Posts by admin

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…

Capitol News Illinois U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly is the second Democrat to step into the 2026 primary race to succeed U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Kelly, a resident of south suburban Matteson, has represented Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and recently served a short stint as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. “This moment…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — As the cost of higher education continues to rise, many students have turned to local community colleges as a way of holding down the cost of pursuing a degree. Sometimes referred to as the “2-plus-2” model, the idea is to complete the freshman- and sophomore-level general education requirements at a…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Illinois State Police released preliminary toxicology results that showed no drugs or alcohol in the system of a driver who crashed into a central Illinois after-school program, killing four young girls. Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said Thursday police are still investigating the cause of the crash but found…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — A plan to overhaul the way Illinois funds public universities is running into stiff opposition from the state’s largest higher education institution, the University of Illinois System. The plan, which has been in development for the last four years, calls for adding roughly $1.7 billion in new university funding over…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — Michelle Nolasco, a 20-year-old DePaul University student from Orland Park, Illinois, held a sign that read: “I was supposed to be at school … Instead, I am here, fighting for mi familia y mi gente,” meaning “my family and my people.” “I feel like being in class is not as…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Two Democratic leaders in the Illinois Senate openly expressed their disagreement this week about Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs in certain high-demand employment fields. The exchange between Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, of Westchester, and Sen. Cristina Castro, of Elgin, who…

Capitol News Illinois Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan died Friday morning at 91, more than two decades after leaving office for the last time and 12 years after his release from federal prison. He died just one day after being put into hospice care in his native Kankakee. Ryan, a Republican, served one term as…

Capitol News Illinois The man who pleaded guilty to a mass shooting in 2022 in Highland Park that left seven people dead and prompted the passage of a ban on assault-style weapons in Illinois, has been sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences. Robert Crimo III pleaded guilty on March 3, the day his trial was…