State & Local News Headlines

Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) and Rep. Kyle Moore (R-Quincy) both voted against the budget in their respective chambers. “Folks are working hard, but it feels like their paycheck doesn’t go as far as it used to,” Tracy said. “That’s why it’s frustrating to see Springfield pass the largest budget in state history while families are…

SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Bill Cunningham stepped out of a two-hour private Democratic caucus meeting and delivered a bombshell Saturday night: A PILOT bill aimed at keeping the Bears in Illinois is off the table and the city of Chicago is back in the mix. Cunningham, a top negotiator on legislation aimed at giving the…

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas released a “study” last week about the state megaprojects proposal including a new Bears stadium complex that was mostly uncritically received by local news media. But it’s not her best work, to say the least.  OK, before we go any further I should say I find corporate tax breaks distasteful…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – With just two session days left before the scheduled end of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session, several major topics remain unresolved, including the state budget and a megaprojects bill that would pave the way for the Chicago Bears to build a domed stadium in Arlington Heights. Friday was a “hurry up…

With just days left in the spring legislative session, Illinois Senate Democrats unveiled an eight-bill housing package incorporating tweaked elements of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Building Up Illinois Developments, or BUILD, plan and a slew of progressive initiatives. “We’ve always been consistent from the beginning that we want to work with the governor to achieve accessible and…

U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang filed the ruling June 1, delivering a mixed bag of results for both sides in the case lodged against the Illinois State Supreme Court by former Cook County Judge James Brown.

"How can the Bears, or any major enterprise planning a significant project or expansion in Chicago and relying for a time on discretion from the fifth floor, do business with a mayor who's shown he's willing to betray confidences to further his political ends? Perhaps all is fair in love, war and politics."

ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said, in part, "We introduced a tariff. It was approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission to make sure that the cost imposed by data centers on our transmission and distribution system is paid for by those data centers, to make sure that those extra costs are not passed through the rest […]

According to police in suburban Plainfield, deputies were called to a home May 22 at approximately 12:50 p.m. for reports of a “male suicidal suspect.” The teen admitted to the intended attack to police at the scene according to officials. Officers collected a handgun, multiple loaded magazines, knives, an accelerant and gloves from the residence.

Hall is proposing a city-run Office of Pharmacy Access. The idea is straightforward: 77 access points, one in each of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, where residents can fill prescriptions and pick up medications close to home. The city would act as landlord. Independent pharmacists would move in without the overhead costs that typically push small pharmacies out […]

According to the Tax Foundation, 0.5 a percentlcohol-by-volume bourbon-infused ice cream would be taxed more than 1,000 times as much as alcohol in 14 percent ABV beer under the proposed amendments.

Portions of the law, such as the age requirements to purchase hemp products, will take effect upon the bill being signed into law. Other parts, primarily those focused on hemp product sales and regulation, will take effect at the same time federal regulations do in November.

"In the state budget, there is approximately $150 million labeled as 'surplus' motor fuel sales tax revenue, but this is not surplus in any meaningful sense. It is revenue generated directly from Illinois drivers who are already paying higher prices at the pump. … At the same time, when examining broader state expenditures, including healthcare […]

"A data analysis … revealed the Sheriff’s Office failed to serve 75 percent of the orders of protection issued between 2021 and 2023, leaving thousands of domestic violence victims vulnerable. Furthermore, the office recently finalized a massive $31 million settlement with over 560 women to resolve a historic sexual harassment lawsuit. Compounding these crises, the […]

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Tatianna Ammons applied for and received unemployment insurance benefits from around October 24, 2020, until around September 10, 2021.  Tatianna Ammons is the daughter of State Representative Carol Ammons and Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons.