Illinois House Plans Right To Work Vote
Democratic Speaker Michael J. Madigan's office says Thursday's vote is planned even though the governor hasn't filed a bill with the Legislature.
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Democratic Speaker Michael J. Madigan's office says Thursday's vote is planned even though the governor hasn't filed a bill with the Legislature.
A future Chicago casino could generate much-needed revenue and draw crowds to city hotels and restaurants, tourism experts testified Monday during a gambling expansion hearing that comes as state legislators stare down a budget deadline and fresh concerns about finding new funding sources.
The decree puts new Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly back at the starting line in trying to figure out how to wrestle down a $111 billion deficit in what's necessary to cover its state employee retirement obligations.
A respected budget watchdog group has come out with a sharply critical analysis of Gov. Bruce Rauner's fiscal plan for Illinois.
Unlike his predecessor, Gov. Bruce Rauner isn't slamming the door on a proposed casino for Chicago. At the same time, Rauner has reservations about expanding casino gaming in Illinois.
Victims of campus sex assaults in Illinois would have confidential university advisers to help guide them through the legal and medical systems under a legislative proposal that has passed the state House.
Hoping to lift any possible legal hurdles to building either Barack Obama's presidential library or filmmaker George Lucas' proposed museum on park property, Illinois lawmakers swiftly approved legislation to make sure the Emanuel administration has the authority critics claim it lacks.
The move, signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday, digs into some of the largest piles of money in the state, including one intended to pay for highway construction, and some lesser known funds, such as ones to promote renewable energy sources and oversee the disposal of used tires.
In an early major test of Illinois' newly divided government, the Senate passed a compromise plan Thursday to plug a $1.6 billion hole in this year's budget and avert shutdowns of state programs and services.
Legislation proposed by Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and backed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner passed the House early Tuesday afternoon with bipartisan support, including 46 of the chamber's 47 Republicans.
The Legislature faces a fast-approaching deadline to act as money runs out for subsidized childcare programs, prisons, and court reporters.
For weeks, Beth Purvis' role in the administration had been somewhat of a mystery. Not until after several inquiries from The Associated Press did the Rauner administration disclose that Purvis — a key member of the governor's transition team — is now earning $250,000 a year to advise him on education policy.
Illinois Supreme Court justices asked the state's lawyer to explain Wednesday how the government can seek extraordinary power to reduce public pension benefits in the face of a fiscal crisis when the government itself is culpable for the financial mess.
Proposed legislation to close a loophole in the state's sex offender laws serves as testament to the persistence of a Plainfield woman who would not take no for an answer.
Delivering his first budget address since winning office last fall, Gov. Bruce Rauner said his plan would end "the irresponsible and reckless practices of the past." He said lawmakers must be willing to make politically unpopular decisions to close a more than $6 billion budget hole next year.
Saying he wants the state to do more to keep people out of prison, Gov. Bruce Rauner has formed a commission to study possible changes to the state's criminal justice system.
A day after outlining an ambitious agenda for his first year in office, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner Thursday was confronted with a state budget that is millions of dollars short for programs such as subsidized day care that are rapidly running out of money.
Gov. Bruce Rauner laid out a first-year agenda Wednesday he said will help Illinois better compete with its neighbors, largely by stripping power from labor unions, shrinking the size of government and making the state more attractive to companies looking to create jobs.
The Republican's first State of the State address, scheduled for noon Wednesday before the General Assembly in Springfield, comes as some state agencies and programs already are running out of money this year and with Illinois facing an even greater budget gap next year.
House and Senate Democrats will seek to protect their own interests and constituencies in eventual negotiations with Rauner. While he speaks of the need for steep budget cuts, they'll likely seek to protect social services, state workers and Medicaid recipients.
A conservative Republican lawmaker from Wheaton has teamed up with a liberal Democrat from Chicago in an effort to make Illinois a "right to try" state.
Recent police-caused deaths in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City and an ongoing concern about racial sensitivity is behind a set of police reform bills sponsored by Illinois Democrats, who say measured steps are needed to address the underlying issues.
Gov. Bruce Rauner said he will propose a number of reforms to turn the state around, and indicated they would involve making Illinois more attractive to businesses while slashing spending on everything from health insurance for the poor to public-worker pensions and the state's payroll.
Rauner's inauguration ceremony was scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield. He was set to take the oath of office along with Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White, Treasurer Mike Frerichs, and Comptroller Leslie Munger.
