Newsroom

Serious animal abusers who kill a pet could soon face more serious charges and punishment, due to legislation filed by State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield). "Illinois law treats a criminal who abuses and kills someone’s pet the same as someone who commits a second retail theft...

As investigations into government corruption cases continue to play out in the headlines, passing commonsense legislation, including several measures unveiled last fall by Republican lawmakers, must be a top priority of lawmakers this spring...

New problems with Illinois’ Automatic Voter Registration system are being reported just days after Gov. Pritzker said there are no plans to suspend the AVR program, even after it mistakenly registered more than 500 people...

Senate Republicans reacted to Gov. Pritzker’s first official “State of the State” address, delivered to a joint session of Illinois lawmakers Jan. 29 in the House of Representatives, noting that the Governor failed to mention the critical issue of redistricting reform...

According to media reports, more than 500 people who are not citizens and are not legally eligible to vote in elections, were registered to vote through the state’s Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) system, which was signed into law in 2017...

Right now Illinois State Senators and Representatives are finalizing their legislative agendas and filing their proposals in legislative form. With the spring legislative session set to begin on January 28th, lawmakers need to file their bills soon so that the ideas can be acted upon in the coming months...

As a new legislative session begins, Senate Republicans are again calling on the chamber to take action to fix the current partisan practice of drawing gerrymandered maps...

Individuals who fail to pay tickets for most non-moving violations will no longer face the loss of their driver’s license. The “License to Work Act” removes the penalty of suspension for a number of offenses, including parking tickets and tollway violations...

The American Red Cross is using the month of January to remind people of the importance of donating blood. Because blood donations often drop off right after the holidays, January has been recognized as Blood Donor Awareness Month since 1970, to raise awareness of the need for blood and platelet donations during the winter months...

The Illinois State Police (ISP) have extended the application period for the next Cadet class until Jan. 31. Candidates who successfully complete the Recruitment Examination will be invited to participate in a mandatory Physical Fitness Inventory Test in late March, with training to begin this summer...

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, which aims to remind Illinois residents that human trafficking could be happening in their own communities. According to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the agency investigated 225 allegations of human trafficking of children in Fiscal Year 2019....

Representatives from local governments and good government organizations spent nearly four hours meeting with the bipartisan Senate and House Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform on Jan. 15...

The start of the New Year brought about the beginning of Illinois’ controversial minimum wage hike. Effective Jan. 1, Illinois’ minimum wage increased from $8.25 per hour to $9.25 per hour, putting additional cost burdens on small-business owners across the state. Wages will continue to increase incrementally to $15 per hour by 2025...

As temperatures drop, the Office of the State Fire Marshal encourages residents to have their furnaces checked and to make sure carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are working properly...

Beginning Jan. 1, recreational marijuana officially became legal in the state of Illinois, and dispensaries raked in over $3 million on the first day of sales...

In the midst of ethical probes into the Illinois Statehouse, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza recently announced that her office will no longer assist municipalities in collecting fines for violations caught by red-light cameras...

Illinois entered the new decade with nearly 160,000 fewer residents than in previous years, underscoring the need for lawmakers to address the continued outmigration...

Following a public outcry about the investigation released by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica detailing the use of isolation rooms throughout the state’s public schools, a joint Senate and House Education Committee held their first hearing about the controversial practice...

As a new year begins, Illinois residents may be interested to learn about several notable new laws that take effect January 1. The new laws kicking off 2020 cover everything from protecting children under DCFS care to safeguarding individuals’ privacy and personal information...

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission has recognized more than 17,577 high school students from 726 schools in Illinois for their academic achievements...

The Attorney General’s office has released its annual Safe Shopping Guide highlighting hazardous toys, children’s products and household items that have been recalled during the past year to help Illinois families ensure a safe holiday shopping season...

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is offering holiday safety tips for shopping, travel, winter heating and more...

For many years, Senate Republicans have strongly advocated for creating a new, non-partisan system for drawing legislative boundaries. Earlier this year, the Caucus pledged support for the passage of a bipartisan Constitutional Amendment that would have allowed Illinois residents to have their say on the issue...

Watchdog group Truth in Accounting has issued a report that ranks Illinois among the least fiscally-transparent states in the nation...

As you prepare for the holiday season, the Illinois Department of Agriculture says a pass to the 2020 Illinois State Fair might just be the perfect gift for loved ones on your list...