WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years — a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the court’s landmark abortion cases. Friday’s outcome overturning Roe v. Wade is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. The decision, unthinkable just…
URBANA – The next U.S. House select committee hearing on the events of Jan. 6 will be in July, following the June 23 hearing. But two members of Congress competing in next week’s Illinois Republican primary — Rodney Davis and Mary Miller — aren’t paying much attention to the committee’s findings. Dr. John Jackson, a…
With the Illinois primary election less than a week away, 13th district Republican candidate Regan Deering — an entrepreneur and activist – spent the weekend canvassing in Monticello. She said voters are most concerned about inflation and how it’s impacting gas and food prices. Deering said the repeal of the Parental Notice Act, which allows…
MONTICELLO – State Senator Darren Bailey, a leading contender in the Illinois Republican gubernatorial race, is joining former President Trump and U.S. Representative Mary Miller at a rally this Saturday evening, June 25, at the Adams County fairgrounds in Mendon. Bailey is a long-time supporter of Miller. The freshman congresswoman from rural Coles County is…
URBANA – Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger says he’s received a death threat for his role in investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. The Republican representative from the 16th congressional district told ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” the threat was mailed to his house from “the local area.” The letter says Kinzinger,…
CHAMPAIGN – Police departments across the U.S., including in Champaign County, are facing staffing shortages. The Champaign police department is using financial incentives to try to fill 20 officer openings. Within the last few months, it filled several vacancies after offering a $20,000 signing bonus. “Recruiting is getting harder,” Joe Lamberson, the Champaign police department’s…
SPRINGFIELD – In a 4-3 decision with a blistering dissent from the Republican minority, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to rule on a question of whether Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Act is unconstitutional. It was the second time the case of the People v. Vivian Brown came before the court and the second time the court declined…
Donald Trump’s endorsement could end up being a big factor in the bitter primary fight for reelection between Miller and Davis. Two Illinois Republican U.S. Representatives are trying to convince voters that they have the right conservative credentials to represent a large geographic portion of Illinois in Washington in what has turned into a hotly…
CHAMPAIGN — There have been more than 260 mass shootings in the US so far in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Two Champaign community leaders are offering more than thoughts and prayers. Rev. Terrance L. Thomas is a pastor at Bethel AME Church in Champaign. He rejects blaming the current gun violence crisis…
URBANA – Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally with Representative Mary Miller (R-IL), who is locked in a bitter primary race with another GOP incumbent, Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL). The Trump rally will take place Saturday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Mendon, northeast of Quincy, the largest…
BLOOMINGTON — Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday a new gun control measure that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has agreed to is a good start in response to recent mass shootings, but he wants to see more done. “It’s been an awfully long time since Congress acted on gun safety. So I’m glad to…
Former President Donald Trump wields a powerful spell over Illinois Republicans with a majority declaring him as their top choice for the White House in 2024 and even more believing legally he should still be there. More than two-thirds of the state’s GOP voters believe Trump actually won the 2020 election. And nearly nine out…
URBANA — There’s a lot of outside interest in the 15th Congressional district Republican primary race between long-time incumbent Rodney Davis and first-time incumbent Mary Miller. More than $7 million has been spent on the primary by outside individuals and groups, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan independent organization that tracks campaign spending. The group said…
A new poll from the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago radio station WBEZ shows downstate state Sen. Darren Bailey with a 15-point lead on Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin in the GOP governor race, a major reversal with 18 days to go before polls close on Tuesday, June 28. Irvin’s campaign had earlier in the week pulled its downstate…
URBANA – On Wednesday, The House passed the Protecting Our Kids Act, which would enact new gun control measures following the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. It would raise the age required to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21, and it would ban the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity…