By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The day that marks the anniversary of the day in 1865 when some of the last enslaved Americans learned that they had been freed is now an official state holiday in Illinois. At a bill signing ceremony in front of a signed copy […]
By SARAH MANSURCapitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The state Senate on Tuesday approved a change to next year’s budget at the request of Gov. JB Pritzker to correct drafting errors in the measure that passed in the early hours of Wednesday, June 1, with little time for it to be […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed a pair of bills Friday that redraw state legislative and appellate court districts, despite the fact that official U.S Census data needed to ensure equal representation has not yet been delivered. In a statement released Friday afternoon, Pritzker said […]
By RAYMON TRONCOSOCapitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers passed an omnibus elections bill Monday that would push back the date of the 2022 primary elections amid other major changes to the state’s election code. The 156-page omnibus bill, an amendment to Senate Bill 825 filed by Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, would also […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass a $42.3 billion state budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying down a sizeable portion […]
By TIM KIRSININKASCapitol News Illinoistkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Illinois Senate passed a bill aiming to improve ethics standards for elected officials after it was filed just hours earlier. An amendment to Senate Bill 539, introduced by Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, passed with bipartisan approval despite […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House passed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday that would guarantee workers in the state the right to unionize. The proposed amendment, which passed the Senate last week, would provide that employees have a “fundamental right” to organize and engage in collective bargaining […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate on Thursday passed a measure requiring public schools to include the dangers of “sexting” in sex education coursework and another lifting a ban on people convicted of drug crimes from receiving certain family benefits. House Bill 24 requires public schools that […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers opened their first public hearing Tuesday on a proposed set of new House and Senate district maps with Democrats and Republicans still at sharp odds over how the maps were drawn and whether or not they are fair. House and Senate […]
By GRACE BARBICCapitol News Illinoisgbarbic@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would require schools to provide free menstrual hygiene products in all bathrooms for grades 4 through 12 passed the Illinois House and will now be up for consideration in the Senate. House Bill 156, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, […]
