Conspiracy theorists inundate election officials across the state with form letters demanding voter records and threatening lawsuits. CHICAGO — No Republican nominee for president has won Illinois since 1988, with Joe Biden beating Donald Trump by more than 1 million votes in the last election two years ago. As a reliably blue state, Illinois has…
URBANA — The November midterm election is less than two months away. In the newly redrawn 13th congressional district, Democratic candidate Nikki Budzinski will face Republican Regan Deering. Deering spoke with Illinois Newsroom’s Harrison Malkin about her background, what compelled her to join this important race, and some of her policy proposals. Malkin: I’m sitting…
SPRINGFIELD – Attorneys for the state of Illinois joined their colleagues in Nevada and Virginia Wednesday in asking a federal appellate court to declare that the Equal Rights Amendment has been legally ratified as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “I have a daughter who intends to practice law, and the Constitution she will pledge…
Low unemployment has allowed for payment from trust fund balance, Pritzker says SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced a plan Tuesday to reduce a $1.8 billion Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund deficit by $450 million through an infusion of unemployment-related revenues. The trust fund is the pool of money paid into by employers to provide a…
Revenues continue to grow as professional sports maintain schedules and betting options increase SPRINGFIELD — It was a slow start for one of Illinois’ newest revenue sources. But sports betting continues to gather momentum. “I’m very happy that we have additional money, that this is on the positive side of the equation,” said Illinois State…
SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Emil Jones III pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday to three felony counts stemming from an alleged bribery scheme involving a red light camera company. Jones, 44, is a Chicago Democrat who has served in the Senate since 2009. He is also the son of former Senate President Emil Jones…
Governor JB Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act into law in 2021. On January 1, 2023, the Act will end cash bail in Illinois. In a cash bail system, the ability to pay bail determines if a person is released or remains in jail after an arrest. Illinois Republicans are warning that New York’s bail reform,…
URBANA — Champaign County government underwent a big change in recent years. In 2016, voters approved the creation of a new county executive position to oversee county government, in hopes of making it more functional. In 2018, they elected Democrat Darlene Kloeppel as the first person to serve in that position. Less than…
SPRINGFIELD – In Illinois, the role of state treasurer is that of chief investment officer. Treasurer Michael Frerichs has held that position for two full terms, winning by less than 10,000 votes in 2014 before cruising to an 18 percentage-point victory in 2018. He boasts that Illinois has topped $1.2 billion in interest gains on…
President Biden is expected to focus on Russia’s war on Ukraine in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday and will announce new support for countries facing food shortages caused in part by the war, the White House said. Watch the speech live at 9:35 a.m. CST here: Biden’s national security adviser…
The City of Chicago is reaching out to other cities across Illinois for help as it deals with an influx of migrants bused in by red state governors. Chicago has received more than 1,000 immigrants bused north from states, including Florida and Texas. Sending migrants north is meant to highlight what those southern states say…
CHAMPAIGN — Cities across the United States saw a spike in violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration encouraged cities to turn to one-time, relief dollars for help. While Champaign signed contracts with grassroots, violence prevention groups, many places instead invested in traditional policing – even when they reported spending the money on alternatives….
WASHINGTON D.C. — For the first time since the Nixon administration, the White House will hold a conference on hunger, nutrition and health, bringing together advocates, lawmakers and experts to come up with strategies to tackle food insecurity and diet-related health issues. The conference comes after a spike in food insecurity rates across the country…
Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service is taking place at Westminster Abbey in London, with President Biden and other world leaders attending. The queen died on Sept. 8 at age 96. She had served as queen since 1952. Watch the events honoring her reign live.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has proposed new policies for the state’s schools regarding how they treat transgender students, including restricting which bathrooms they can use and which pronouns they may go by. The Virginia Department of Education released its 2022 Model Policies online Friday, effectively rolling back the work of Youngkin’s predecessor, Democrat Ralph…