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Thursday, March 3, 2022
Former House Speaker Michael Madigan indicted in political corruption probe
power and shattered records in his decades-long tenure under
Springfield’s Capitol dome.
But in a federal courthouse in Chicago’s Loop, a grand jury
on Wednesday said he also spent years leading what’s been dubbed the “Madigan
Enterprise” — designed to criminally enrich himself and ...
< read more >
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Thursday, January 28, 2021
Illinois lawmakers could raid local revenue to shore up state budget, mayors worry
Budget--State (8)
,
Governor (44)
,
Local Government (60)
(The Center Square) – Illinois’ municipalities
are, again, on the watch for a potential reduction of their promised share of
state revenue if lawmakers choose to use a tool they’ve utilized multiple times
before to help shore up the state budget.
The state collects income tax and other types of revenue for municipalities
and...
< read more >
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Backlog of Illinois gun owner applications persists as U.S. court case continues
Attorney General (6)
,
Guns and Gun Control, FOID, Concealed Carry (46)
(The Center Square) – The Illinois State Rifle Association says Illinois
State Police are operating outside the boundaries of the law and violating
people's rights with continued delays in processing gun owner applications.
For more than a year, backlogs of processing applications for Illinois
Firearm Owner Identification cards and Concealed Carry Licenses persists.
The mo...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Despite being 10th most restrictive state, Illinois’ COVID-19 death rate higher than all neighbors
Governor (44)
,
Health (49)
McCombie, Tony M.--State House, 71
(The Center Square) – An Illinois
state representative says data and science show Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19
mitigation, which was among the strictest in the nation, may have made the
death rate worse in Illinois compared to neighboring states that had fewer
economic restrictions.
Illinois is the tenth most restrictive state in the nation when it comes to
COVID-19 mitigat...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
DuPage County Clerk signed anti-transparency contract with Dominion Voting Systems - Dominion encouraged County to resist disclosure of information
Election Issues (not candidates) (39)
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Illinois long-term care residents continue to wait on vaccinations
Governor (44)
,
Health (49)
(The Center Square) – As Illinois
enters the second phase of its COVID-19 vaccination program, many residents of
long-term facilities continue to wait for their first dose.
Illinois Department of Public Health data shows about 110,000 shots had been
administered as part of a federal program that sends Walgreens and CVS Health
pharmacists into long-term care facilities for vaccinations. M...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Kinzinger says Trump Republicans will come back around
Candidates--Federal (13)
,
Political Parties (Incld Tea Party) (39a)
(The Center Square) – One of Illinois’ Republican Congressmen says the
nation’s Republicans will slowly move away from former President Donald Trump
as time passes.
In a Monday interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said
the GOP’s Trump faithful would eventually find themselves back in the party
fold.
“Every day that goes by, ther...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
SCOTUS declines to hear Janus’ lawsuit seeking union dues reimbursement
Unions, labor (55)
Lawsuit comes from former Illinois state worker, plaintiff in landmark 2018
case
SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a case Monday that sought to
compel public employee unions to reimburse nonmember employees for mandatory
fees which the court ruled as unconstitutional in 2018.
The case was brought by Mark Janus, a former Illinois government employee
wh...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
On Trump’s final day, HHS launches probe into Illinois abortion law
Abortion (1)
SPRINGFIELD — The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services has launched an investigation to
determine whether Illinois has violated federal law by enac...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Jim Dey | What's in crime bill? No more cash bonds
Crime (28)
,
Police (28)
Bennet, Scott -- State Senate, 52
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Editorial: Senator quits days after swearing-in. Cue the party insiders and clout.
Legislature (56)
Manar, Andy--State Senate, 48
,
Steans, Heather--State Senate, 7
State
Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, was up for reelection last year, so she entered
the March primary, got the Democratic nomination for her district, raised
roughly $94,300 over several months and won unopposed in the general election.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Illinois tax revenue losses lower than expected during pandemic, U. of I. study finds
Budget--State (8)
,
Governor (44)
,
Revenue
Illinois’ loss of tax revenue because of the pandemic was much lower
than experts predicted in the spring when COVID-19 first took hold, but
“tremendous uncertainties” persist moving forward, a University of Illinois
study released Tuesday found.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
EYE ON ILLINOIS: Pritzker facing calls to cancel lawmakers’ cap on interest rates
Financial Institutions (7)
,
Governor (44)
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Survival Economics: High Unemployment Pushes Black Chicagoans Into Informal Jobs
Employment, Jobs (40)
,
Minorities (66)
,
Unemployment (93)
Cynthia operates an
informal daycare out of her apartment, catering to parents who work the late
shifts in factories and warehouses. Walter purchases bootleg cigarettes for $8
and then resells them individually for 50 cents. Barbara used ...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Walgreens And CVS Defend Their Illinois Nursing Home Vaccinations Despite Slow Pace
Health (49)
,
Nursing Homes (68)
Four weeks into COVID-19 vaccinations at Illinois nursing homes, nearly 80%
of the doses for the campaign are waiting for use, but the pharmacy chains
performing the work say everything is going according to plan.
