submitting their final recommendations to the full commission by Oct. 1, with a full report from the commission to follow. Earlier […]
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Murder charges downgraded for Chatham woman
A 26-year-old Chatham woman originally charged with first-degree murder in the 2018 robbery and killing of 19-year-old Springfield resident Dohndre Hughes may only serve a few more months in custody after she was sentenced Aug. 4 in a plea deal. Katherine Smith received a prison sentence of 13 years after pleading guilty to home invasion […]
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Texas Dems flee to Illinois to block redistricting vote
Gov. JB Pritzker welcomed a contingent of Texas House Democrats to Chicago Sunday night as part of a strategy to delay a vote in Austin on a mid-decade redistricting plan designed to give Republicans an additional five congressional seats in next year’s midterm elections. The Texas Legislature is currently meeting in a special session originally […]
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Trump administration requests voter data from Illinois elections board
The Trump administration has asked Illinois election officials for a copy of the state’s voter registration database, including sensitive data about individual voters and detailed information about the state’s efforts to scrub ineligible voters from the rolls. In a letter dated Monday, July 28, lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division also […]
