Prairie State Wire

Rauner decries Airbnb, tort cap increase

By Kyla Asbury | Dec 6, 2018

Gov. Bruce Rauner spoke about his concerns about Airbnb's engagement in what he called discriminatory practices during a press conference Nov. 29.

Legislature overrides some Rauner vetoes, fails on others

By Karen Kidd | Dec 6, 2018

Illinois's outgoing Republican governor saw a few of his vetoes overridden during the Fall Veto Session in Springfield and a few new laws have been passed, a QUAD city area lawmaker said in a summary recap released last week.

As predicted, 2017 Illinois income tax hike hurting the state, IPI reports

By Karen Kidd | Dec 6, 2018

A Chicago-based conservative think-tank that predicted the dire consequences following the 2017 income tax increase out of Springfield says the expected outcome has come to pass.

Hike in minimum wage would reduce number of jobs, analyst says

By Karen Kidd | Dec 6, 2018

With Illinois Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker setting a deadline to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, a data analyst for a research foundation warns such an increase would be bad for the state.

Retirees' health benefits adding to massive state debt

By Glenn Minnis | Dec 6, 2018

In Ted Dabrowski’s eyes, Illinois lawmakers' track record of financial failures are almost as endless as the state’s ever-increasing debt load.

ILLINOIS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: State Agencies to Participate in Multi-Agency Resource Center this weekend in Taylorville

By Press release submission | Dec 6, 2018

Center in Taylorville to offer disaster information, assistance for tornado survivors

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT ON AGING: Help available via Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP)

By Press release submission | Dec 6, 2018

The Illinois Department on Aging's (IDoA) Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) is reminding seniors of the Medicare Open Enrollment deadline that is approaching on Friday, December 7th.

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Five Cases Of Hepatitis A Recently Diagnosed

By Press release submission | Dec 6, 2018

Illinois Department of Public Health issued the following announcement on Dec. 4.The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has received confirmation of five hepatitis A cases in east-central Illinois during November.

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR'S OFFICE: Illinois celebrates its 200th Birthday with Grand Bicentennial Party

By Press release submission | Dec 6, 2018

Celebrities, original performances, videos highlight an emotional night on Chicago’s Navy Pier

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: Illinois EPA Funds Cleaner Public Transportation for the Most Vulnerable Residents in the Chicago Area

By Press release submission | Dec 6, 2018

First Round of Driving a Cleaner Illinois Program Funding Focuses on Public Transit in Environmental Justice Areas

State facing huge debt for public-sector retiree health benefits, says Wirepoints

By Karen Kidd | Dec 5, 2018

Illinois's "other debt disaster" is $73 billion in unfunded state retiree health insurance benefits and more than twice that amount owed over the next four decades, according to a special report issued this week by an online news outlet.

UIUC ranks among schools with lowest drop in acceptance rates

By Prairie State Wire reports | Dec 5, 2018

One Illinois university made a list of 20 schools that defied recent trends and posted the smallest decreases in student acceptance rates over the past 12 years, according to a new study by BusinessStudent.com.

From DuPage Policy Journal

Kifowit to Breen: I'm sorry

By Kyla Asbury | 5 years ago

Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Aurora) apologized to Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) for her comments on Nov. 27, when she said she wanted to give Breen and his family a broth of legionella.

Reeder: Mathematics can be quite unkind

By Scott Reeder | Dec 2, 2018

Add Teaser here

Leef: The party of hate

By Dr. Jeffrey Leef | Dec 2, 2018

The recent statement by Illinois Democratic Representative Stephanie Kifowit (Is a Kifowit one one thousandth of a half wit?) calling for the death of GOP Representative Peter Breen’s family has been described by some as “shocking” or “appalling.”

Former state university employee Jones paid in $21K to pension fund, could collect $791K in retirement

By Local Labs News Service | Dec 1, 2018

Former state university employee Mary Jones, who retired in November 2018, saved $20,682 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Ives critical of bill to extend TIFs

By Kyla Asbury | Nov 30, 2018

Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) expressed her displeasure for a recent House bill that would create tax increment allocation financing extensions for ordinances in several cities in Illinois passes during the Nov. 15 House floor session.

Pritzker faces AFSCME's contract negotiations

By Glenn Minnis | Nov 30, 2018

When totaled, salary and all the perks leave state taxpayers on the hook for an average annual compensation package of around $110,000 for the average state worker, according to a recent report by Wirepoints.

Senate removes bill that would extend water ownership legislation

By Kyla Asbury | Nov 29, 2018

A Senate bill that would have changed the sunset date on previous legislation involving the privatization of public water systems was removed from the record Nov. 15.

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE: 2018 Madison County Tentative Multiplier Announced

By Press release submission | Nov 29, 2018

Madison County has been issued a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0249, according to Constance Beard, Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue.