Author: Capitol News

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Public schools in Illinois may soon be serving a lot more vegan and vegetarian meals, thanks to a bill that cleared the General Assembly Tuesday. House Bill 4089 requires school districts to provide a plant-based lunch option that complies with federal nutritional requirements to any student who submits a… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Seven teams of Republicans and one team of Democrats have lined up to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in the 2022 elections. Monday was the deadline for candidates to turn in their nominating petitions to the Illinois State Board of Elections to get their… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A House revenue committee on Thursday heard projections of an Illinois economy that is steadily moving back toward a level of pre-pandemic normalcy, which means revenue spikes realized due to temporary changes in consumer spending habits and federal stimulus packages are expected to subside.  Illinois Department of Revenue… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A legislative panel on Tuesday voted to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools, saying in part that those rules are still being litigated in a state appellate court. The Joint Committee on Administrative rules voted 9-0, with two members voting “present,” to object to… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans should stay tuned for an announcement on the state’s indoor mask mandate, Gov. JB Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, although he declined to say specifically what changes might be coming. “I think I’ve said over the last few press conferences that I really believe… Read more

By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Each year in February, Illinois’ governor must propose to lawmakers a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The General Assembly will then spend the next several months negotiating which proposals to include and which to scrap before sending the budget back to the governor for consideration. On Wednesday, Gov.… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Two bills aimed at relieving the state’s teacher shortage, at least in the short term, advanced out of a Senate committee Tuesday. The Senate Education Committee unanimously endorsed two bills that would allow retired teachers to work as substitutes more days in a school year without losing any… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will propose a roughly $1 billion package of tax relief measures aimed at mitigating the impact of inflation on Illinois consumers when he gives his budget address Wednesday. The “Illinois Family Relief Plan,” as it is being called, would suspend the 1 percent grocery tax… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – School officials across Illinois say a shortage of teachers and substitutes is forcing them to cancel course offerings, move them online or fill open positions with people who are not fully qualified. Those are the findings of the latest survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of… Read more

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The 2022 session of the Illinois General Assembly will be even shorter than originally planned due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Democratic leaders announced. The session was originally scheduled to start this week with three meeting days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But leaders announced last… Read more