Governor Signs Law To Help Stop Public Pensions For Felons
Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Monday giving Illinois' attorney general more power to stop pension payments to convicted felons.
Watch CBS News
Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Monday giving Illinois' attorney general more power to stop pension payments to convicted felons.
Gov. Pat Quinn was moving to call a special session of the Illinois General Assembly next month to vote on legislation to set up a special election in 2016 for the Illinois State Comptroller's office.
The case involves the pension fix lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn adopted last year. The law cut retirement benefits and made other changes to help fill a $111 billion deficit in five state pensions systems caused by years of state underfunding.
Fast food and home healthcare workers were rallying in the River North neighborhood early Thursday, hoping to keep the pressure on state lawmakers to raise the minimum wage.
Illinois lawmakers face a number of issues as they wind down their fall veto session but won't consider increasing the state's minimum wage. Votes could come Wednesday on an expanded election law and a state health-insurance exchange.
Aldermen have set the stage to hike the city's minimum wage to $13 an hour over the next four-and-a-half years, under a measure the City Council is expected to approve Tuesday.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she expects the state's highest court could take up the state's landmark pension overhaul plan by the end of January, now that a lower court judge has ruled it unconstitutional.
With state lawmakers set to return to Springfield for three days of veto session later this week, and then again in early December, advocates for a higher minimum wage were urging the legislature to act on a measure to increase the minimum wage in Illinois to $10 an hour.
Democrats and Republicans on a state panel looking into the governor's scandal-plagued 2010 anti-violence program were accusing each other of playing politics on Thursday as former Quinn administration aides testified in Chicago.
The Chicago Democrat approved the bipartisan legislation that will also provide lawmakers with opportunities to attend popular ribbon-cutting ceremonies in an election year.
A law enacted last year authorized a four-year pilot project that will expire in 2017. So far, not a single marijuana seed has been planted. But now that rules have been approved, the state agencies running the program can start posting applications for a limited number of grower and retailer permits.
Not a single marijuana seed has been planted in Illinois' pilot medical cannabis program. But medical marijuana is inching closer to reality and a meeting set for Tuesday will shape the program's future.
Plans to expand gambling in Illinois were put on hold Friday when the backer of legislation proposing new casinos said he wouldn't call the measure for a vote until he resolved lingering issues and had key support.
Illinois lawmakers continued to grapple Wednesday with a new state budget, as Republicans ripped majority Democrats for spending beyond their means with a plan even Democrats acknowledge leaves "big unanswered questions" about the state's finances.
Having given up on extending Illinois' temporary income tax increase -- at least for now -- the Illinois Legislature is moving forward with a scaled-back budget that could lead to layoffs, further delays in paying the state's bills and a post-election vote to make the tax hike permanent or generate some other source of revenue.
House Speaker Michael Madigan emerged from a Memorial Day caucus meeting and told reporters that he was dropping the idea of making the 5 percent income tax permanent -- and crafting a budget blueprint that holds the line on spending but is not the "doomsday" plan the House overwhelmingly rejected on Friday.
The Illinois General Assembly could soon vote on a measure that would allow psychologists — who are not medical doctors — to prescribe medicines much the same as psychiatrists who have medical degrees.
The legislation was prompted by the 2008 death of St. Charles High School student Lauren Laman during a drill team practice. Laman's parents say her life may have been saved if her teammates were properly trained to use an automatic external defibrillator, or AED.
Newly released figures that show downstate school districts gaining at the expense of suburban ones have fueled a debate among lawmakers about a proposed overhaul of the complicated school funding formula that Illinois has used for almost two decades.
The public-private development would fund the proposed Illiana toll road, a 47-mile east-west road connecting Interstate 55 near Wilmington, Ill., and Interstate 65 near Lowell, Ind.
A legislative commission that helps review the use of public money has voted to grant itself subpoena powers to investigate Gov. Pat Quinn's troubled anti-violence program.
Court proceedings have begun in a lawsuit that aims to block proposals for term limits for the Illinois legislature from being placed on the November ballot, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
With the help of wealthy donors and a bipartisan group of politicians, a petition to end the gerrymandering of Illinois election districts was presented Thursday, but it faces a stiff constitutional challenge that could keep the question off the November ballot.
An Illinois law that requires juveniles accused of the most serious crimes to be charged as adults may be discriminatory, prevents judges from exercising their judgment and makes it more likely that those who are convicted will commit violent crimes in the future, according to a study due out Tuesday.
Illinois voters will consider a constitutional amendment this fall aimed at scuttling attempts at voter suppression after Senate action Thursday.
Organizers for Lollapalooza are helping fund the next generation of headliners.
Edgar Quero hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 9-8 on Sunday in the rubber game of their first crosstown series this season.
A fire at the vacant old Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Illinois, sent smoke billowing over several south Chicago suburbs Sunday morning.
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.
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.
At least 80 deaths have been reported in a new Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda, authorities said.
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.
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.
Meteorologist Kylee Miller has your 5:30 p.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Organizers and local leaders say the event was meant to highlight the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Chicago.
Meanwhile, a drone attack on a nuclear facility in the United Arab Emirates has America’s Gulf allies on edge. Olivia Rinaldi reports.
Two Navy jets collided in midair, then plummeted to the ground at the air show southwest of Boise.
The Volo Museum in Illinois got a lot of attention for a speeding ticket from New York City for “K.I.T.T.” from “Knight Rider.” Now, the talking car, or at least the actor behind it, is proclaiming its innocence.
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 five others were injured in a multi-vehicle crash on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago's western suburbs early Sunday.
A fire at the vacant old Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Illinois, sent smoke billowing over several south Chicago suburbs Sunday morning.
Organizers for Lollapalooza are helping fund the next generation of headliners.
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.
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.
Edgar Quero hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 9-8 on Sunday in the rubber game of their first crosstown series this season.
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.
A court hearing was held Sunday for a woman charged with stabbing 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.
