Area Breaking News
Biden administration responds to calls from Pritzker, other leaders, for help in migrant crisis
Homeland Security will expedite work authorizations among other actions By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Department of Homeland Security will speed up the processing of work authorizations for asylum seekers and extend Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants, actions that could help thousands of migrants who have arrived in Illinois in…
Read MoreNew State Police rules for assault weapons permits will take effect October 1
People who owned banned weapons before new law must apply for FOID endorsement By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinoisans who own weapons that can no longer be purchased or sold in the state under its new assault weapons ban will soon be able to register those weapons so they can legally keep them.…
Read MoreFormer Illinois State Police trooper who pleaded guilty in relation to deadly crash postpones hearing
Matt Mitchell is seeking driver’s license reinstatement after 2007 crash that killed Metro East sisters By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Matt Mitchell, the former Illinois State Police trooper who caused a high-speed, distracted-driving crash that killed sisters Kelli and Jessica Uhl, has asked to delay his September 20 hearing for the reinstatement of…
Read MoreDisparately resourced public defenders prepare for the end of cash bail in Illinois
Public defenders, while supportive of reform, anticipate major workload increases By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois on Monday, September 18, will become the first state to fully abolish cash bail through an act of the legislature, a major criminal justice overhaul spurred by the advocacy of a progressive faction of the Democratic Party…
Read MoreIFB director: Complacency is a farmer’s worst enemy
By TAMMIE SLOUP FarmWeek Brent Pollard’s plentiful hay crop this spring was both a blessing and a curse. On May 16, the Winnebago County dairy and grain farmer was turning off his chopper box after unloading the last load of silage for the day when his clothes became entangled in a cracked power take-off (PTO)…
Read More‘Thunderdomes of controversy and strife:’ Giannoulias testifies before U.S. Senate committee
Secretary of state testifies on Illinois’ recent effort to prohibit book bans By JENNIFER FULLER Capitol News Illinois jfuller@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was in Washington, D.C. this week to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee regarding a new state law aimed at deterring book bans. Giannoulias, whose position also includes the…
Read MoreIllinois House Speaker’s staff could test limits of Workers’ Rights Amendment
Labor expert says it could be a hard legal argument to make By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Efforts to form a union by staff in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office could provide an early and unexpected test of the new Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois Constitution. Brady Burden, a…
Read MoreBattery manufacturing plant coming to Illinois – with $530M incentive deal
Lithium-ion plant in Manteno part of state’s ongoing effort to court electric vehicle manufacturing By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A new battery manufacturing plant is set to open in northern Illinois next year after the state offered more than $330 million in tax incentives to make it happen. Gotion, a Chinese battery manufacturing…
Read MoreSeed reps foresee another big year for wheat
By DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek Illinois farmers boosted wheat plantings by 210,000 acres for the 2023 crop compared to 2022. Did it ever pay off. Prairie State farmers harvested 65.5 million bushels of wheat this summer, up a whopping 48% compared to the previous year, with a record yield of 84 bushels per acre. It made…
Read MoreLiberty Justice Center Challenges Law that Limits Constitutional Cases to Chicago and Springfield Courts
(Chicago, IL | August 31, 2023) — On August 29, the Liberty Justice Center (LJC) sued Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to challenge a new law that would prevent Illinois residents from challenging state laws, rules, or orders in any state court except the Circuit Courts in Chicago and Springfield. The law in question is House…
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