State & Local News Headlines

Buying or renting a home has become too expensive for too many people, and that needs to change. The reason? Low housing inventory and high demand. In fact, Illinois will need to build 225,000 housing units in the next five years to keep up.   The problem in most Illinois cities and townships is simple. From overly bureaucratic permitting…

Every year when the legislature arrives at mid-May, it’s always tempting to look around, see the absence of real bicameral movement on legislation and conclude that nothing’s gonna happen in time for the scheduled May 31 adjournment.  Succumbing to that temptation this year may not be a bad bet, but things can change. Right now,…

MACOMB/MOLINE, Ill. — In conjunction with the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA), Western Illinois University will host two community listening sessions for the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s (IHDA) 2027 Illinois Housing Blueprint development process. The sessions will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, on the Macomb campus and 1 p.m. Thursday, May…

Article Summary This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. Trust in U.S. elections is eroding. Between skepticism about redistricting, fear about immigration agents at the polls, and unproven claims about widespread election fraud, Americans are losing confidence in the accuracy and security of their elections. But many local…

Before the House passed the megaprojects bill last month, we were told that the drafters didn’t want to just do some symbolic or “token” property tax relief. After the chamber passed the bill, we were told the property tax component will provide meaningful statewide relief for homeowners. Well, the governor’s office ran the numbers on the…

Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) discussing honoring officers on this solemn occasion.

More than a year ago, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget was projecting a $3.2 billion deficit for what is now the current fiscal year. Part of the problem was that existing revenues were flat while spending was growing, according to the budget office.  This is a recurring problem in Illinois. The previous fiscal year’s…

David Glockner used his confirmation hearing to differentiate himself from his predecessor. He said he won’t hesitate to “call balls and strikes,” but he added he plans to try to minimize clashes with the mayor’s office by emphasizing “problem-solving over fingerpointing.”

Asked whether she’d be comfortable wearing the hat if the legislation failed and the Bears chose Hammond, Indiana instead, Davis Gates said the bill should have nothing to do with whether or not the Bears choose to go to Arlington Heights. “I have no idea how school funding and the Chicago Bears Stadium are intertwined. […]

Johnson appeared to argue that pushing for property tax breaks for the Bears was antithetical to lawmakers’ responsibility to their constituents. "The difference or the disconnect is, look, we do come from different experiences," Johnson said. "I’m not a billionaire. I’m not the heir of billions of dollars. I’m a working-class brotha that was teaching middle […]

Tom Demmer and Ravi Mishra, of the Illinois Policy Institute: "A Medicaid-style program for undocumented immigrants ended up costing billions more than expected, and corporate tax changes were adopted without meaningful analysis of their economic effects. That’s not budgeting. It’s guesswork."

"Hard work used to be enough for a middle-class working family to be able to afford a home and put down some roots. Now, with housing prices skyrocketing, young people feel like they’re failing to reach an essential benchmark in life. The truth is, this isn’t about a personal failure; it’s about a policy failure."

"Strengthening both policing and prosecution of property crimes is the key to bringing Walgreens and other businesses back to the South Side. Rhetoric like (Ald. William) Hall’s, by contrast, continues to send the message that Chicago is closed for business."

"There is something profoundly bizarre about the mayor of a financially struggling American city darting off to the Vatican to deliver a White Sox baseball cap to the Pope while the transit system back home increasingly resembles a rolling crime scene."

"The rejection of her petition came without dissent or comment from any Supreme Court justices. And the rejection came despite warnings from Jeanne Hedgepeth's attorneys and other legal observers that to allow the lower courts' decisions to stand would essentially give the green light to public school districts to censor and potentially fire teachers and other […]

“Imagine having to tell a victim’s family the technology that could have identified the suspect was taken off the table by lawmakers,” state Rep. Patrick Sheehan of Homer Glen said on social media last month.