Capitol News
Indoor vaping, cat declawing could be banned under recently passed bills
By JERRY NOWICKI & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate passed 68 bills this week while the House had advanced 284 as of Friday morning with hundreds more to go before their adjournment for the week. It was the first in a two-week stretch of legislative deadlines for bills to…
Lawmakers approve kindergarten reform, plan to address childhood literacy
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Lawmakers are looking at several ways to improve learning outcomes and access for young students in Illinois. On Thursday, members of the House of Representatives approved a proposal that would require school boards in Illinois to provide full-day kindergarten starting with the 2027-2028 school year. The…
Former Madigan political director details push by speaker’s office for key ComEd bill
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – As was the case with many big legislative efforts in Springfield, former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s staff was deeply involved in negotiations over what would become the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2015 and 2016. FEJA had many backers in environmental circles and organized labor…
House narrowly passes bill allowing all-gender bathrooms
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Thursday that would allow businesses, universities and other building owners to designate multi-occupancy all-gender bathrooms if they choose to do so. The bill passed on a vote of 60-40, the bare minimum number of “yes” votes needed for passage…
House narrowly passes bill allowing all-gender bathrooms
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Thursday that would allow businesses, universities and other building owners to designate multi-occupancy all-gender bathrooms if they choose to do so. The bill passed on a vote of 60-40, the bare minimum number of “yes” votes needed for passage…
House narrowly passes bill allowing all-gender bathrooms
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Thursday that would allow businesses, universities and other building owners to designate multi-occupancy all-gender bathrooms if they choose to do so. The bill passed on a vote of 60-40, the bare minimum number of “yes” votes needed for passage…
Advocates push for tax credit aimed at increasing affordable housing
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers are considering bills that would create a new tax credit for affordable housing, referred to as the “Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit.” The legislation, contained in the identical House Bill 2044 and Senate Bill 1737, would mirror a federal program administered by the Illinois Housing…
Utility’s indicted CEO considered Madigan when hiring, witness says
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – In April 2017, a top staffer in then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office was looking to leave his job after a combined nearly 18 years working for the speaker’s office and as his political director. Will Cousineau applied for a high-level job with electric utility Commonwealth…
House passes bill prohibiting book bans
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure, prompting strong opposition from Republicans who called it an assault on local control. House Bill 2789 is an initiative of Democratic Secretary of…
ComEd’s former top lawyer paints Madigan confidant as ‘double agent’ in testimony
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Being the longtime friend of longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan granted Mike McClain certain privileges not afforded to other lobbyists in Springfield, jurors heard Tuesday in a federal corruption trial that, in part, centers around the relationship between the two. McClain “had pretty free access”…
House sends 41 bills to Senate as Friday legislative deadline looms
By Capitol News Illinois [email protected] The Illinois House passed 41 bills to the Senate Tuesday ahead of a scheduled Friday deadline. The measures, among others, included a ban on polystyrene food containers, bills focusing on gender inclusivity in state law and a requirement that expectant parents have a “duty” to split pregnancy-related costs, including for…
‘You’re a street fighter,’ Madigan confidant counseled former speaker: wiretapped call
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Facing a perceived betrayal during a make-or-break election season in 2018, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called the person he often sought counsel from: longtime friend and confidant Mike McClain. Several Democratic candidates running for the state Senate were using lines in their campaign ads…
Lawmakers advance measure to regulate ride-shares as ‘common carriers’
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers are considering a bill that would treat ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft as “common carriers,” opening them up to the same level of liability as other forms of public transportation. House Bill 2231 passed on the House floor this week with a 73-36…
Nuclear option: Illinois grapples with the future of nuclear power
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – A measure allowing the construction of new commercial nuclear power plants has bipartisan, bicameral support in the state legislature as the body considers its next steps in meeting carbon-free energy goals while maintaining grid reliability. Its advocates say the measure would open the door for the…
Wiretaps show Madigan, through McClain, forced ally out of legislature to protect himself
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – In fall 2018, longtime former State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, received a phone call from Mike McClain, who had spent decades lobbying for electric utility Commonwealth Edison after 10 years in the General Assembly. McClain was delivering a message from House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was…
House panel debates ranked choice voting
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are debating whether the state should join a growing list of jurisdictions in the United States that allow voters to pick more than one candidate for an office, ranking them in order of preference rather than choosing just one. Ranked choice voting, or as…
Madigan looms large in trial of ex-ComEd lobbyists, exec
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan isn’t set to go on trial for racketeering and corruption charges until next summer, but his decades of power in Illinois government and politics loomed large Wednesday as opening arguments got underway in a related case. Madigan’s name was uttered…
