Springfield News
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With five days left to go until spring legislative session’s scheduled adjournment Friday, lawmakers are working behind the scenes to find a creative way to save the state money on a capital plan to win the votes of suburban members whose districts intersect Interstate 80.
The biggest beer drinker in any Springfield, Homer Simpson, to lobbied against new taxes on beer. [Mark Denzler/Illinois Manufacturers' Association]
State Reps. Larry Walsh (D-Elwood) and Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) are taking up the mantle for “managed lanes,” a type of tolling in which drivers would pay an extra fee in order to use a dedicated lane, thus getting drivers to their destinations faster at a cost.
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After weeks of delays and false starts, State Sen. Mike Hastings (D-Orland Park) on Thursday shepherded SB 1407 through the Senate, sending the House a bill that would require firms to pay their workers the equivalent of the local prevailing wage paid to union laborers.
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There are plenty of cities around Illinois that have long jockeyed for a casino after the first nine were built in the early 1990s, and the 10th was established in Des Plaines a decade ago. But perhaps no city’s struggle for a casino is more representative of the years of pent-up angst at play during the final weeks of spring legislative session than Rockford.
Rockford native son Rick Nielsen, guitarist for Cheap Trick, lobby for a casino in his hometown. [Facebook/ State Sen. Steve Stadelman]
The city drafted Rockford’s very own Rick Nielsen, guitarist for Cheap Trick, to spend a day in Springfield lobbying for a Rockford casino in between selfies with fans. It’s also got a robust lobbying effort hammering home the message that the time for a casino is now — especially with a threat from across the Illinois border.
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Fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings may sue the state of Illinois if lawmakers pass and Gov. JB Pritzker signs a version of a sports betting bill bans the firms now focused on sports betting from operating in the state under a provision pushed by Rivers Casino chairman Neil Bluhm.
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Republicans said Tuesday that it’s unlikely any member of the GOP will even consider voting to legalize marijuana, so long as its includes the Black Caucus’ priorities — including a robust expungement program — that they aren’t prepared to support.
Gov. JB Pritzker said he welcomed feedback on his proposal to legalize marijuana. [Twitter/@GovPrtizker]
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Gov. JB Pritzker’s office was the catalyst behind labor group AFL-CIO Illinois putting together a coalition to push for “vertical projects” — that is schools, public buildings and hospitals — to be included in a final capital bill, sources said.
Three sources confirmed to The Daily Line this week that Pritzker’s office set in motion the formation of Build Up Illinois, a coalition of 45 universities, health, housing and education associations and unions from around the state with vested interests in a “vertical” component to the first capital bill in a decade.
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Seven weeks after victims rights activist Denise Rotheimer and freshman State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) complained that their “victims’ bill of rights” had been blocked by House Democratic leadership, the pair said Wednesday that it will part of a larger ethics package.
Victims rights activist Denise Rotheimer, left, and freshman State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) tell reporters in March that their victims rights bill was being blocked by Democratic leaders. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
