If the election were held last week, J.B. Pritzker would be elected governor – easily.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
U of I economist weighs in on state economy
The economic news for Illinois is mostly good, with the unemployment rate the lowest in almost twenty years. And the state rate is now almost exactly the national rate, four years after being separated by more than a full percentage point. … MORE
Rauner in Twin Cities sees opioid disposal program as lifesaver
Gov. Bruce Rauner was in Bloomington Tuesday promoting public and private efforts to keep addictive painkillers out of the wrong hands.… MORE
AARP poll tells you how voters really feel
Another survey’s out about the dissatisfaction Illinoisans have with Illinois.… MORE
International grain buyers tour all things agriculture in Illinois
Illinois is showing the best of agriculture to foreign buyers on a statewide tour.… MORE
Dry, hot summer in Illinois perfect conditions for weed that poisoned Lincoln’s mother
A poisonous weed that prompted President Abe Lincoln’s family to move to Illinois is putting livestock here at risk. … MORE
New director of the Democratic Party of Illinois ready to get started
We’re seeing more of State Rep. Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago) around the state this campaign season. Part of that is because he is the new executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois.… MORE
Illinois State Fair Grandstand was not grand in concert ticket sales
Concerts at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand this year didn’t do quite as well as hoped. Overall, the Grandstand took a loss. The concerts at the Springfield venue wound up losing $210,000.… MORE
New report about Illinois’ brainpower shows improvement
Before you can make things or sell things you have to have R & D. Research and development. And, in a new report, the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition reports the state is not growing there.… MORE
State worker wants to fight against union suit
An Illinois state worker who chose not to be in his union has filed to insert himself into a lawsuit that seeks to allow public employee unions to negotiate lesser benefits for non-members they’re still representing.… 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…