By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A church in northern Illinois has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s stay-at-home executive order, and especially its restrictions on public worship services. The suit was filed by the Thomas More Society, a conservative legal […]
By REBECCA ANZEL Capitol News Illinois ranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois attorney general’s office asked the state’s highest court to consider arguments in a state representative’s case challenging the governor’s authority to oversee the COVID-19 pandemic. If the Illinois Supreme Court agrees, it would take over from the fifth appellate […]
Total claims since mid-March top 800,000 By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Unemployment in Illinois and the U.S. continues to balloon amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The state reported 81,596 first-time claims in the week ending April 25, during which time more than 3.8 million claims were […]
By REBECCA ANZEL Capitol News Illinois ranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — A second Republican state representative on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker alleging he overstepped his authority in ordering Illinoisans to stay at home to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The outcome of Machesney Park Rep. John […]
By BEN ORNER Capitol News Illinois Borner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday denounced a state representative from southern Illinois, calling the lawsuit that defeated his stay-at-home order in court “a cheap political stunt.” Referring to state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, only as “the state representative from the 109th district,” […]
By REBECCA ANZEL Capitol News Illinois ranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a notice to appeal a downstate judge’s ruling releasing one Republican representative from the governor’s executive orders, according to court documents. Xenia Republican Rep. Darren Bailey alleged in his lawsuit that by issuing successive 30-day […]
Governor’s state of emergency should last for only 30 days, according to lawsuit By REBECCA ANZEL Capitol News Illinois ranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker’s state of emergency should have expired April 8, an Illinois lawmaker says in a lawsuit, rendering improper his subsequent actions related to the novel coronavirus […]
State reports 2,724 new cases, 108 additional deaths By BEN ORNER Capitol News Illinois borner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Illinois surpassed a long-stated benchmark of 10,000 daily completed tests for COVID-19, state officials announced Friday. Gov. JB Pritzker called the testing of more than 16,000 people in the past day, “a very […]
By BEN ORNER Capitol News Illinois borner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Illinois has rented a fleet of refrigerated semi-truck trailers to store the bodies of deceased COVID-19 patients in case morgues become filled to capacity, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The “more than 20” trailers made available […]
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday that 4.4 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims during the week that ended April 18, including 102,936 workers in Illinois. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 520,227 workers in Illinois, or 8.2 […]
