Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike is looking back on her time serving the state with only days left in office.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
First day to file petitions at Illinois State Board of Elections
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – With all the people and cars at a Springfield strip mall Monday morning, you would have thought Chuck E. Cheese was offering breakfast, or that there was a run on title loans. Neither would be correct. The shopping center houses the Illinois State Board of Elections, where candidates must turn…… MORE
Governor reacts to Mike Madigan indictment
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Now that former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has been indicted, questions continue about a special investigative committee convened in 2020. The committee, chaired by then-State Rep. and now Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside), dissolved without making any findings and without even hearing from Madigan. In DeKalb Thursday, a reporter asked…… MORE
Illinois lawmakers react to former House Speaker Mike Madigan indictment
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The top Republican in the Illinois House, Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), waved the 106-page, 22-count indictment of former House Speaker Mike Madigan as he reacted to the news during a late-afternoon news conference Wednesday at the Capitol. “Speaker Welch, Mike Madigan’s hand-picked successor, and all of the House…… MORE
Madigan indicted on federal corruption charges
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Anyone who thought former House Speaker Mike Madigan would slip away from the feds was wrong. “Today a federal grand jury returned a 22-count indictment charging former House Speaker Michael Madigan with racketeering conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and extortion offenses, said U.S. Attorney John Lausch at a late-afternoon news conference…… MORE
IMA launches third annual Makers’ Madness competition
Depending on your definition of cool, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is again inviting you to put up a nomination for the “coolest product in Illinois.” That’s what Makers’ Madness is all about.… MORE
Illinois State Fair announces six acts for grandstand lineup
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Fair is announcing part of the grandstand concert lineup. Some of the acts scheduled for the State Fair in Springfield this summer include Sam Hunt, Brooks and Dunn, TLC and Shaggy, Jon Pardi, Disturbed and Sammy Hagar and The Circle. Fair manager Rebecca Clark says they are…… MORE
ISP: Protecting peaceful protest and public safety as convoys head into Illinois
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – State Police are ready to protect the public and the right to peaceful protest as several convoys are set to roll through Illinois. Some of the convoys are well organized and in touch with the state police, while others are more grass roots efforts says ISP Sgt. Joey Watson. “Our…… MORE
Congressman LaHood: “We need to make it difficult as possible” on the Russian economy
Amid an invasion by Russian troops in Ukraine, one central Illinois Congressman thinks the United States can do more to help Ukraine.… MORE
Illinois Supermajority Dems vote to remove three Republicans off House floor for not wearing a mask
The Speaker of the Illinois House believes face mask rules in the chamber should be more stringent than what Gov. JB Pritzker has laid out.… 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…