By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, paving the way for the change to take effect Sept. 18. The 5-2 decision – handed down on partisan lines – means that an […]
Author: Capitol News
Illinois expands use of police surveillance drones
By ANDREW ADAMSCapitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky. A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings […]
Stalled bills include repeal of subminimum wage for disabled workers, BIPA reform
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOISnews@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – While hundreds of bills cleared the General Assembly in the final month of the legislative session, some big-ticket measures will have to wait until at least the fall. Sponsors of several stalled bills say they will consider reviving their proposals when lawmakers return to […]
Pritzker signs anti-book ban legislation
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Monday that seeks to protect public and school libraries from pressure to ban, remove or restrict access to books based on “partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” Speaking at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago, Pritzker said there […]
Lawmakers approve measure giving utilities control over new downstate transmission lines
By ANDREW ADAMSCapitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — In the final hours of their spring session last week, lawmakers approved a controversial measure that would give existing power companies in downstate Illinois, notably Ameren Illinois, the first crack at installing new transmission lines. The measure applies to companies that already own […]
Pritzker touts new budget’s higher education spending
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker began a tour of the state to tout the new state budget that lawmakers passed last week, stopping at two university campuses Wednesday to highlight the spending plan’s increased funding for higher education. “With this new budget, we’re making it […]
Budget vote brings General Assembly’s 2023 spring session to a close
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The 2023 spring legislative session came to an end in the early hours of Saturday morning after the Illinois House gave its approval to a $50.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. The 73-38 party-line vote came […]
Top Democrats announce budget ‘deal,’ but details are scant as last-minute negotiations continue
By JERRY NOWICKI, HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com UPDATE: The budget was filed as a 3,409-page amendment to Senate Bill 250 late Wednesday evening. This story has been updated to reflect the latest developments as of Wednesday night. SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic leaders announced Wednesday they’ve agreed to a framework […]
Catholic churches harbored hundreds more abusers than previously disclosed
By HANNAH MEISELCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Catholic dioceses in Illinois failed to disclose hundreds of abusive clerics before the state opened what would become a yearslong investigation into sex abuse within the church, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Tuesday. Included in a scathing 700-page report published by Raoul’s office at the […]
Victims of ‘deepfake porn’ and ‘doxing’ could have right to sue under pair of bills
By NIKA SCHOONOVER& ANDREW ADAMSnschoonover@capitolnewsillinois.comaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Victims of “deepfake porn” and “doxing” would have a legal pathway to sue their perpetrators in Illinois under a pair of digital privacy measures that have so far received unanimous support in the General Assembly. House Bill 2954, which would allow victims of […]
