By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court agreed this week to fast-track the state’s appeal of a Macon County judge’s ruling against parts of a recently passed state ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Lawmakers passed the ban during a lame duck session in January […]
By NIKA SCHOONOVERCapitol News Illinoisnschoonover@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday highlighted a proposed grant program that would direct $70 million per year over the next three years to school districts facing the greatest teacher shortages. The Teacher Pipeline Grant Program, which Pritzker included in his budget proposal to […]
SPRINGFIELD – S&P Global Ratings announced Thursday that it had raised Illinois’ long-term credit rating to A-, up from BBB+, marking the seventh upgrade the state has received from a major rating agency in less than two years. The rating applies to roughly $27.7 billion in outstanding general obligation, or […]
By NIKA SCHOONOVERCapitol News Illinoisnschoonover@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans seeking to legally change the gender on their birth certificate will have an easier time under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last week. “Here in Illinois, we recognize that gender transition is a personal journey that doesn’t always follow […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday laid out a $49.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that calls for significant new spending for early childhood education and efforts to combat homelessness among other areas. He also claimed credit for putting the state […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Five years ago this month, Illinois lawmakers passed legislation that overhauled the way public schools in the state are funded. The so-called Evidence Based Funding formula, or EBF, was designed to calculate the actual cost for each district to provide the kind of […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday that he is asking President Joe Biden and the federal government to increase Illinois’ share of federal funding to reflect the results of a recent Census Bureau study showing the state was very likely undercounted in the 2020 […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A leaked draft of an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision that could overturn the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade reignited a political debate over whether access to abortion is a constitutional right or something that can be regulated by the states. The […]
By GRACE KINNICUTTCapitol News Illinoisgkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Democrats warned of an “end to the constitutional right to privacy” if a leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade becomes finalized as precedent. “It means women who lose access to […]
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A pair of bills on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk would expand a state roadway camera monitoring program to 21 additional counties while also expanding the number of crimes the cameras can be used to investigate and the number of parties that can prosecute […]
