By RAYMON TRONCOSOCapitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker took questions on a massive criminal justice omnibus bill backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus on Monday, noting he was generally “in favor of the process and the work that the Black Caucus has done overall.” When pressed on […]
Published on Capitol News Jan. 9 By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill aimed at making college education and teacher preparation programs more accessible and affordable for people of color began working its way through the General Assembly on Saturday with the formal introduction of language that lawmakers […]
Published Jan. 10 on Capitol News By RAYMON TRONCOSOCapitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House of Representatives continued to debate a massive criminal justice omnibus bill Sunday that would transform policing practices in the state. A 611-page amendment to House Bill 163 would heavily revamp use-of-force guidelines, mandate body cameras for […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he would suspend his campaign for House Speaker of the 102nd General Assembly on Monday, but his statement made clear he was not withdrawing from the race. “This is not a withdrawal. I have suspended my campaign for speaker,” […]
By RAYMON TRONCOSOCapitol News Illinoisrtroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus has introduced a sweeping criminal justice omnibus bill that aims to heavily alter the state of policing in Illinois. Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, introduced a 611-page amendment to House Bill 163 Tuesday in the state Senate, a move that would […]
The U.S. Congress reached an agreement on a roughly $900 billion coronavirus relief package that extends unemployment benefits, provides stimulus checks to Americans within a certain income bracket and funding to small businesses, but it fell short of providing direct funding to state and local governments. The relief package approved […]
By RAYMON TRONCOSOCapitol News Illinois | Report For Americartroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The state is soliciting computers and related equipment from individuals and companies as part of a new program announced Wednesday that will distribute refurbished devices to low-income households. The Computer Equity Network is a collaboration between the state, the […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced more than $700 million in spending cuts on Tuesday, calling it a “first step” in closing a $3.9 billion revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year’s budget. As part of those cuts, Pritzker said his office is negotiating with […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration arrived in Illinois Monday, but officials said there’s still a need for social distancing, face coverings and other mitigations as a full rollout could take months. While Gov. […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – More than 107,000 Illinois workers filed first-time unemployment claims last week, a 45-percent increase over the week before as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc on the state and national economies. The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported that there were 107,616 new claims […]
