If you stand in the state Capitol Rotunda to ponder the meaning of the season – whatever your season – you’ll have to use your imagination this year.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Illinois building shelter sites for asylum seekers
By WMBD-TV CHICAGO – Two new shelter sites will begin construction this week to accommodate future asylum-seekers in Illinois. A news release from Gov. Pritzker’s office states that the shelters will be a base camp in Brighton Park and a brick-and-mortar site in Little Village. Up to 2,200 asylum seekers can be accommodated at the…… MORE
Season’s about over for Illinois farmers
There were 6.0 days suitable for field work during the week ending November 26, 2023. … MORE
Illinois political candidates line up early to file nominating petitions
A chilly Monday morning greeted Illinois candidates who began lining up before 4 a.m. Monday to file their 2024 nominating petitions. … MORE
State insect displayed on newest Illinois specialty license plate
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – You can show your support for the official Illinois state insect on the front and back of your car. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has unveiled the Monarch butterfly specialty license plate and said part of the $54 fee for the specialty plate will go to a Monarch habitat…… MORE
Copy of Gettysburg Address on display at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Forescore and seven years ago … well, you know the rest.… MORE
Clerical workers for one state agency say they want a fair contract
Clerical workers for the Illinois State Board of Education in Springfield and Chicago say they need a big raise to keep up.… MORE
Top Democrats in Illinois General Assembly share how to navigate politics
The men atop the two chambers of the Illinois General Assembly have some ideas on how to navigate politics.… MORE
Mercury opens in Springfield
A new consultancy/public relations/lobbying firm is open in downtown Springfield, and the people behind it know their way around politics and government.… MORE
Fall veto session recap from Springfield
The fall veto session has come and gone in Springfield with only one major accomplishment: allowing construction of nuclear power plants after a 36-year moratorium.… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…