By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoijnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed his final first-term budget into law Tuesday, a roughly $46 billion spending plan buoyed by pandemic-driven revenue windfalls and a current-year surplus that helped the state pay down debts and offer temporary tax relief. Between the three budget-related bills […]
By JERRY NOWICKI& PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked until the early hours of Saturday to pass a $46.5 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as a $1.8 billion package of mostly-temporary tax cuts that Democrats said are intended to soften the impact […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois Senate on Friday announced a $1.8 billion package of mostly temporary tax relief proposals that they hope to include in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget as the legislative session enters its final week. The package is $800 million […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Public schools in Illinois may soon be serving a lot more vegan and vegetarian meals, thanks to a bill that cleared the General Assembly Tuesday. House Bill 4089 requires school districts to provide a plant-based lunch option that complies with federal nutritional requirements to […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Seven teams of Republicans and one team of Democrats have lined up to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in the 2022 elections. Monday was the deadline for candidates to turn in their nominating petitions to the Illinois State Board […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A House revenue committee on Thursday heard projections of an Illinois economy that is steadily moving back toward a level of pre-pandemic normalcy, which means revenue spikes realized due to temporary changes in consumer spending habits and federal stimulus packages are expected to […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A legislative panel on Tuesday voted to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools, saying in part that those rules are still being litigated in a state appellate court. The Joint Committee on Administrative rules voted 9-0, with two members […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans should stay tuned for an announcement on the state’s indoor mask mandate, Gov. JB Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, although he declined to say specifically what changes might be coming. “I think I’ve said over the last few press […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Each year in February, Illinois’ governor must propose to lawmakers a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The General Assembly will then spend the next several months negotiating which proposals to include and which to scrap before sending the budget back to the governor […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Two bills aimed at relieving the state’s teacher shortage, at least in the short term, advanced out of a Senate committee Tuesday. The Senate Education Committee unanimously endorsed two bills that would allow retired teachers to work as substitutes more days in a […]
