|
|
| | |
| |
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Women head to Illinois for pill abortions after Missouri begins enforcing pelvic exam rule
Abortion (1)
| |
| |
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Trump tweets support for Patti Blagojevich, doesn't mention clemency
Blagojevich, Rod
President Donald Trump, besieged by multiple investigations, resurrected the specter of a commutation for imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Sunday by using social media to urge supporters to watch a Fox News interview with former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich. In the interview, which aired Friday night, Patti Blagojevich attempted to liken a new probe into questiona...
< read more >
| |
| |
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Illinois EPA to switch some invoices back to paper
Environment (41)
,
EPA (41)
,
Governor (44)
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has a plan to use more paper. The state agency is taking a small step away from digital records. Returning to paper records in some cases could potentially save businesses money. The move is part of an initiative of Gov. Bruce Rauner, who often u...
< read more >
| |
| |
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
The lawsuit that should have died 20 years ago finally does
Courts (27)
,
Legal System (27)
,
Tort Reform (27)
Avery v. State Farm was certified as a class action lawsuit in Williamson County Circuit Court in 1997, with policyholders from 48 states claiming that State Farm had violated its contracts by using generic aftermarket parts to repair insured vehicles. A jury decided for the plaintiffs in 1999 and the Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed the decision in 2001. B...
< read more >
| |
| |
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Trump tweets support for Patti Blagojevich, doesn’t mention clemency
Blagojevich, Rod
,
President (73)
CHICAGO — President Donald Trump, besieged by multiple investigations, resurrected the specter of a commutation for imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Sunday by using social media to urge supporters to watch a Fox News interview with former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich. In the interview, which aired Friday night, Patti Blagojevich attempted to liken a new p...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
A lawsuit against DCFS hopefully comes to the rescue of troubled kids
DCFS (30)
Let’s be blunt: Illinois is doing a shameful job of caring for some of its most vulnerable, traumatized children. Sometimes it takes a lawsuit to force systemic change, and we hope a Cook County public guardian’s recent lawsuit accomplishes that. Acting Public Guardian Charles Golbert last week filed a class-action case against the Illin...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Dunn says he’ll put students first as SIUC interim chancellor
Education--Higher (37)
John M. Dunn, incoming interim chancellor, believes it is important to keep students in mind while tackling issues surrounding the Carbondale campus, he said during a press conference Friday. Increasing enrollment at the university is at top of Dunn’s list – not only to help the university, but the region as a whole. Along with efforts to increase enrollment, retention is a ke...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
McConnaughay told Rauner he couldn't pick his own replacement on ballot
Rauner, Bruce
McConnaughay, Karen--State Senate, 33
A former Republican state senator from St. Charles confirmed she was recruited by outgoing Gov. Bruce Rauner to replace him on the ballot shortly after he won the March primary. Karen McConnaughay said Rauner approached her in April about taking his place, but she quickly rebuffed his proposal. "I was concerned in my conversations that he didn't rea...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Pritzker to make recreational cannabis a priority, but consumers may have to wait for retail sales
Governor (44)
,
Recreational Marijuana
The state's next governor said he'll make legalizing marijuana a top priority, but adult consumers could be waiting a year or more for recreational sales to begin in Illinois. The director of the state’s leading cannabis legalization group said Illinoisans expect to see industrial hemp cultivation before recreational marijuana sales in Illinois. Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker said...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Report: Illinois among most unprepared for economic downturn
Bonds, Bonding, Borrowing, Debt, Credit Rating
,
Budget--State (8)
,
Economy (34)
,
Medicaid, Managed Care
,
Pensions (70)
The nonprofit Volcker Alliance, using researchers at a number...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Judge approves $250 million State Farm settlement; Says plaintiffs likely would not have prevailed at trial
Courts (27)
,
Tort Reform (27)
EAST ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge David Herndon, who designated Illino...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
On pensions, Illinois is different than Arizona
Pensions (70)
We’ve seen a big push over the past few weeks for an Arizona-style pension "fix" here. That state’s voters have twice approved constitutional amendments to limit future benefits for public employees – once in 2016 and then again last month. If Arizona can do it, the logic goes, so can Illinois. The Illinois Policy Institute, the Chicago Tribune editorial board and a ho...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Make Illinois pot law model for nation
Drugs (32)
That didn’t take long. After a majority of statewide candidates we spoke with before the Nov. 6 election told us they supported legalizing recreational marijuana, we shared a Detroit Free Press editorial here that urged Michigan voters to make recreational pot legal there. Our goal was to provide readers a taste of a debate that would be coming to Illinois sooner ra...
< read more >
| |
| |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Catholic group prays for removal of Satanic Temple display in Capitol
A group of about 40 Catholics assembled in front of the Capitol Sunday afternoon, praying a “rosary of reparation” and asking the Illinois Secretary of State to remove a display by the Satanic Temple-Chicago from the Capitol rotunda. Called the “Snaketivity,” the 4 1/2-foot statue depicts the forearm and hand of a young woman encircled by a snake w...
