Illinois’ election managers want to give voters and local election officials another chance to get some answers before automatic voter registration starts this summer.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
State climate report details cool and wet March
March is wrapping up as a cool and wet month.… MORE
Voting underway for Illinois’ Top Innovation
Illinois’ latest Top 200 list will have voters choosing between skyscrapers, cells phones, and Twinkies.… MORE
Federal lawsuit: ISU wrongly pursued false sexual assault claims against former student
A former Illinois State University student claims in a million dollar federal lawsuit he’s the victim of sex discrimination because of the school’s mishandling of false sexual assault allegations against him.… MORE
DOJ to offer grants for panic buttons in schools
Schools across the country can get up to $200,000 in federal funds to buy panic buttons that would alert law enforcement of an emergency faster.… MORE
Gas prices undergoing seasonal increases
Crude oil futures are still trading well below $100 a barrel, although prices at the pump are rising.… MORE
Sen. Brady seeks bipartisan solutions to gun violence, urges GOP unity against Pritzker
Bloomington State Senator Bill Brady is hoping this weekend’s March for Our Lives demonstrations against gun violence, including Saturday’s protest in Downtown Bloomington, will spur bipartisan action in the Illinois General Assembly.… MORE
SIU poll indicates discontent with incarceration rates
New polling from Southern Illinois University found 73 percent of state voters think the state spends too much money on incarceration and not enough on education and treatment.… MORE
Gov. Rauner’s pension-cost shift concept draws concerns
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed four-year pension cost shift to local schools and universities – a key part of his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year – has garnered mixed reactions from lawmakers across the aisle, but the controversial plan is likely dead already.… MORE
Ives, Rauner not mending fences
There were apparently no phone calls between Gov. Bruce Rauner and challenger Jeanne Ives Tuesday night to let bygones be bygones after their race for the Republican nomination ended with a narrow Rauner victory.… 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…