By BEN SZALINSKICapitol News [email protected] SPRINGFIELD — The relative ease of budgeting following the pandemic thanks to federal aid and strong tax revenue surpluses for the state appears to be over. Gov. JB Pritzker will present his seventh budget proposal Wednesday as the state faces a projected $3.2 billion revenue shortfall for fiscal year 2026,…… MORE
Illinois lawmakers voiced a wide range of reactions Wednesday following former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s conviction on multiple federal corruption charges.… MORE
By WMBD TV CHICAGO – The jury in trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and longtime political confidant Michael McClain arrived at a partial verdict Wednesday. The jury said they came to an agreement on 17 counts but were deadlocked on the other 12. “It is our belief this impasse will not be overcome,”…… MORE
By BEN SZALINSKICapitol News [email protected] SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made a “special announcement” on Friday: Illinois is renaming Lake Michigan to “Lake Illinois” and annexing Green Bay, Wisconsin, “to protect itself against” the Green Bay Packers. The video shared by his campaign “was intended to inject some humor at a moment when I…… MORE
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced this week he has joined yet another multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time over its decision to slash funding for university research grants through the National Institutes of Health.… MORE
Illinois State University’s African American Studies Program is hosting its inaugural film series.… MORE
A winter storm will bring moderate snow to Central Illinois on Wednesday, with many areas seeing the biggest snow of the season so far.… MORE
In two different cases, two men were sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty in Peoria’s federal court to charges related to sexually exploiting minors.… MORE
Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter Daniela were shot and killed on Fourth of July weekend in 2023 at their Chicago home, allegedly by her husband. … MORE
Swiftie Fest, presented by WBNQ-FM and WBWN-FM, will feature a performance by the Taylorville Band.… 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…