Public transportation reform in the Chicago area is at the top of state lawmakers’ to-do list this spring, but exactly what that reform will look like remains unclear.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Legislation aims to help first-time homebuyers
As the cost of housing continues to rise, Illinois realtors are pushing legislation to make it easier for first-time homebuyers to save for a down payment.… MORE
Trump to implement new tariffs on Illinois’ largest trading partners as state faces uncertainty over economic projections
As the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget Director Alexis Sturm warned a House committee that uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s economic and administrative policies could affect Illinois revenue, the president announced new tariffs will take effect Tuesday on imports from some of Illinois’ top trading partners. … MORE
Illinois schools continuing DEI initiatives despite federal funding threats
The Illinois State Board of Education is not telling schools to stop any diversity, equity and inclusion lessons or programs, the state’s education chief told a House committee this week, even as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from schools that don’t stop. … MORE
Pritzker positions himself at forefront of Trump opposition by invoking Nazis’ rise to power
A month into President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, Gov. JB Pritzker last week warned that the breakneck pace at which the Trump administration has been remaking federal policy could be a harbinger of something darker.… MORE
Lawsuit threatens Illinois minority teachers scholarship
Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed continuing funding for a program aimed at getting more minority teachers in classrooms as a conservative legal strategist challenges the programs constitutionality in federal court.… MORE
Video captures near-miss between Southwest Airlines plane, jet on runway at Chicago’s Midway Airport
A near-miss has been confirmed between a Southwest Airlines planes and a jet on a runway at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.… MORE
Lawmakers weigh whether to legalize ‘medical aid in dying’
Lawmakers are considering legalizing a controversial medical practice that proponents say could ease suffering for the terminally ill. … MORE
Financial impacts of federal action stir anxiety for Illinois farmers
The effects of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on allies and rivals are yet to be seen, but farmers in Illinois are bracing for their impact – even as they wait years for Congress to pass long-term federal spending legislation.… MORE
State cracks down on Chicago gas utility as other utilities ask for rate increase
State regulators on Thursday ordered Chicago’s natural gas utility, Peoples Gas, to abandon its approach to a long-beleaguered pipeline replacement program. Consumer advocates praised the decision, but the company said the decision could cost customers. … 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…