Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot’s request for state help with the city’s projected budget deficit – specifically, with city pensions – is getting the sort of reaction you might expect.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Illinois starting to show up on NOAA Drought Monitor
Despite the rain of this summer, parts of Illinois are starting to show up on the NOAA Drought Monitor.… MORE
Booker, Baldwin wow virtual brunch
This year’s Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association state fair brunch was not at the state fair, nor was it a brunch.… MORE
Even with no state fair, projects are still underway
Even with no Illinois State Fair in 2020, fair manager Kevin Gordon says there’s still work to do at the fairgrounds in Springfield.… MORE
Help for minority-owned business
For small business people, the during-and-after weeks of COVID-19 could be the right time to grab a share of the economy.… MORE
Transportation Secretary: No place for discrimination or harassment at IDOT
A Senate hearing Thursday about transparency and equity at the Illinois Department of Transportation gave IDOT Secretary Omer Osman a chance to answer serious allegations.… MORE
Lincoln speech now recognized on a plaque at Camp Butler National Cemetery
Many fans and scholars of Abraham Lincoln will tell you his Second Inaugural speech is one of his best, if not the best.… MORE
Duckworth wants coronavirus aid package to help local governments
The U.S. senator who once led the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs is taking measure of how things are going with coronavirus around the state.… MORE
State updates COVID safety guidelines for restaurants and bars
State officials Tuesday announced that patrons of bars and restaurants will be required to wear face coverings when interacting with employees.… MORE
Republicans calling for another Ethics meeting after lawmaker indicted
Since the last time the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform met, a major utility was ensnared in a bribery scandal that resulted in a $200 million fine and implicated House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago). Also, yet another lawmaker – Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) hsa been indicted. Republicans on the commission say it’s well past time for another meeting.… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
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.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
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…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
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…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
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…