Archive for May 2025

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Two state-run health care programs that extend Medicaid-like coverage to noncitizens may have provided significant financial benefits for Illinois hospitals. That’s according to preliminary results of an ongoing study at the University of Chicago that suggests the programs corresponded, at least in part, to a 15% reduction in the amount…

Capitol News Illinois As the red velvet curtains at the Vatican parted, a priest realized that his college pal from the South Side of Chicago that he knows as “Bob” had been elected the first American pope. “Oh, dear God,” the Very Rev. Anthony Benedetto Pizzo, the prior provincial of the Augustinian Order in Chicago,…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Illinois state parks saw more visitors in 2024 than any point in the past 15 years, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Illinois’ 290 state parks and 56 historic sites recorded more than 41 million visitors last year, which was the most in 15 years,…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — The Trump administration took the unprecedented step of halting work on the next National Climate Assessment last week, dismissing all 400 volunteer scientists who were tasked with writing the new version of the report. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford was among those dismissed in his volunteer capacity with the federal…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker issued an executive order Wednesday that bars state agencies from collecting and disclosing data about autism to the federal government unless it’s medically or legally necessary. The order was in response to a move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier Wednesday to research…

Capitol News Illinois U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is the latest Democrat to enter the 2026 U.S. Senate primary for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat. Krishnamoorthi, of Schaumburg, has represented the 8th Congressional District since 2017. He was born in India and grew up in Peoria. He earned a law degree from Harvard and has worked…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Two hours in the state capital was enough for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to criticize Illinois’ immigration laws and its governor while invoking the 2023 murder of a local progressive activist. Her short Wednesday visit largely served as an opportunity for an official from President Donald…

Capitol News Illinois A federal judge in New York issued a preliminary order Tuesday blocking the Trump administration from cutting off states’ access to hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds for public schools, including more than $77 million for Illinois. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, of the Southern District of New York,…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Health care unions continue to rally for legislation to address understaffing they say strains hospitals and threatens both patient safety and staff well-being. Lawmakers are considering the Hospital Worker Staff and Safety bill, which would establish mandatory nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and increase support for underfunded hospitals. The proposed legislation, Senate…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — The General Assembly’s independent forecasting commission has improved revenue projections for the upcoming fiscal year despite growing economic volatility. That’s good news for state lawmakers who are in the final weeks of crafting the fiscal year 2026 budget set to take effect July 1. But the Commission on Government Forecasting…