Springfield News

  • An abandoned underground mine has destroyed Wolf Branch Middle School, and Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) is fighting to get the kids their classrooms back.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • An effort to kick the state’s habit cleared the Senate Wednesday.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • 8:00 a.m. - Springfield - The House Appropriations-Human Services Committee will meet in C-1 of the Stratton Building for a subject hearing on HFS. The committee still has two measures to consider: HB4096, from Committee Chair Rep. Greg Harris, and HB4736 from Rep. Fred Crespo.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Sen. Don Harmon’s Gun Dealer Licensing Bill, the vetoed SB1657, is headed back to the workshop.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Fostering education - Pushing out of the Illinois Senate on a 40-15 vote, Sen. Christina Castro’s (D-Elgin) SB2846 has made it to the House. It would set aside funds for the Youth in Care Last Dollar Grant. When FAFSA, Pell and student loans fall short, the Last Dollar Grant would build a funding bridge into Illinois community colleges for young adults aging out of the state’s care. Former foster kids have extraordinarily high rates of incarceration and corrections encounters compared to other 18-year-olds in Illinois. Bill proponents say it would cost the state less than $1 million to send more than 700 students to college.
    To Read More Please Login or Join

    • Active shooter drills - Yesterday, the Senate approved a bill requiring Illinois schools to hold active shooter drills with students. Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the legislature over whether there are enough votes to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the Gun Dealer Licensing Bill today. SB2350 passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday.


    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Gov. Bruce Rauner has returned to Illinois following an overseas trade expedition to western Europe. Here are the five bills waiting for his action once the governor makes his way back to the Capitol.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • While the decades-awaited Equal Rights Amendment has been parked in the Illinois House Rules Committee since April 11, other pieces of legislation are gaining traction in the General Assembly this week which seek to address issues predominantly affecting women.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • “All in favor of Mike Madigan being elected to the position of chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois say ‘aye’,” said Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), and a chorus of ayes reported.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  •  

    Double-decade bust - Twenty years after first winning his position as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, House Speaker Mike Madigan has been re-elected to the post. Madigan’s re-election busted previous records, making him the state party’s longest-tenured chairman. The single dissenting voice? Peter Janko of Marengo, who supports Madigan for Speaker but wants “new blood” chairing the party.
    To Read More Please Login or Join