The Trump administration says it will begin withholding federal money tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from most Democratic-controlled states as soon as next week unless those states turn over detailed information about people receiving food aid, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. Rollins […]
by Hannah Meisel, Capitol News Illinois December 2, 2025 Article Summary The Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is considering whether a lower court judge overstepped last month when he ordered the release of several hundred immigration detainees to electronic monitoring. Immigration and civil rights groups have so far identified […]
Air travelers who show up at airport security checkpoints without a REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification will soon face a $45 fee under a new identity verification program announced by the Transportation Security Administration on Monday. Beginning February 1, 2026, passengers aged 18 and older who lack a […]
Illinois has officially declined to adopt the federal “no tax on tips” provision signed into law this summer, meaning service workers across the state will continue to pay Illinois income tax on their tip earnings—even as those same tips are exempt from federal taxation. The decision places Illinois among a […]
by Maggie Dougherty, Capitol News Illinois December 2, 2025 Article Summary Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill allowing the Illinois Department of Public Health to issue vaccine guidance independent of federal guidelines. It broadens IDPH’s scope to consider the advice of scientific and medical experts who disagree with the guidelines […]
by Ben Szalinski, Capitol News Illinois December 1, 2025 Article Summary A report by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute found federal budget cuts could reduce economic activity in Illinois by $10 billion each year by 2029. The most significant impacts would stem from changes to Medicaid eligibility as more people […]
Santa’s Secret Star, a family-friendly holiday planetarium show, will light up the dome at the William M. Staerkel Planetarium on Saturdays, Dec. 6, 13 and 20, 2025, at 1 p.m. The program blends seasonal storytelling with stargazing, inviting children and adults to help Santa find his way home by discovering […]
U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply in November, hitting its lowest level since April, as Americans grew more pessimistic about current business conditions, the labor market, and their financial future, according to the latest report from The Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index declined by 6.8 points to 88.7 in November, […]
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will grant a “full and complete pardon” to Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras currently serving a 45-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted in 2024 of conspiring to import more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. […]
The Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Armed Services Committee announced a bipartisan investigation Saturday into reports that U.S. forces conducted follow-up strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, killing survivors who had initially lived through missile attacks. In a rare joint statement, Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and […]
