News

As the November 6 election approaches, this week state and local officials outlined policies and procedures designed to protect against cyber threats.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is seeking input on public education funding for the fiscal year 2020 budget. Three open budget hearings have been scheduled, giving individuals the opportunity to share their funding requests prior to the agency sending its final recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor.

Illinois has been ranked as the fourth best state in the nation for teachers, according to the personal finance website WalletHub.

A recent list from WalletHub ranks the best cities in Illinois for their labor-market health. More than 120 cities were ranked based on job opportunities, starting salary, employment growth, among other factors.

As part of the recently approved Fiscal Year 2019 capital budget, two local community colleges in the 35th Senate District will receive funding for emergency or deferred maintenance projects on campus.

More than $6.6 million in capital funding has been released to benefit Northern Illinois University as part of the Fiscal Year 2019 capital budget approved by lawmakers in late May. The capital program was appropriated as part of the current FY 2019 state budget.

Friday, August 31, marks International Overdose Awareness Day, an annual global event that aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. The day coincides with the recent signing of a monumental new law to curb opioid addiction in Illinois. Senate Bill 336 creates the Alternatives to Opioids Act of 2018, adding those who might otherwise seek opioids for pain management to the list of those eligible for medical marijuana.

More than 100 new laws were signed this week, advancing changes targeting the state’s teacher shortage, streamlining services for veterans, and giving a leg-up to Illinois’ entrepreneurs.

Illinois has several new laws that address a backlog of applications for nursing home care, provide more first responders with medicines for allergy-related emergencies, boost protections for DCFS workers, and create a new lottery game to benefit families of fallen police officers.

The decision to move into a long-term care facility is a difficult one for both individuals and their families. The last thing a family needs is government bureaucracy making the process even more difficult.

Illinois has several new laws on the books including a good-government reform measure that allows affected counties to consolidate their election commissions with their county clerk’s offices, a bill creating the Historic Tax Credit Act and legislation recognizing the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) as a state agency.

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a number of measures into law during the week, including bills opponents say will strip away citizens’ constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights.

A new report from an economic research group highlights the growing and high tax burden Illinois businesses are facing, ranking Illinois 35th in the country. The report is another example of why Senate Republicans are pushing pro-jobs and pro-economic reforms at the Statehouse.

The United States Supreme Court made two landmark First Amendment rulings during the week; the Federal government approved a plan to protect rural hospitals; and Illinois residents are encouraged to celebrate the coming Fourth of July holiday safely...

Illinois’s new adoption credit program will provide a major boost to help children find loving families, according to State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). "This will make it easier for families to adopt, plain and simple, and I would like to thank the Governor for his help in advancing this concept," said Syverson. "Lowering the cost of adoption helps bring families together sooner and helps put children into better environments where they can grow, thrive, and be loved by parents...

One of the state's oldest bills, backpay due for many state employees, could soon be getting paid. Meanwhile, Senators are calling for additional ethics reforms for the Illinois General Assembly, and new data shows that Illinois experienced a record number of visitors last year...

As the second year of the 100th General Assembly wrapped up last week, lawmakers left Springfield having passed more than 600 bills and a balanced budget. Gov. Bruce Rauner didn’t waste any time before signing the budget into law on June 4. Also this week, special emphasis was placed on the authorization of critical funding for the Veterans Home in Quincy, and $241 million toward projects to improve mobility of freight throughout the state were announced this week...

After months of bipartisan negotiations, the Illinois General Assembly came together to overwhelmingly approve a balanced budget that cuts spending and does not require a tax increase to implement Also during the week...

The State of Illinois is just a step away from having a balanced budget—on time, according to State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). A budget package passed the Illinois Senate on May 25 and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. "This is a big deal for a state that has been passing out of balance budgets for decades...

"I’d like to thank Governor Rauner and his team for their work to develop a plan for our roads that maximizes the amount of available federal dollars while taking advantage of cost-effective long-term maintenance strategies. This is great news for several local projects, including the US 20 Rockford Bypass....

Lawmakers could soon be developing new tools to combat the seemingly endless, and still growing, issue of robo-calls, thanks to legislation filed by State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) that passed the Illinois Senate on May 25. "These calls aren’t about sales or capitalism, they are pure harassment," said Syverson. "This legislation will allow us to put together new methods of combating the constant menace of robo-calls...

With about week and a half left in the spring legislative session, lawmakers remain hopeful a balanced budget, without a tax increase, will be approved by May 31. Meanwhile, Governor Rauner introduced his public safety initiative and the U.S. Supreme Court announced a major decision on sports gaming...

"This ruling should be great news for Illinois. We have the ability to simultaneously increase revenue while offering people a safe, legal opportunity to wager on sports. We need to act right now however...

This week, Illinois received federal approval to launch a sweeping $2 billion behavioral health initiative designed to deliver better outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders. Meanwhile, two measures are moving through the General Assembly that would boost education opportunities for high school students. Additionally, students from more than 100 schools across the state traveled to Springfield as part of TECH 2018 to share their technology projects with state lawmakers. Also during the week...

This week in the state Capitol, police departments from across the state came to Springfield to remember their fallen comrades, a task force recommended building a new facility to house the 300 veterans at the Quincy Veterans Home, Illinois Senate Republicans pushed a bill to prohibit cost-of-living increases for lawmakers, and the Senate passed legislation that lets motorists register their vehicles for more than a one-year period...