After a former state lawmaker pleaded guilty to taking bribes to protect the red light camera industry, the Illinois House passed a measure to partially ban the cameras.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Debate over Illinois’ noncitizen prisoner release policy focuses on money, safety
The Illinois Department of Corrections policy of not holding undocumented immigrants upon release from Illinois prisons could be compounded by a U.S. appeals court ruling on Wednesday that allows U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to withhold federal funds from states and cities with sanctuary policies.… MORE
Illinois universities seek double-digit funding increases from state lawmakers
Officials from three of the state’s public universities went before a Senate committee on Wednesday to detail their funding requests funding, including one double-digit increase.… MORE
New proposal to update sex education in Illinois has LGBTQ component
A proposal to update sex education in Illinois has a strong LGBTQ component.… MORE
One lawmaker’s crusade against red light cameras continues
Red light camera talk is heating up at the statehouse.… MORE
Illinois casinos look to sports betting for revenue boost
Revenues from Illinois’ 10 casinos have been sliding for more than a decade at least in part because of the state’s smoking ban and the rise of video gambling machines. … MORE
Illinois’ in-person sports gambling rule could send people to offshore sports books, industry player warns
When Illinois residents begin to place bets on sporting events this year, an online gaming venue official warned that in-person registration restrictions could push people to illegal, offshore gambling outlets.… MORE
Volcker Alliance gives Rauner’s final budget failing grades
In fiscal year 2018, Illinois didn’t have a budget due to the ongoing feud between former Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratically-controlled General Assembly. In the months before a tenuous general election, the two sides agreed on a 2019 budget that the nonprofit Volcker Alliance now says was, in some ways, just as bad as not having a budget at all.… MORE
WalletHub reaffirms Illinois’ property taxes as second-highest in nation
It may not come as a surprise to residents that a new report again found Illinois’ property taxes were the second-highest in the nation, but the debate about how to address the problem continues, including among members of the Illinois Property Tax Relief Task Force.… MORE
Law enforcement group objects to release of non-citizen felons without notification
A law enforcement group and Republican legislative leaders said a recent Illinois Department of Corrections policy change means convicted felons who aren’t U.S. citizens are being released from prison in communities with no notice to local law enforcement, a practice they said raises public safety concerns.… 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…