By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — As the state’s rolling COVID-19 test positivity rate increased again Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker and representatives of the University of Illinois announced a testing breakthrough which they said could eventually allow for greater suppression of new cases of the virus. The state’s flagship […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The state of Illinois will soon begin distributing $250 million in federal funds to help cities, counties and other units of local government pay for pandemic-related expenses. The General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules cleared the way Tuesday for the Department of […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is adding her voice to those warning that the state will face dire consequences if the federal government does not approve an economic aid package for state and local governments. “Without question, Illinois — and every other state, frankly […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The state’s rolling COVID-19 positivity rate ticked upward Wednesday for the third straight day as the Illinois Department of Public Health announced its largest one-day confirmed case count since June 2. The 1,598 new cases reported were among 39,633 test results reported over […]
By REBECCA ANZELCapitol News Illinoisranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois attorney general’s office on Tuesday night asked a downstate judge to address the one outstanding issue in Rep. Darren Bailey’s lawsuit challenging Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney decides […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker said he would like to see a coordinated national COVID-19 containment strategy that requires people to wear masks, and he reiterated the need for a federal financial support package for […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Days after the governor donated $51.5 million of his personal fortune to a committee supporting a graduated income tax constitutional amendment, a new coalition has begun an effort to defeat the measure. At stake is Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature policy proposal – a […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois economy shrank at an annual rate of 5.4 percent during the first quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, according to federal data released Tuesday, an indicator of just how severely the COVID-19 pandemic affected commercial activity. The gross domestic product figures […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Illinois declined significantly over the holiday weekend and into Monday, touching their lows since the state began reporting the figures daily in April. There were 1,395 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday as the number remained below […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The state of Illinois, like most states, began a new fiscal year on July 1 and the person in charge of managing the state’s bank accounts said she fears it could be one of the most difficult years in modern memory. “This is […]