CVS Health and Walgreens have administered only 110,403 of the 550,050 doses
that Illinois has received for residents and staff members of long-term care
facilities, according...
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Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Report shows state, local tax rate in Illinois among highest in nation
Taxes, misc. (89)
(The
Center Square) – A new report shows the state and local sales tax rate in
Illinois is among the highest in the country.
According to the research conducted by the Tax Foundation, an independent
tax policy nonprofit, the average combined sales tax rate in Illinois is around
8.8 percent.
“Illinois has the seventh-highest combined sales tax rate in the country,”
sai...
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Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Debate over ending cash bail continues in Illinois as bill heads to governor
Crime (28)
,
Governor (44)
,
Legal System (27)
,
Police (28)
Peters, Robert--State Senate, 13
(The Center Square) – With Illinois
set to become the only state in the nation to eliminate cash bail, those behind
the legislation said it could be a model for other states. The bail provision, known as the Pretrial Fairness Act, was one of many
criminal justice reforms that...
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Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Phase 1B of COVID-19 vaccinations begin in Illinois
Governor (44)
,
Health (49)
(The Center Square) – As Illinois rolls out the second phase of its COVID-19
vaccination plan, a shortage of vaccines is slowing the process.
Phase 1B includes about 3.2 million residents, which includes anyone over 65
years old and frontline essential workers such as police and fire personnel,
teachers and child care workers, public transit workers, postal workers, and
grocery st...
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Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Public participation limited as Illinois Legislature continues COVID-19 protocols
Legislature (56)
Ford, La Shawn--State House, 8
,
McConchie, Dan--State Senate, 26
,
Reick, Steven--State House, 63
,
Welch, Emanuel "Chris"--State House, 7
(The Center Square) – Illinois state
lawmakers are expected back in Springfield next week, and some in the House are
looking to ditch their temporary digs and get back to the capitol
building.
Others are looking to allow remote voting so the legislature can get back to
work.
Public interest groups say the public should have the same ac...
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Saturday, January 23, 2021
Illinois' cannabis licensing lottery ‘complete failure’ says minority access committee co-chair
Governor (44)
,
Minorities (66)
,
Recreational Marijuana
Harper, Sonya--State House, 6
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Friday, January 22, 2021
Illinois looks to federal government for bailout money
Budget--State (8)
,
Governor (44)
(The Center Square) – With a state
budget $4 billion dollars out of balance, Illinois is running out of options to
fill the gap.
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Friday, January 22, 2021
Lame Duck Look Back: How the Black Caucus passed criminal justice reform
Attorney General (6)
,
Crime (28)
,
Governor (44)
,
Legal System (27)
,
Legislature (56)
,
Police (28)
Ellman, Laura--State Senate, 21
,
Schimpf, Paul--State Senate, 58
,
Sims Jr., Elgie--State House, 34
Private negotiations,
crunch-time changes led to bill’s passage
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Thursday, January 21, 2021
A Rare Chance to End Illinois’s Notoriously Corrupt System
Pay to Play, Corruption
Madigan, Michael--State House, 22
,
Welch, Emanuel "Chris"--State House, 7
Key to the task will
be reconfiguring the machine, rather than just its operators. But to do that,
we must first understand how things went so ...
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Thursday, January 21, 2021
Criminal justice advocates say Pritzker right to vaccinate prisoners for COVID-19
Corrections (74)
,
Governor (44)
,
Health (49)
,
Prisons (74)
(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B.
Pritzker’s decision to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations to the state’s prison
population was met with < read more >
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Thursday, January 21, 2021
Districts considering extending school year to address learning loss
Education--Elementary and Secondary (36)
,
Health (49)
(The Center Square) – Now that
Illinois’ top education official has recommended school districts consider
extending classes into the summer, how many wi...
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