Let lawmakers be part of the process. Convene the General Assembly. And open Illinois for business. Those are the demands of three Illinois House Republicans who held a virtual news conference Wednesday morning.… MORE
![Illinois House Republicans demanding Illinois be open for business](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/389/2020/04/29133356/IllinoisCapitol630x420-125x1253.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
Let lawmakers be part of the process. Convene the General Assembly. And open Illinois for business. Those are the demands of three Illinois House Republicans who held a virtual news conference Wednesday morning.… MORE
With Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home orders set to expire later this week, new orders have yet to be filed. It’s expected the orders will be modified to allow for some retailers considered non-essential to operate.… MORE
Busy food pantries in central and southern Illinois will have enough sanitizer handy for a while.… MORE
Gov. Pritzker is still mad at State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), whose lawsuit against the governor – over the “stay home” restrictions – is making its way through a southern Illinois court. Pritzker says the numbers prove his point:… MORE
A new report found black people were seven times more likely to be arrested in Illinois for marijuana offenses than their white counterparts.… MORE
In the cornfields of Illinois, they are suffering the effects of the pandemic. And ethanol faces a double whammy. … MORE
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday his office planned to appeal a ruling in a legal fight over the governor’s authority to extend the state’s stay-at-home order.… MORE
With the last session days of April having been canceled, reform advocates’ hopes of passing a ballot initiative before Illinois redraws its political boundaries become a near impossibility. … MORE
For all the bad news of the coronavirus crucible, some aspects which have grown from it have been positive. Gov. JB Pritzker says he hopes these days have a legacy of cooperation, caring and service that last and last.… MORE
Some Republican lawmakers are dissatisfied with the answers – or lack of answers – they are getting about convicts being let out of prison to make the prisons less susceptible to coronavirus outbreaks. … 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…