Illinois Democrats are pushing a proposed child tax credit.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Advocates call for more to be done on National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – You can just fill in the blank. The gulf in access to health care means Blacks are far more likely than whites to die of … This time it’s HIV and AIDS, as lawmakers and supporters called for more funding to target Blacks who need to know how to stay…… MORE
Police recruits now required to take a course on wrongful convictions
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – You can’t write the story of wrongful convictions without at least one chapter about Illinois. And the police officers of tomorrow will perhaps erase the state’s shameful legacy. The director of the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mike Schlosser, says many wrongful convictions result from…… MORE
Decatur Republican wants to increase access to medical records
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – You have less access to your medical records than you may think, and State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) says he wants to change that. “What we’re addressing here is the ability of a patient or their representative to know that the record that they’re looking at accurately reflects the diagnosis…… MORE
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is looking for the coolest thing made in Illinois
Soon enough, we’ll be filling out our brackets. But – that’s not confined to basketball.… MORE
Sanders selected to become superintendent of ISBE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The leader of Illinois’ second-largest school district is a school board vote away from becoming superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. Elgin U-46 superintendent Tony Sanders would succeed the retired Carmen Ayala. Not surprisingly, coronavirus has colored the last few years for his district. And, in his new…… MORE
House Minority Leader: “I’ll keep knocking on the door until they let me in”
“I’ll keep knocking on the door until they let me in.”… MORE
More voices against the assault weapons ban
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – A southern Illinois sheriff, who says it’s unconstitutional for him to enforce Illinois’ new assault weapons ban, says emphasis on mental health works. And if the question is whether public leaders will pony up the money needed for it, Crawford County’s William Rutan says – it’s already being done. “I…… MORE
Illinois Republicans fear there could be another proposed graduated income tax
Remember the proposed graduated income tax in Illinois? Republicans fear there will be another try at it.… MORE
Illinois Comptroller pays off federal COVID-19 unemployment insurance loan
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is making good on a $4.5 billion federal loan used to help the state get through the pandemic. The loan helped shore up the state’s unemployment insurance fund, which was rapidly being depleted as so many people were out of work. Mendoza says this will save…… 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…