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 […]
Author: Capitol News
AG asks Clay County judge to rule on last issue in Bailey’s lawsuit
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 […]
Pritzker lays out federal COVID-19 wish list to congressional committee
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 […]
Opposing groups readying for battle over tax amendment
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 […]
Illinois, regional economies shrink in first quarter
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 […]
Illinois COVID-19 deaths dip to lowest daily number since March
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 […]
Mendoza: New fiscal year will be even more challenging than height of budget impasse
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 […]
COVID-19 one-day death total of 14 is lowest since March 30
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The seven-day rolling positivity rate for COVID-19 tests conducted remained at 2.7 percent Monday as the state reported the lowest single-day death total related to the pandemic since March 30. There were 14 deaths reported Monday after 15 were reported Sunday and 26 […]
AG: Gathering restrictions regulate Illinoisans’ conduct, not speech
By REBECCA ANZELCapitol News Illinoisranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — State regulation of the number of people allowed at gatherings does not violate Illinoisans’ First Amendment rights, the attorney general’s office argued in a court document. A lawsuit filed on June 15 by the state’s Republican Party alleged Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive order […]
As state enters Phase 4 Friday, Pritzker ‘not afraid’ to move backwards if COVID-19 cases surge
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker announced a new tool to track county-by-county progress in the fight against the novel coronavirus Thursday, but as the state readied to enter the next phase of reopening, he also warned that he would not hesitate to move certain regions […]