The head of the agency that oversees children who are wards of the state told state lawmakers Wednesday that a revolving door at the top is partly to blame for abuses that have plagued the department for decades.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Two people were rushed to the hospital from the scene of a fire in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood early Sunday morning.
A woman appeared in court Sunday on charges that she stabbed her 2-month-old daughter to death in a home on Chicago's Southwest Side.
One person was killed and four others were injured in a multi-vehicle crash on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago's western suburbs early Sunday.
A Chicago woman was killed, and three other people were injured, in a crash on Interstate 65 in Crown Point, Indiana, late Saturday night.
In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls squared off Thursday over which candidate can flip Iowa's open Republican-held Senate seat, as millions in outside spending reshapes the primary's final stretch.
Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin say their concern is there may be more emergency exit doors than flight attendants in the event of an evacuation.
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is suing the city of Chicago, its inspector general's office, and the Board of Ethics, accusing them of defamation.
The Supreme Court has maintained mail access to the abortion pill mifepristone, setting aside for now a lower court order that blocked abortion providers from prescribing the widely used drug through telehealth and shipping it to patients.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Chicago gas prices are spiking as the war with Iran drags on, with regular gas nearing $6 in some spots and premium already selling for more than $7 in some places.
In the legal venue of anti-trust enforcement, the state is not taking on the Trump administration, but rather filling a void that state officials say the Trump administration has vacated.
Engineers at Northwestern University have created a wireless polygraph to detect stress.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday announced an expansion to the city's CARE Program, a specialized team that responds to mental health crises without police.
A Texas couple is filing a lawsuit accusing the AI company of guiding their teenage son in using drugs, resulting in a fatal overdose.
An American on the repatriation flight began showing symptoms of hantavirus and another "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," the Department of Health and Human Services says.
More than 100 people from a cruise ship dealing with an outbreak of the rare and deadly hantavirus are set to be disembarked.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
U.S. prosecutors allege a man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to scam a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million.
Thousands of people marched from the West Loop to Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago on Friday for May Day, with activists calling for workers' rights, stronger labor protections, and increased school funding.
The Chicago-born house music track, which began as a personal poem in 1982 and became a defining anthem of the city's house music scene, has been selected for permanent preservation by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
Officials from Pakistan are spending the weekend in Tehran trying to negotiate a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, while the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has returned home to Norfolk, Virginia. Wendy Gillette reports.
Suzanne Le Mignot’s cats, Luna and Luce, left a layer of fur on her hardwood floor in the living room, while Mary Kay Kleist introduces us to Fr. Daniel Kelly, who is celebrating his platinum jubilee as a priest.
The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to be a global health emergency.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has your 7 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Jackie Kostek spent the morning at the starting line for the race.
One person was killed and four others were injured in a multi-vehicle crash on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago's western suburbs early Sunday.
One person was killed and seven were injured early Sunday morning in a four-vehicle crash that shut down the Eisenhower Expressway on Chicago's Near West Side.
A woman appeared in court Sunday on charges that she stabbed her 1-year-old daughter to death in a home on Chicago's Southwest Side.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Two people were rushed to the hospital from the scene of a fire in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood early Sunday morning.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
People in Lincoln Park and Lakeview have rallied against a plan to build a new industrial ComEd electrical substation in their neighborhoods, pushing local and state leaders to get involved.
Monday marks one year since Illinois enacted Karina's Law — legislation aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of people accused of domestic abuse.
Tenants at a South Shore apartment building said they've noticed their rent fluctuating by hundreds of dollars a month due to a change in how their utility billing system is set up.
A man from the Chicago suburbs lost $69,000 of his savings to a scam by a thief using an AI-generated U.S. Marshals badge to intimidate him.
Murakami added his 17th homer in the fifth, a two-run shot to center off Jameson Taillon that traveled an estimated 428 feet.
Chris Brady had six saves for Chicago and has six shutouts this season.
Carson Kelly hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs stopped a five-game White Sox winning streak with a 10-5 victory over their crosstown rival.
Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Ian Happ hit a long home run and five Chicago Cubs pitchers combined for a 2-0 shutout of the Atlanta Braves that snapped a four-game losing streak.
A woman appeared in court Sunday on charges that she stabbed her 2-month-old daughter to death in a home on Chicago's Southwest Side.
A motorcyclist was found with a gunshot wound on the Eisenhower Expressway on Chicago's West Side Saturday night.
The ages of the victims range from 19 to 55, according to Chicago police.
A Davison Township police chief released body camera video showing how a senior "water wars" prank brought an officer within milliseconds of opening fire on a student.
A man was found shot to death Thursday morning in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood.
