By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) may be getting more publicity than the other Republicans running for governor, but one political watcher says he still has serious flaws as a candidate. John Jackson, a visiting professor of political science at Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, says Bailey lacks…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – State lawmakers and one of the big teachers’ unions in the state are arm-in-arm on a new proposal to try to make schools safer. Legislation – still being drawn up – would crack down on school districts which do not follow security mandates. And it’s easy for State Rep. Fred…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Among those getting a new job in the New Year is Toi Hutchinson. She is a former state senator from Chicago’s south suburbs and has been Gov. JB Pritzker’s chief advisor on cannabis. But she is taking to the national stage as president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project.…… MORE
By Dave Dahl Seemingly every year, lawmakers and the governor propose the sale of the state’s office building in Chicago to try to balance the budget. They will not have that device anymore. Gov. JB Pritzker Wednesday announced the $70 million sale of the James R. Thompson Center to Prime Group, doing business as JRTC…… MORE
A local legislator says the top elected leader in Illinois will have to “moderate his approach” if he’s thinking about running for a higher office.… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – There have been about 96 tornadoes occurring in the month of December in Illinois between 1950 and 2020, so they do happen says State Climatologist Trent Ford. “There is not a tornado season in Illinois and when we do get tornadoes in December, as well as January, February and November,…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – There’s good news for Illinoisans considering a home birth. Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday signed into law a bill regulating midwifery. It sets up standards for qualifications, education, and training. “It’s been over the last two decades that I have been trying to provide the best type of care for maternal…… MORE
On the heels of a deadly tornado that claimed 74 lives, Illinois’s Senior Senator calls for support of the climate change provisions in the House-passed Build Back Better Act.… MORE
Gov. JB Pritzker, in another trip to the tornado-ravaged Metro East, said he has declared Madison County and others affected by Friday’s storms a disaster area. He is optimistic of help from the federal government.… MORE
A Black woman from Lisle is the running mate of gubernatorial candidate State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).… 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…