There were 4.3 days suitable for field work during the week ending October 29, 2023.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Advocates for disabled people employed in workshops want to preserve their subminimum wage
Some advocates for disabled Illinoisans employed in workshops oppose a bill to bring them up to minimum wage.… MORE
Top public affairs officer from the Illinois National Guard describes Maui wildfire duty
The Maui wildfire was anything but simple.… MORE
State lawmaker sponsoring bill for schools to have kosher and halal foods available
A bill outlining how kosher and halal can be used in schools is too easy to inadvertently violate, some lawmakers say.… MORE
Legislative staff unionization bill passes House
That legislative staff unionization bill has passed the House. The vote came a day after a committee approved the bill Tuesday, the first day of veto session. … MORE
State trooper wounded Tuesday night honored on House floor
A state trooper wounded during a Springfield traffic stop Tuesday was honored on the House floor the next day.… MORE
Bill proposed in Springfield allows legislative staffers to form a union
Illinois legislative staffers would be allowed to form a union… if a bill that’s passed a House committee becomes law. … MORE
Gov. Pritzker attends anti-hate event, discusses attacks on innocent people
When Gov. JB Pritzker showed up Monday at an anti-hate event in Chicago, he invoked the name of the six-year-old boy killed in Plainfield.… MORE
State lawmakers who represent Teutopolis are calling for safety measures
The state lawmakers who represent Teutopolis have worked up legislation which they say would prevent accidents such as the one which claimed five lives in late September.… MORE
State election authorities are assuring lawmakers the system is secure
It’s never a bad time to learn about election security.… 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…