Springfield News

  • Gov. JB Pritzker and wife M.K. take photos with supporters in the Old State Capitol on Jan. 13, the day before Pritzker’s inauguration. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
    In a break from past practices, First Lady M.K. Pritzker will have her own office in both the Illinois Capitol and the James R. Thompson Center. Meanwhile, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is concerned with the long term trend of more lower-paying jobs in Illinois and fewer higher-earning jobs in Illinois.

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  • If Illinois wants to achieve its self-imposed goal of recording zero new HIV infections by 2030, officials remove barriers between those most at risk for the disease and the medication that can prevent its transmission, lawmakers heard Friday.

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  • A coalition of groups and lawmakers unveiled an ambitious bill to move Illinois to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. [Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition]
    An ambitious bill unveiled in Springfield Thursday would set a deadline to move Illinois to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 — a dramatic increase from the 4 percent renewable energy Illinois currently uses, and the 25-percent goal by 2025 set by a previous law.

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  • State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) told reporters Wednesday that it was wrong a heart medication for a dog is less expensive than a heart medication for a human. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
    House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a six-bill package aimed at bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, tackling an issue typically reserved for federal lawmakers.

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  • State Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Raymond), along with other members of the House Republican Caucus, introduces a House Resolution opposing a constitutional change to a progressive income tax — Gov. JB Pritzker’s top priority — in Springfield on Wednesday. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
    Illinois’ House Republican Caucus on Wednesday introduced a resolution of opposition to any attempt to change Illinois’ constitution to permit a graduated income tax — Gov. JB Pritzker’s top priority.

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  • Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings is the second of the three major Wall Street agencies to weigh in on Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed budget and warn that it may not put Illinois back on the path to fiscal stability — at least not in the way the agencies would like to see. Meanwhile on Tuesday, a transgender woman prisoner filed a federal lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections to get her moved from a men’s prison, where she alleges she’s suffered abuse and harassment, to a women’s prison.

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  • The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund continues to be a model in funding its pension liabilities, while most other retirement systems in Chicago are funded at an average of 37 percent, according to a report out last week from the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

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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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  • 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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  • 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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