< read more >
| |
| |
Sunday, December 16, 2018
BGA: Momentum is growing for fairly drawn legislative maps
Redistricting (78)
There’s been a lot of attention nationwide about whether our elections would be fair and accessible to everyone qualified to vote. In Illinois, elections, retirements and other developments mean we’ll have a new governor and at least 40 fairly new lawmakers taking office in January. What can they and their veteran colleagues do to ensure we have fairer electio...
< read more >
| |
| |
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Local Business Notes: IMA’s Baise offers views on state’s business climate, politics
With a more than quarter century tenure as president of the ILLINOIS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION soon coming to a close, GREG BAISE has been on a victory lap of sorts. He was celebrated by his friends, co-workers and the state’s business community at the IMA’s annual luncheon on Dec. 7, which included a 10 minute video tribute. Then, on Friday, the IMA renamed i...
< read more >
| |
| |
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Medical officials oppose effort to legalize recreational use of marijuana
Medical Marijuana
Debate on whether recreational use of marijuana should become legal in Illinois is shifting from candidates’ opinions to evidence of benefit and harm. The advice several medical organizations and doctors are giving state officials is to say “no” to a legislative push that would make Illinois the 11th state with expansive laws allowing legalized recreatio...
< read more >
| |
| |
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Our View: Capital plan needed, but shouldn’t be rushed
Paying at the pump has been a little cheaper lately in Springfield. Gas was hovering around $2 a gallon in some parts of Springfield on Friday. That’s a huge improvement over last month, when AAA said the average price of a gallon of gas in Springfield was $2.502. It beats a year ago, when it was $2.351 a gallon. That financial relief, though, comes as talk of incre...
< read more >
| |
| |
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Statehouse Insider: Rauner baffles to the end
Rauner, Bruce
Leave it to Gov. BRUCE RAUNER to baffle people right to the end. His approach to governing was one thing, but now he’s admitted publicly that he tried to duck out of the job before the election. In an instantly infamous interview with WLS-TV in Chicago, Rauner acknowledged that he approached four people with an offer they apparently could refu...
< read more >
| |
| |
Saturday, December 15, 2018
From the Capitol: Celebrating Advent and the Christmas season
Attorney General (6)
,
Economy (34)
,
Governor (44)
,
Legislature (56)
Stewart, Brian--State House, 89
As we count down to Christmas, it is important to remember the significance of the countdown itself. Renowned author and ordained Presbyterian minister Frederick Buechner had a profound thought about Advent. He wrote, “The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.” I happen to agree...
< read more >
| |
| |
Friday, December 14, 2018
Sam's Monologue December 14th
Candidates--Statewide (12)
,
Governor (44)
,
Rauner, Bruce
Sam had a lot to say about news that Governor Bruce Rauner was seeking a replacement candidate for himself.
http://www.sportsradio1450.com/podcast-am-springfield/
...
< read more >
| |
| |
Friday, December 14, 2018
State lawsuit over Sterigenics emissions cites state permit as evidence of 'hazard'; Undercuts permit process?
Attorney General (6)
,
Environment (41)
,
EPA (41)
In the waning days of October, state and county prosecutors filed a lawsuit asking a DuPage County judge to order the closure of an industrial facility in suburban Willowbrook. In the action, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin accused Sterigenics, a company specializing in sterilizing medical tools and devices, of polluting the ai...
< read more >
| |
| |
Friday, December 14, 2018
The state of STEM education in Illinois
Education--Elementary and Secondary (36)
,
Science Research and Development (98)
,
Technology (98)
Joey McLaughlin talks with the Director of Data and Policy at the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition, Matt Bragg about STEM education in Illinois.
https://wtax.com/podcasts/the-state-of-stem-education-in-illinois/
...
< read more >
| |
| |
Friday, December 14, 2018
SIU board advances controversial academic restructuring
Education--Higher (37)
CARBONDALE — Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s signature plan to transform Southern Illinois University Carbondale hasn't advanced much since he died in October. It remains a controversial, less-than-half finished plan to repackage the courses already offered at SIUC under new schools and colleges with new names, like the School of Mathematical and Statistical Science, and the...
< read more >
| |
| |
Friday, December 14, 2018
How a new governor, J.B. Pritzker, can go to bat for the mentally ill right away
Mental Health (64)
In his first few weeks as governor, J.B. Pritzker will have to take a swing at a lot of tough pitches, but one important issue looks to us like an easy fastball over the middle of the plate. He should hit it hard and far right away. We urge Gov.-elect Pritzker to take the lead in creating a network of crisis stabilization units in lllinois, which ba...
< read more >
| |
|