By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Leaders of the national watchdog group Common Cause got a taste of how Illinois does redistricting, and the group’s Illinois leader did not paint a pretty picture. Jay Young recounted for an online news conference Wednesday how state Democratic lawmakers did not wait for U.S. Census numbers, then had to…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Senate Republicans say it’s far past time for Illinois to get tough on crime. During a Zoom news conference Wednesday, lawmakers trained their sights directly at the supermajority Democrats. “Senate President (Don) Harmon (D-Oak Park) has said he has nothing on his list that is that important to do…… MORE
According to a Central Illinois Congressman, Republicans are prepared to work with Democrats and President Joe Biden to pass an infrastructure bill.… MORE
The congressional map-making expected this month will almost assuredly favor Democrats, according to a political scientist at the University of Illinois. One way to make life difficult for Republicans, says professor Brian Gaines, would be to put two in the same district. That’s not all.… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington City Council is holding off on making direct financial payments to residents whose property was devastated by historic flooding in late June. Instead, the council encouraged property owners to apply for state and federal assistance programs, and when that money is exhausted, the council will again consider a…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker Friday again signed a redistricting bill, and Republicans again said he’s a promise-breaker. That’s because lawmakers, rather than, for example, an independent commission, are the mapmakers. State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield), minority spokesman on the House Redistricting Committee, says one result is that many Republicans in the…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Thursday was a day for lawmakers to replay the game films of the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s data breach and massive fraud in the early weeks of the pandemic. It was not difficult to discern where State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) stands on the Pritzker administration’s performance. “When Gov.…… MORE
It’s time – past time, really – to get back to work. … MORE
President Biden is holding meetings with key lawmakers on infrastructure talks in what Illinois” Senior Senator says could result in a bill in the matter of “days or weeks.”… MORE
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reminds people to get their annual flu shot.… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…