Eureka College president Jamel Wright on Wednesday endorsed an effort by Rep. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson) to add a statue honoring former President Ronald Reagan to the Capitol grounds.

Former President Ronald Reagan is the first and only president of the United States to be born, raised and educated in Illinois and as such should have a statue honoring him on the state Capitol ground, a college president told a panel of lawmakers on Wednesday.  

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a probe of the Joliet Police Department. And Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) will run for the state Senate. 

The need for workers across various Illinois job sectors has resulted in an increase in starting pay, according to a new report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. [Unsplash]

The need for workers across various Illinois job sectors has resulted in an increase in starting pay, according to a new report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA). 

In May, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White warned residents about the dangers of phishing schemes. 

Sending legal notices to Illinois drivers via email could expose the state to cybersecurity risks, Secretary of State Jesse White wrote in a message to lawmakers eager to end the office’s reliance on snail mail. 

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) announced the House will return on Thursday to take up the pending energy bill. And former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III has died. 

A newly filed House bill requires Prairie State Energy Campus and other municipal facilities to meet emissions reduction goals before their closure.

Facing a Sept. 13 deadline for the closure of the one of the state’s nuclear facilities, House lawmakers revealed some of their priorities before the holiday weekend for the omnibus energy bill that recently passed the Senate. 

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith (left) and Danielle Gomez, a staff attorney for the Cook County Public Guardian’s office, testifying during a House hearing on Thursday

The head of the state’s embattled foster care agency on Thursday defended what he called the department’s “comfortable and safe” network of makeshift intake spaces being stood up in offices and private facilities around the state, directly contradicting critics who said state officials are leaving vulnerable children “in limbo” for weeks with sometimes devastating consequences.

Gov. JB Pritzker held an event Thursday to promote a bill he signed last month that he said will make the state a “national leader” on digital access for students with disabilities. And the governor expressed cautious optimism that the states’ latest COVID-19 surge could be cresting.

Jaime Clark, the director of student health services at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, told lawmakers on Wednesday about the mental health struggles of students at the campus.

Fully funding a 2019 state law would help Illinois’ public universities and colleges better address the mental health needs of students, a panel of school officials told lawmakers on Wednesday.    

Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) led the House discussion on lawmakers' latest redistricting efforts Tuesday. 

For the second time this year, Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday approved new legislative maps along party lines, this time during a special session to incorporate changes made after the latest decennial census data became available.