By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – You have less access to your medical records than you may think, and State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) says he wants to change that. “What we’re addressing here is the ability of a patient or their representative to know that the record that they’re looking at accurately reflects the diagnosis…… MORE
Soon enough, we’ll be filling out our brackets. But – that’s not confined to basketball.… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The leader of Illinois’ second-largest school district is a school board vote away from becoming superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. Elgin U-46 superintendent Tony Sanders would succeed the retired Carmen Ayala. Not surprisingly, coronavirus has colored the last few years for his district. And, in his new…… MORE
“I’ll keep knocking on the door until they let me in.”… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – A southern Illinois sheriff, who says it’s unconstitutional for him to enforce Illinois’ new assault weapons ban, says emphasis on mental health works. And if the question is whether public leaders will pony up the money needed for it, Crawford County’s William Rutan says – it’s already being done. “I…… MORE
Remember the proposed graduated income tax in Illinois? Republicans fear there will be another try at it.… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is making good on a $4.5 billion federal loan used to help the state get through the pandemic. The loan helped shore up the state’s unemployment insurance fund, which was rapidly being depleted as so many people were out of work. Mendoza says this will save…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – “She will be missed by all who knew her, and she will be missed by those who never knew her.” That’s how former Illinois Department of Natural Resources director Colleen Callahan reacts to Saturday’s death of Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, 50, director of the Illinois State Museum. Catlin-Legutko was hired under the…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Lawsuits against Illinois’ new ban on assault weapons are being filed in state and federal courts, but Gov. JB Pritzker says he remains confident the law will be upheld. Speaking on a media call from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the governor said that drafters of the law worked…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is announcing his transition team’s recommendations for improving the office. Ideas came from group members and the general public and cover a wide range of areas says Giannoulias. “When it comes to improving driver services, I want to make our driver service facilities among…… 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…