Author: Capitol News

By SARAH MANSURCapitol News Illinoissmansur@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — After Pfizer submitted its application for a COVID-19 vaccine to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week, Illinois public health officials have continued preparing locations to store and distribute the vaccine that could be released to frontline hospital workers in a matter of weeks. Pfizer announced Friday… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Backers of a graduated income tax constitutional amendment conceded defeat Wednesday for Gov. JB Pritzker’s marquee policy proposal which was projected to bring in more than $3 billion annually to state coffers. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, voters had rejected the amendment by a 55 percent to… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Although nearly 3.6 million Illinoisans had already voted by Monday morning, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, nearly 2.3 million ballots are still to be cast if the state is to match the 70.56 percent turnout of 2016. As of Monday, there were 586,709 mail-in ballots… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – As state leaders continue to face pushback from the restaurant industry and even some county and municipal governments regarding COVID-19 mitigation measures, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday put pressure squarely on the shoulders of local elected officials. “The fact is that local officials who are not doing the… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to climb as the entire state is either subject to increased mitigation measures or will be starting Wednesday. A Capitol News Illinois analysis of weekly hospitalization averages shows the average number of hospital beds in use by COVID-19 patients for the week ending Nov.… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Heading into the final weekend before Election Day, Illinois voters continue to set records for advance voting, and election officials are urging anyone who has not yet turned in their mail ballot to do so as quickly as possible. “Whether you do that by mail, or by placing… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Region 1 of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation plan will see a new tier of virus mitigations as Gov. JB Pritzker warned Thursday that “we are now headed into a peak that is beyond, potentially, where we were in March and April.” “This pandemic is the greatest challenge that… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – State officials on Monday announced the opening of a second round of grant opportunities for businesses and organizations to expand access to broadband internet service in underserved communities. Speaking at a news conference in Staunton, about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis, Gov. JB Pritzker said the program… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – More than 2,000 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Illinois as of Thursday night, a high not seen since June 12. At that time, COVID-19 hospitalizations were quickly declining after peaking at 5,037 on April 28. Now, they are on the rise after falling as low as the… Read more

By RAYMON TRONCOSOCapitol News Illinois | Report For Americartroncoso@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration could shorten the U.S. Census count on Tuesday, just hours after the Illinois government committed an additional $1 million to outreach. The Trump administration originally tried to shorten the end date of the census to Sept.… Read more