By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – General Raoul goes to Washington! Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday to support legislation to help people escape predatory student loans. “Failing to hold these predatory institutions accountable does nothing but line the pockets of the shareholders at the expense of taxpayers,” Raoul told…… MORE
A lawsuit was filed this week by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.… MORE
Illinois’ Senior Senator is working with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to pass bankruptcy reform for student loan borrowers.… MORE
Gov. JB Pritzker Monday had a busy day of signing bills.… MORE
The last-minute deal to reimburse police and the National Guard for their help after Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., is just the latest example of threats of cutting pay and / or services in federal government, only to see an eleventh-hour solution.… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Once again, Illinois Republican lawmakers are calling out the Pritzker administration. This time it’s over unemployment money going to people who do not have it coming, and in some cases are not even alive. Reacting to a financial audit showing about $150 million the Illinois Department of Employment Security…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – A new state law aims to help older special education students. Special education students can remain in school until they are 22. But previously, if they turned 23 during the academic year they would have to leave. This new law lets students turning a year older finish out the school…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – A package of legislation addressing the LGBTQ+ community is now law. Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday signed bills allowing you to change the gender on your marriage certificate, decriminalizing the transmission of HIV, and requiring insurance coverage of infertility treatments for LGBTQ+ couples who want to be parents. “In our…… MORE
Residents in Ward 6 can now apply to fill Bloomington council member Jenn Carillo’s seat after the council member announced they were stepping down.… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – A downstate lawmaker who is making a run for governor made a stop in the Twin-Cities Monday night. State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) made the first stop of his summer bus tour at Rader Family Farms in Normal. Around 200 people attended the event. Bailey will face several challengers in…… 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…