Springfield News
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Ahead of a second meeting Wednesday of the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform — a body charged with identifying potential changes to ethical guidelines and laws governing lawmakers and lobbyists — Gov. JB Pritzker warned of a “gathering storm” for those who created and contribute to “a culture that has been poisonous in Springfield for far too long.”
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The state’s beleaguered Department of Children and Family Services has been a problem area for many governors prior to Gov. JB Pritzker, who marks one year in office on Tuesday. But Pritzker’s first year in office has been marked by several tragedies, including several high-profile child deaths even after the agency had been in prior contact with the family.
Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith addresses reporters. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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When union leaders endorsed — and even helped negotiate key provisions in — the bill to legalize marijuana in Illinois last spring, organized labor promised a big presence in the recreational cannabis industry when it got up and running.
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The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a case arguing that since the state legalized and decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, a law enforcement officer smelling cannabis should no longer be probable cause to search a person’s property.
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With the March 17 primary election less than 10 weeks away, the Illinois State Board of Elections on Thursday made final rulings in two dozen petition signature challenges, permanently kicking some legislative and congressional candidates off the ballot, while allowing other candidates to move forward.
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The Illinois State Board of Elections on Thursday issued the largest-ever fine for violations of campaign finance law, citing the former East St. Louis’ mayor’s failure to file campaign finance reports for periods as long as seven years as “egregious” and “beyond gross negligence.”
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Following weeks of back-and-forth among members of a Property Tax Relief Tax Force charged with finding solutions to burdensome property tax costs across Illinois, Republicans on Wednesday blasted Democrats for blowing deadlines and ultimately trading their votes for a constitutional amendment for a graduated income tax in exchange for a “woeful failure” of a task force.
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) admonishes Democrats who served with her on the Property Tax Task Force in the summer and fall, alleging they ignored all Republican ideas. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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Fifty-six children died between July 1 and Jan. 1 after prior contact with the state agency charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect, according to new data from the Department of Children and Family Services’ inspector general.
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Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office will no longer help municipalities in Illinois collect on unpaid red light camera tickets beginning next month, the Democrat announced Monday, telling reporters she was exercising her “moral authority” to withdraw tacit support from an industry she believed to be corrupt and a drain on poor Illinoisans.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza announces her office will no longer collect unpaid red light ticket debt on behalf of municipalities beginning Feb. 6, speaking to reporters at the corner of Western and Madison Avenues in Chicago on Monday. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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Illinois brought in $3 billion more in state tax revenue in the 2019 fiscal year as compared with the previous year, according to a new report from the Illinois Department of Revenue.