Transit agencies look to the state to help make up projected $730 million budget gap
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] CHICAGO – Officials with the state’s largest transit agencies met with lawmakers on Tuesday to sound the alarm for what Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director Leanne Redden called a “looming operational crisis.” “By 2026, the region will face an annual budget deficit of nearly $730 million per year,”…
Pritzker: Tax cuts on the table if state revenues continue to exceed expectations
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – With two months to go before the legislature adjourns and current-year revenues continuing to smash expectations, Gov. JB Pritzker said he and legislative leaders are considering tax cuts. His comments came one week after the legislature’s nonpartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA, increased…
Pritzker touts higher education plan, joins call for pharmacies to state abortion pill plans
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – On his latest marketing tour to sell his state budget plan, Gov. JB Pritzker visited a community college in Normal Tuesday to highlight his proposed investments in higher education. “With an additional $100 million directed to the (Monetary Award Program) grant program, a student can pair…
Justices consider constitutionality of SAFE-T Act’s pretrial detention provisions
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The state’s highest court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could drastically alter the legal landscape for criminal defendants who are incarcerated as they await trial. It’s the latest development in the ongoing legal challenge to the pretrial detention provisions of the SAFE-T Act criminal…
Moody’s gives Illinois another credit upgrade
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Moody’s Investors Service announced Tuesday that it has upgraded Illinois’ bond rating to A3, up from Baa1, marking the eighth credit upgrade the state has received in less than two years. Moody’s is now the second major rating agency to put Illinois in the ‘A’ category…
Pritzker signs measure guaranteeing five days paid leave for Illinoisans
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 208 into law Monday, ensuring at least 40 hours of paid leave for Illinois workers. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, workers will begin to earn paid leave on their first day at a rate of one hour of leave for every…
Bill aims to guarantee youth sentenced to life in prison a chance at parole after 40 years
By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers advanced a bill last week that would effectively abolish life sentences for any incarcerated individual who was under the age of 21 when they received their sentence. In January, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that makes any individual who was under the age…
Local News
Palos Heights water and sewer rates going up due to expensive projects ahead
By Jeff Vorva Palos Heights Alderman Donald Bylut, who heads the city’s Water and Sewer Committee, has been looking into the future and doesn’t like what he sees. There is an aging infrastructure that is already handing the city some pretty steep bills and there are more hefty price tags ahead. “We have a 10-year…
Lots coming up at library
. By Patti Tyznik Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] The last time I was quick to announce that spring had sprung, I was met with snow and high winds! I’m cautiously optimistic that by the time this goes to print, we’ll be enjoying sunnier days and anxiously awaiting for the…
Summit Trustee Karen Wasko killed in head-on crash
By Bob Bong and Carol McGowan Summit Trustee Karen Wasko was killed Friday night when the car she was traveling in was struck head on by another car at 64th Street and Harlem Avenue in Bedford Park. Her husband, Robert Wasko, was badly injured in the crash and was in critical condition but improving at…
‘He’s our brother’
. Clearing, Garfield Ridge mourn Officer Vásquez Lasso By Tim Hadac Chicago Police Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso didn’t live in Clearing or Garfield Ridge—he lived east of the airport, in West Lawn—but he and his family were essentially adopted by as many as 700 men, women and children here earlier this month. “Even though…
$15 million expansion for Stagg approved
From staff reports The Consolidated High School District 230 Board of Education last week approved a $15 million expansion at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills. The expansion will include much-needed classroom space, several science labs, offices and teacher workspace, as well as a rooftop environmental learning space. The project is expected to…
Lake Katherine goes green again for St. Patrick’s Day
By Kelly White One of Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanical Gardens’ most popular features is its large waterfall, which tumbles over four separate falls, travels a distance of over 300 feet and descends approximately 30 feet before joining the lake itself on the east side. With Irish festivities in full swing this St. Patrick’s…
Orland Township offers scholarships to high school seniors
Local students graduating high school in 2023 and heading to college are encouraged to apply for an Orland Township Scholarship Foundation award. This program, launched in 1998, has since awarded over 340 scholarships to township students totaling more than $280,000. The Orland Township Scholarship Foundation award scholarships based on a combination of the applicant’s leadership…
Shepard breaks record for Special Olympics fund raising
Mostly through the traditional Polar Plunge, this year Shepard High School broke its record for fund raising for Special Olympics. More students and staff — including nearly all administrators, band director Chris Pitlik, and choir director Roland Hatcher — participated than ever. This year also featured a new fundraising vehicle: A pie-in-the-face contest. Many Shepard…
He died protecting others
. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] Like most in Clearing and Garfield Ridge, I was stunned and saddened by news of the death of Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso. Perhaps it’s because I have relatives who are CPD. Perhaps it’s because as a wife, I empathize…
Hale students fight hunger with food drive
By Dermot Connolly Students at Hale Elementary School in Clearing collected thousands of items in a food drive that became a community event when the United Business Association of Midway coordinated the delivery of the goods to local food pantries. Seventh and eighth graders in the student leadership team organized the food drive for the…