“I ran for governor in 2018 to change our story,” Gov. JB Pritzker told a Chicago crowd June 26 as he announced his bid for a third term. “I ran for governor in 2022 to keep telling our story. And I am running for governor in 2026 to protect our story.” This general theme of […]
Newsletter – Main
Posted inNews
Attorney General Raoul joins lawsuit challenging Trump’s termination of federal grants
Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced this week he has joined another multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to withhold billions of dollars in federal funds that had previously been approved for states and other grantees. The complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, challenges several actions the administration has taken since Trump […]
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City Council has a tiff over TIFs
The Springfield City Council engaged in a heated debate Tuesday over grants for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. Frustration mounted as supporters of the ordinances questioned why their fellow council members sought further discussion on this initiative but not others, suggesting that it came down to the demographics of those who would benefit from the […]
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Jerome plans to create TIF district
An average of 25,000 to 27,000 cars drive on Wabash Avenue through Jerome each day, making that stretch of road one of the busiest in the Springfield area. The commercial and retail corridor appears bustling. But side roads and underground utility lines that are undersized and deteriorating, as well an almost total lack of sidewalks […]
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From learning skills to getting a job
SkillsUSA, a national nonprofit trade organization, is expanding its presence in Illinois thanks to a recent $2 million state budget reauthorization for trades programs. It allows the organization to further bridge the gap between high school education and skilled trade employment. This increase in state funding for programs like the Illinois Works Program and other […]
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Engineer in the Classroom
Engineers in fifth grade? Definitely. And not just the cadre of volunteer engineers who bring science fundamentals to life in area classrooms each winter through the Engineer in the Classroom program. Students themselves learn an engineering approach to creating, correcting and collaborating on what they hope will be prize-winning Rube Goldberg machines at the spring […]
Posted inOpinion
Congress must act to pull USPS back from the brink
The United States Postal Service is on the brink of a self-induced collapse. The failed policies of the Delivering for America Plan have driven away customers through a combination of sky-high rate increases and degraded service. David Steiner, who will take over as Postmaster General on July 14, has a tough job to do and […]
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CWLP adds more solar
Last month, the Springfield City Council approved CWLP’s proposal for a new solar contract. CWLP will enter into a 25-year agreement with Sangamon Solar to spend $13 million to purchase 25 megawatts of energy and capacity, with plans to utilize a new 100-megawatt, 750-acre solar installation to be built to the south of Chatham. The […]
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Route 66
The 100th birthday of Route 66 is Nov. 11, 2026, and the Mother Road has obviously seen better days. Once chock-full of busy, neon-lit motels, gas stations and greasy spoons, good portions of the original 2,448-mile Chicago to Santa Monica, California, route are now tumbleweed ghost towns. But if it’s true that, at some point, […]
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Pritzker OKs changes to Prisoner Review Board following years of controversy
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new law Friday to make a series of changes to the Prisoner Review Board after it released a man who would go on to commit murder, leading to intense scrutiny in Springfield. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 19, which contains changes designed to include victims’ participation in Prisoner Review Board decisions […]
Posted inOpinion
Legislators react to Madigan sentencing, assassinations in Minnesota
I reached out last week to several members of the “19” – the Democratic House members who refused to vote to reelect House Speaker Michael Madigan in 2021, thereby forcing him into retirement. I asked for their reaction to Madigan’s 90-month federal prison sentence handed down a few days earlier. In talking with several members […]
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Advocates await action on bill protecting rights of immigrant students in Illinois
Immigration rights advocates in Illinois are anxiously awaiting the governor’s signature on legislation aimed at protecting K-12 students who may be in the country without legal authorization from being denied access to a free public education. House Bill 3247, known as the “Safe Schools for All Act,” passed both chambers of the General Assembly in […]
