Children are only children once – and Gov Pritzker today (Monday) brought a message of optimism to Champaign.… MORE
![Governor discusses American Rescue Plan and new statewide programs](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/389/2021/04/05170859/JB-e1617660551897.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
Children are only children once – and Gov Pritzker today (Monday) brought a message of optimism to Champaign.… MORE
Former Central Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood concealed from authorities that he accepted $50,000 in foreign money while serving as Secretary of Transportation in the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice reported Wednesday.… MORE
While 70% of Illinois residents 65 years and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, not all of the metrics needed to advance to the Bridge Phase and on to Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Plan have been met.… MORE
It sure sounds like there’s a lot riding on a “clean energy” bill, with the likes of Ameren Illinois president and chairman Richard Mark using his time to talk to state senators about it.… MORE
A Legislative Black Caucus priority now awaits the governor’s action – the “healthcare pillar,” which, supporters say, will make the healthcare system fairer to people of color.… MORE
Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery on June 19, 1865, would become a state holiday in Illinois, under a bill which has passed a committee.… MORE
A bill to greater facilitate vote-by-mail – requiring the votes to count even when the ballots come postage due – has the stamp of approval of Democrats on an Illinois Senate committee.… MORE
Gov. JB Pritzker Wednesday added himself to the more than five million Illinoisans vaccinated against COVID-19. He said about two-thirds of Illinoisans age 65 and up – and almost a third of Illinoisans sixteen and up – have been jabbed.… MORE
The “State of Education” shows public support for teachers, according to the state’s largest teachers union. … MORE
The problem of suicide – and the challenge of early detection – were before a Senate committee.… 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…