By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – When the lawmakers cancel session days, business in the capital city suffers. “We were really looking forward to these ten to twelve weeks,” said Scott Dahl, director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s front-loaded, which really kicks off our year in January, February, and March, when we typically…… MORE
A candidate for state treasurer wants to combine that office with that of state comptroller. But it was corruption which led Illinois to have separate offices to begin with.… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Monday marks the two year anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 reported in Illinois. The first case on Jan. 24 of 2020 was a Chicago woman who had recently returned from Wuhan, China. Two years later, the pandemic continues with record setting numbers of new cases and hospitalizations this…… MORE
If you have delta, you probably have omicron.… MORE
Bankruptcy remains an option for some in financial turmoil, but a University of Illinois law professor who studies consumer credit says filings are actually down during the pandemic.… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – All Illinois Secretary of State departments will reopen for in-person transactions – including driver services facilities – on Monday, Jan. 24. All departments and driver services facilities had been closed since Jan. 3 due to the surge of COVID-19 cases statewide. “The health and safety of employees and the public…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Now, more than ever, cybersecurity’s vital at the Illinois State Board of Elections. The new executive director, Bernadette Matthews, takes over after the retirement last year of Steve Sandvoss, who apparently got the attention of cybercriminals via phone or computer and, as a result, reported he was a victim of…… MORE
A package of criminal justice legislation which passed a year ago is an anti-cop, anti-safety albatross which some Democrats already want to repeal – according to Illinois House Republicans, who held a news conference Thursday.… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – There’s skepticism over the government’s coronavirus numbers. And the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health says there is something to that. Dr. Ngozi Ezike gives one example: “Because of the ubiquitousness of omicron,” Ezike said during Gov. JB Pritzker’s news conference Wednesday, “there are people who maybe went…… MORE
The governor says it’s hard to tell when you’re at the peak – until you’ve passed it. … 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…