Springfield News

  • The Daily Line Reporting Team
    FEB 26, 2019
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    Number of children who died after DCFS closed investigations keeps rising: watchdog

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    Inspector General Meryl Paniak [Linked In]

    The number of children who died after a Department of Children and Family Services caseworker inspected a claim and ruled it “unfounded” increased in 2018, according to a report by the agency’s inspector general.

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  • FEB 25, 2019
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    S&P not hot on Pritzker’s budget plan

    Major ratings agency Standard and Poor’s on Friday weighed in on Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed budget delivered to lawmakers last week, saying that while it “precariously balances” the state’s budget, it “punts measures to address fiscal progress to future years.”

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  • FEB 22, 2019
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    Bill introduced to require ‘consent’ in sex ed curriculum

    A bill introduced earlier this month in Springfield would fully define “consent” in the context of sexual activity so that schools with a sex education program will be held accountable for teaching consent.

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  • FEB 22, 2019
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    Capital needs to be vetted during two-month ‘listening tour’

    A crack in a steel beam shut down Lake Shore Drive for 24 hours in early February. [Photo courtesy of Ald. Brian Hopkins (2)]
    A framework for a much-anticipated capital bill is unlikely to emerge any time before May, Democratic senators said Thursday, as they embark on a six-city statewide “listening tour” that will last until late April — trying to gather as much public input as possible about capital needs in Illinois.

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  • FEB 21, 2019
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    Pritzker vows ‘constrained’ budget proposal will chart new course for Illinois

    Gov. JB Pritzker delivers his first Budget Address in Springfield on Wednesday. [Lee Milner]
    Gov. JB Pritzker received raucous applause during his inaugural address last month when he promised to do his part to fulfill the “most basic responsibilities” of state government — proposing, debating and passing a balanced budget.

    “Balancing the budget means lowering the cost of government while delivering the high quality services Illinoisans deserve,” Pritzker said Jan. 14, moments after being sworn in.

    The new governor got his chance to propose that balanced budget Wednesday when he addressed a joint session of the General Assembly and his administration released hundreds of pages of budget documents to the public. But whether Pritzker’s budget proposal is truly balanced is up for debate.

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  • FEB 20, 2019
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    Morning briefing — Pritzker defends plan to short pension funds as part of ‘five-pronged’ plan; Sexual harassment bills filed out of task force

    Gov. JB Pritzker previewed his budget plan, set to be unveiled Wednesday. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
    Gov. JB Pritzker will present his framework for a state budget on Wednesday, after dropping breadcrumbs for the last week about what his administration may rely on in order to balance a budget that incorporates campaign promises of increased spending. Meanwhile on Tuesday, lawmakers who served on the Illinois Senate’s Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Task Force introduced six pieces of legislation inspired by more than a year’s worth of hearings.

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  • FEB 20, 2019
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    Bills introduced to regulate ethylene oxide after state officials halt sterilization operations at Sterigenics

    Lawmakers from DuPage and Lake Counties introduced three pieces of legislation Tuesday to regulate the use of the chemical ethylene oxide, which is often used to sterilize medical equipment.

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  • FEB 19, 2019
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    Morning briefing — Pritzker to sign minimum wage law; House committee to focus on ethylene oxide

    Illinois will start down the path toward a $15 minimum wage after Gov. JB Pritzker signs his first major bill in Springfield on Tuesday — the result of weeks of pushing from the Pritzker administration to have the bill be done by the time the governor gives his budget address on Wednesday. Also on Tuesday, the Illinois House Energy and Environment Committee will hear testimony on ethylene oxide emissions.
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  • FEB 19, 2019
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    Illinois has mini manufacturing boom, but out-migration hurts housing market: Moody’s

    [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
    Illinois’ downstate economy has made somewhat of a comeback, thanks to a small boom in manufacturing, according to a special report prepared for the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability by Moody’s Investors Service.
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  • FEB 15, 2019
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    Minimum wage bill passes House, but not without defectors

    State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) defends SB 1, the minimum wage hike bill, during House floor debate Tuesday. The bill passed with 69 yes votes and now moves to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk. [Lee Milner]
    A bill that raises Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 will be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk after it passed mostly along party line votes Thursday after two hours of debate.
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