Gov. Bruce Rauner wants you to ask this question: Have you signed the People’s Pledge?… MORE
Category Archives: State News
U of I Flash Index shows growing economy
Illinois’ economy is at a high point of sorts.… MORE
Trustee: EIU example of turnaround
An Eastern Illinois University trustee says the state’s other struggling universities may want to look to EIU to get their schools back on track. … MORE
Illinois farmers have permission to grow hemp
Illinois could soon be back in the hemp business.… MORE
Summer months warmer and wetter than usual in Illinois
The summer of 2018 was warmer and wetter than we usually see in Illinois.
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State prepares for Labor Day travel
The last big travel weekend of the summer is upon us and the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Transportation are prepared. … MORE
State confirms 2018’s first human death from West Nile virus
Illinois has its first human West Nile virus-related death this year, and it happened a month earlier than last year’s first fatal case.… MORE
AG Madigan: Homeowners paid thousands to Pekin drilling firm for unfinished work
A Pekin drilling firm is accused by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan of charging Peoria County residents for thousands of dollars for water wells that were never finished.… MORE
9-year-old murder solved
The Champaign County Sheriff’s Office says it’s arrested a man for the murder of Holly Cassano.… MORE
Health groups protest Rauner veto pushing age to buy tobacco to 21
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Health advocates are not done fighting for Tobacco 21. Gov. Rauner vetoed the bill to increase the legal age to buy a pack of smokes from 18 to 21. “It would heavily hurt the economy,” the governor said Tuesday morning, “and it would push more people who choose to smoke to our…… 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…