Prairie State Wire

Prairie State Wire

Friday, February 28, 2020

State Government News

State Government

IDPH: Illinois Taking Preventative Action to Limit Spread of Coronavirus

Current risk to Illinoisans remains low, but state taking all steps to prepare

By Press release submission | Feb 28, 2020

State Government

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR'S OFFICE: Building on Steady Progress, Gov. Pritzker Delivers Second Balanced Budget Proposal to Continue to Make Our State Stronger

Building on the steady progress made since he took office, Governor JB Pritzker proposed his second balanced budget that takes a disciplined approach to managing the state's limited resources while also making crucial investments that will make our state stronger.

By Press release submission | Feb 26, 2020

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State Government

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR'S OFFICE: Gov. Pritzker Announces Three Appointments to State Boards and Commissions

By Press release submission | Feb 25, 2020

Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced appointments in his administration

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State Government

Gov. Pritzker Unveils Government Efficiencies Exceeding $225 Million in Upcoming Budget Year, $750 Million Over Next Three Years

By Press release submission | Feb 19, 2020

FY21 Efficiencies Include $175M in Health Care Savings, Optimized Agency Operations, Potential IDES/IDOL Merger, Reduction of Boards and Commissions

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State Government

New Gas Attendant Act fuels candidate Breen's contempt for 'socialism of the Democrats'

By Glenn Minnis | Feb 17, 2020

Illinois House candidate Peter Breen (R-Lombard) argues that a bill seeking to make it unlawful for state motorists to pump their own gas is just the latest example of how Democrats have lost their way.

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State Government

House hears testimony from panel about automatic-voting issues

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 17, 2020

The Illinois House Executive Committee recently heard testimony from two organizations during a hearing about the state's automatic voter registration (AVR) program, which is currently under fire for a series of glitches that have resulted in hundreds of non-citizens and underage individuals being put into the system.

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State Government

Bipartisan group of lawmakers, fair-mapping advocates speak out against gerrymandering

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 16, 2020

A bipartisan group of legislators and policy watchdogs met Thursday to discuss their commitment to bringing fair district mapping to state and local politics throughout Illinois.

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State Government

ISRA sues state police over FOID card delays; monitors bill to tax assault weapons

By April Bamburg | Feb 15, 2020

Gun owners in Illinois are waiting too long to receive their firearms owner identification (FOID) cards, and the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) has joined a lawsuit against the Illinois State Police to fix the problem, ISRA Executive Director Richard A. Pearson announced in a bulletin to members last week.

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State Government

Lawmakers hear testimony from current, former LIGs

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 12, 2020

The Senate House Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform heard testimony from Illinois Legislative Inspector General (LIG) Carol Pope and two former LIGs about what changes can be made to better assist the office in its role of upholding ethical standards in state government.

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State Government

Former Illinois LIG says ethics commission 'squashed' her findings of 'wrongdoing'

By Vimbai Chikomo | Feb 12, 2020

Former Illinois Legislative Inspector General Julie Porter is speaking out about the Legislative Ethics Commission’s effort to squash her reports on “wrongdoing.”

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State Government

'Shut it down now' – ILGOP Chair Schneider calls for Secretary of State to suspend flawed AVR

By Solange DeLisle | Feb 12, 2020

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider (R-Burr Ridge) has demanded that Secretary of State Jesse White (D-Chicago) "shut down" the state's Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) program until the causes of a series of recently reported gaffes are identified and fixed.

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State Government

Candidate Breen supports red light-camera ban, but wants them all gone

By Glenn Minnis | Feb 11, 2020

Illinois House candidate Peter Breen (R-Lombard) not only supports a bill that would remove almost 100 red-light cameras across the state, but he believes that should be only the beginning.

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State Government

Ethics policy directors push for an independent LIG, transparency

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 11, 2020

The Senate House Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform listened to testimony from several directors of policy about how to aid the legislative inspector general (LIG) in upholding ethical standards in state government.

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State Government

Pritzker's address celebrated last year's 'orgy of liberal legislation' rather than facing the issues, says Breen

By Glenn Minnis | Feb 7, 2020

Illinois House candidate Peter Breen (R-Lombard) wonders if even Gov. J.B. Pritzker recognized the slanted perspective from which last week's State of the State address in Springfield was delivered.

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State Government

Madigan’s offices searched in Franks probe

By Vimbai Chikomo | Feb 3, 2020

House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Capital office was searched last Wednesday by Illinois state Police in connection with an ongoing investigation into sexual allegations against former state Rep. Jack Franks.

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State Government

Nothing 'fair' about Pritzker's tax plan for pass-through businesses, IBA president says

By Tom Lawrence | Feb 3, 2020

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls it a "fair tax," but critics say it is far from fair and that it would be a mistake to support it when it appears as a referendum question on ballots in November.

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State Government

Republican leaders would have liked more from Pritzker's speech, but will run with 'spirit of collaboration'

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 2, 2020

While House and Senate Republicans were critical of many aspects of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's State of the State address on Wednesday, most remain hopeful that he was sincere about bringing about a spirit of bipartisan collaboration.

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State Government

Ethics commission hears testimony on transparency, lobbying and 'bullying'

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 1, 2020

The Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform heard testimony on Thursday about how to end political corruption in Illinois.

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State Government

What a progressive income tax could mean for Illinois’ middle class

By Vimbai Chikomo | Jan 31, 2020

This November, Gov. J.B. Pritzker hopes to convince voters to do away with the state’s current flat-rate tax structure and adopt progressive rates that require higher earners to bear a larger portion of the tax burden. However, a closer look at how some states that adopted progressive tax rates have fared in recent years is a clear indication of what lies ahead for Illinois should taxpayers vote in favor of progressive tax rates later this year.

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State Government

Wirepoints: Don’t buy the Pritzker, Harmon rhetoric on property tax relief

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 31, 2020

One of the key selling points for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push to switch the state’s flat income for a progressive one is that the higher taxes paid by the top 3 percent of wage earners under a progressive tax will ease pressure on property taxes for the middle class. Newly elected Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) has been making the same claim.