Nearly 300,000 Illinoisans filed first-time claims in past two weeks By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – First-time unemployment claims skyrocketed again in Illinois and throughout the nation in the last week of March as businesses closed their doors or scaled back operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Designated times set to handle overwhelming surge in unemployment claims By REBECCA ANZELCapitol News Illinoisranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois department tasked with overseeing unemployment benefits is employing an alphabetized schedule to handle “an unprecedented volume” of claims. Claims now must be filed online and by phone on days and at […]
More than 114,000 Illinoisans file new claims in one week By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — More than 114,000 workers in Illinois filed first-time unemployment claims in the week ending March 21 as the United States saw its biggest one-week spike in recorded history. 3.2 million workers filing for […]
BY DANI TIETZdani@mahometnews.com Groggy workers and students on Monday in Illinois are left wondering if Senate Bill 533, the bill that would end the state’s biannual change of the clock known as daylight savings time, will ever pass and become law. As of Nov. 19, 2019, the measure had passed […]
Senate Bill 2565 and Senate Bill 2564, filed by State Sen. Jim Oberweis (Republican-25th District), seeks to increase speed limits across rural Illinois. The bills have been assigned to the Senate Subcommittee on Special Issues, which currently has no members. Should the bills pass, Senate Bill 2564 would change the […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A local government advocacy group laid out its legislative agenda Monday and called on lawmakers to fully fund a program that shares state income tax revenue with local municipalities. The Illinois Municipal League’s “Moving Cities Forward” agenda also includes efforts to: protect local […]
BY DANI TIETZdani@mahometnews.com Senate Bill 2762 could mandate “inclusive, medically accurate, and culturally appropriate comprehensive sex education” for students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade if it becomes law. Presented by sponsors Senator Ram Villivalam (Democrat District 8) and Representative Kathleen Willis (Democrat District 77), the bill would require the […]
photo by Jerry Nowicki – Capitol News Illinois By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Revenue reported Monday that the first month of legalized adult-use cannabis sales in the state generated $7.3 million in cannabis tax revenue for the state, plus another $3.1 million in retail […]
By JERRY NOWICKIand PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Two bills that would add the risks of e-cigarette use and sexting to public school curriculum will head to the full Illinois House of Representatives after unanimously passing a committee Wednesday, Feb. 19 The House education curriculum committee heard testimony about House Bills 4007 and 3928, […]
By JERRY NOWICKIand PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has tied his second-year state budget proposal to the unfinished marquee policy initiative of his first year – a constitutional amendment that allows the state to impose higher income tax rates on higher income earners. If voters approve […]
