News

Springfield – The Illinois Supreme Court once again affirms that it will not allow Illinois residents to have a voice in how legislative districts are drawn. Meanwhile, Illinois gets a win as IDOC and IDHS team up to help mentally ill inmates and end a long legal battle that predates the current Governor. Highlighting the state’s need for serious structural

SPRINGFIELD – Rosecrance could get some future financial relief through federal funding, according to State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). The state plans to pursue federal approval for a Medicaid waiver that would bring $2.7 billion in new federal dollars to help care for persons with mental illness and those battling substance abuse problems, benefiting as many as 800,000 Illinois residents

Springfield – With the waning days of summer comes the beginning of the school year for Illinois students. Though schools will open on time due to the approval of the stopgap budget passed in late June, Senate Republicans stressed the General Assembly’s work is not done. In order to ensure other state priorities receive the state assistance and support they

SPRINGFIELD – The General Assembly must take action in light of an Illinois Supreme Court decision Aug. 25 against a redistricting referendum that would let citizens voice their opinion on the way legislative district boundaries are drawn. Also during the week, the Governor signed legislation to protect communities from gun violence, take action in combatting human trafficking, and reform Illinois’

State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) released the following statement regarding the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to block a citizen-driven redistricting reform referendum from the November ballot: “It is truly disappointing and maddening that the Illinois Supreme Court has made a politically motivated decision to take the voters out of the redistricting debate. It was back in January when Democratic President

SPRINGFIELD –The Illinois School Funding Reform Commission met for a second time this week and Gov. Bruce Rauner announced the creation of a charitable foundation to provide additional financial support for Illinois’ two state fairgrounds. In other state news, recently-signed laws create sepsis protocols that will save lives, assist veterans and their families, and allow police officers to adopt retiring

SPRINGFIELD – Recently signed laws seek to expand teen voting rights, prevent deaths due to life-threatening allergic reactions, and educate new drivers on how to react to police stops. In other state news, a monument was dedicated this week to honor Purple Heart recipients, and a new tech department unveiled mobile apps to provide Illinois residents with a more convenient

SPRINGFIELD – A newly-formed bipartisan commission created by Gov. Bruce Rauner tasked with recommending a comprehensive solution to reform Illinois’ school funding formula met this week for the first time.   The Illinois School Funding Reform Commission received an informative presentation on national “best practices” regarding school funding, discussed the current system in Illinois and stressed defining “adequacy,” “equity” and “wealth”

SPRINGFIELD – A new law signed this week, “Molly’s Law,” will help the families of crime victims by extending the statute of limitations on violent crimes and strengthening Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws. Additional measures were also signed this week, which include:  expanding insurance coverage in Illinois to include cutting-edge breast cancer screenings, targeting the retail sales of

SPRINGFIELD – It’s official. All Illinois schools are receiving a major boost in funding thanks to the bipartisan education budget passed at the end of June, according to data released by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Meanwhile, the Governor and Senate Republicans continue their push to make sure the recent budget actions are just the first step toward