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 […]
Author: Capitol News
Lawmaker sues Pritzker, alleges improper use of emergency powers
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 […]
Illinois surpasses testing goal, unveiling new daily high of COVID-19 cases
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 […]
Illinois rents fleet of refrigerated trailers as COVID-19 morgue contingency
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 […]
Another 102K Illinoisans file first-time jobless claims amid COVID-19 pandemic
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 […]
Illinois reports largest daily increases in COVID-19 cases, tests
By BEN ORNER Capitol News Illinois borner@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois health officials reported the state’s largest one-day increase of COVID-19 cases and tests results Wednesday as Gov. JB Pritzker announced two new drive-thru testing facilities. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,049 new cases Wednesday and 98 additional deaths. […]
Illinois Republicans push for gradual reopening of economy
Illinois Rep. Michael Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat and co-chair of the House economic recovery working group, said one of the most pressing tasks – one that he said state government has little control over – will be getting the state’s economy up and running again, which he said could take […]
Lawmakers slowly preparing for session to reopen
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Top leaders of the Illinois House and Senate say there is still no timetable for calling lawmakers back into session, but they have launched a process for narrowing down the topics they’ll need to address whenever they do return. In recent […]
Pritzker announces expanded student loan relief, SNAP benefits
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Pritzker announced that people in Illinois who still owe money on private student loans can now qualify for temporary relief while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. He also announced families with school-age children who receive food assistance will qualify for additional benefits. Pritzker said […]
Pritzker: Changes to stay-at-home order coming, but ‘normal’ a long way away
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Changes are coming to the stay-at-home order, Gov. JB Pritzker said again at his daily COVID-19 briefing Tuesday in Chicago, but it is unclear what they are and when they will happen. More information on what models the state is using […]