Sunday, February 10, 2013
On Feb. 19 and Feb. 22, the state will stage public hearings to discuss a new concealed carry handgun law for Illinois.
Gun control hearings will convene before an Illinois House committee later this month, says Speaker Mike Madigan, and there will be much talk about a new concealed carry law. One hearing will take place in Chicago on Feb. 22, at the Michael A. Bilandic Building in Chicago. The other will be in Springfield on Feb. 19 at the Capitol. “In light of events in recent months in Illinois and in other parts of the country, it’s appropriate and necessary that we give a full vetting to proposed state legislation on this matter," reads a statement from Madigan. "These hearings will provide an opportunity for gun-safety advocates, gun-rights supporters and members of the law enforcement community to offer their views and argue their cases to …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Rep. Kay Hatcher of Yorkville said Gov. Pat Quinn's Feb. 6 State of the State speech showed misplaced priorities. Hatcher, like her Republican colleagues in the state Senate, Jim Oberweis, of Sugar Grove, and Sen. Karen McConnaughay of South Elgin, said t
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Hatcher, a Yorkville Republican, reacts to Quinn's state of the state address.
Rep. Kay Hatcher of Yorkville said Gov. Pat Quinn's Feb. 6 State of the State speech showed misplaced priorities. Hatcher, like her Republican colleagues in the state Senate, Jim Oberweis, of Sugar Grove, and Sen. Karen McConnaughay of South Elgin, said the governor failed to address the state's most-serious problems of high unemployment, financial insolvency and pension reform. Instead, Hatcher said the governor focused on social issues, such as gun control, legalization of gay marriage and raising the state's minimum wage to $10 an hour. “With billions in unpaid bills, an unprecedented one billion dollar pension payment looming and families throughout the state looking for work, what we needed to hear today was the governor’s vision for …
State senators Jim Oberweis and Karen McConnaughay react to the governor's address. “In your household you would not plan a vacation with a hole in your roof," McConnaughay says.
Two state senators from our area say Gov. Pat Quinn's Feb. 6 State of the State speech failed to address Illinois' two most-serious problems: financial insolvency and pension reform. “His support of Senate Bill 1, the public pension reform bill, doesn’t go nearly far enough," said state Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove. "Senate Bill 1 only solves a small part of our problem—if that is all we do, we’ll be back here facing the problem again in another year or two. We ought to do the right things now to fix this problem on a long-term basis." State Sen. Karen McConnaughay, R-South Elgin, said she would be looking forward to Quinn's budget address next month, "to see specifically how he intends to accomplish" new programs he's put on his wish …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Grant part of $50 million in federal funds administered by Illinois Department of Transportation,
Yorkville was awarded a state grant of $491,720 for decorative street lighting and aesthetic streetscapes on Route 47, but when construction begins is unknown. The grant is a portion of $50 million in Illinois Transportation Enhancement Project funding announced this week by Gov. Pat Quinn. ITEP provides federal funding for community based projects that “expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historic, aesthetic and environmental aspects of our transportation infrastructure,” according to the press release. The Yorkville streetscape project has a price tag of approximately $900,000, according to an email from City Administrator Bart Olson. To receive the grant money the city would be …
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Jim Edgar tells Reboot Illinois that tax hikes, program cuts and leadership are desperately needed in Springfield. And Pat Quinn brings you Squeezy the Python.
With Democrats now holding a supermajority in the Illinois House and Senate as well as the governor's office, one might suppose a Democratic agenda would be a slam dunk in Springfield. As recent years have shown, however, single-party control doesn't guarantee the wheels of government grind smoothly. And former Gov. Jim Edgar, who served from 1991 to 1999, suggests that probably won't change anytime soon. In a wide-ranging interview with the new website Reboot Illinois, Edgar says Springfield is less dysfunctional when the two parties share power. "More times than not I think split government works pretty well. The reason is to make the tough decisions you need both parties. It’s hard to get one party to put up all the votes and take all …
Sunday, February 26, 2012
It's always good to be caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened this week.
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Sunday, February 26, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Statehouse News that were written by various Illinois Statehouse News reporters. SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's budget proposal tops 400 pages and is more than 3 inches thick. Inside the governor's plan for the next fiscal year, which begins in June, are the details of how he wants to spend $33.9 billion in taxpayers’ money. Illinois Statehouse News examines the governor's plan, speaking with lawmakers and outside experts and checking Quinn's math to make sure that dollars add up. Bigger than last year Quinn’s fiscal 2013 spending plan is $700 million more than the current budget, an increase that will pay for the increase in the state's …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
State Rep. Kay Hatcher (R-Yorkville) thought the budget address lacked detail.
Editor's note: State Rep. Kay Hather provided the following news release on Governor Pat Quinn's budget address. For more information on the budget itself, see this article or this article from Illinois Statehouse News. The lack of details in Governor Quinn’s budget address Wednesday was very disappointing, State Representative Kay Hatcher said. Hatcher (R-Yorkville) said after the speech, lawmakers still don’t know how the Governor plans to handle his proposed closure and consolidation of state facilities, or his stated goals of curbing Medicaid costs and restoring solvency to our state pension systems. “I have received word that the Governor plans to ‘consolidate’ human services offices in my district, but today I’m still working to get …
Monday, December 5, 2011
Paul Nordstrom, regional superintendent of schools for Grundy and Kendall counties, speaks out on the new law that diverts local taxes to pay for regional offices of education.
Paul Nordstrom wants to make one thing clear: it wasn’t his idea, or that of his fellow superintendents, to pay for the state’s regional offices of education with local tax funds. And even though he says the amount the state will withhold out of those funds is much lower than many feared, Nordstrom, the regional superintendent for Grundy and Kendall counties, said he wished the state had found another way to reinstate the regional offices, which haven’t been funded since June. “I don’t think any of us in our business feel that’s right,” Nordstrom said. “It’s not particularly fair to our local entities.” The state’s 44 regional offices of education were originally eliminated from the state’s 2012 budget. But the Illinois Association of …
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Several new laws take effect this month. Here's a rundown of what you need to know.
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois newest laws cover the spectrum from death to taxes to antifreeze. Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the death penalty, beginning Friday. Jeremy Schroeder, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, a grassroots organization that pushed for the abolition of the state's death penalty since 1976, said Gov. Pat Quinn, who signed the bill into law in March, ordered life sentences for anyone on death row, including defendants in a handful of death penalty cases statewide. "It's certainly kind of a sad waste of taxpayer money, knowing that those people aren't going to be placed on death row," Schroeder said. However, the law’s effective date likely will go unnoticed, he added. "…
BUTCH
9:43 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013
@ J Ann Ammoland a mgr of bullets for WMD headed by Rabbi's and the NRA (kiddin) just Kosher Theologians. Killing Fields anywhere in Englewood W Englewood Marquette and Gage park! Tylenol scare of the 80's when a few people were poisoned and caused a nationwide recall and led to more riches and profits! Thanks for asking! more ›