With a month and a half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system.
Stories by Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Pritzker Says State ‘Obviously’ Needs to Change 2010 Law That Shrunk Pension Benefits
Apr 20, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Illinois Lawmakers, Cannabis Industry Call for Ban on ‘Delta-8’ and Other Psychoactive Hemp Products
Apr 13, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
New legislation filed in Springfield revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other hemp-derived products, which are totally unregulated in Illinois even as the state approaches the five-year anniversary of legalizing cannabis.
Illinois Senate Advances Changes to State’s Biometric Privacy Law After Business Groups Split
Apr 12, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Illinois is the only state that grants residents the right to sue over businesses’ improper collection and mishandling of biometric data — whether they are an employee or a customer. Business groups have been clamoring for changes as upwards of 2,000 lawsuits have been filed under the law since roughly 2018.
Appeals Court Skeptical of Mike Bost’s Case to Stop Ballot Counts After Election Day
Mar 29, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
A panel of federal judges seemed skeptical of legal arguments made on behalf of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, who claims Illinois’ law allowing counting of mail-in ballots for two weeks after an election is in violation of federal law.
With Feds Citing ‘Extensive Cooperation,’ Ex-State Sen. Terry Link Sentenced to 3 Years Probation
Mar 6, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
During a brief sentencing hearing, the 76-year-old Terry Link made a public apology. Speaking slowly and with a tremor borne of a neurological condition that has worsened since he left office in 2020, Link said he’d made a mistake and “did not intend to cheat the government.”
Judges, Ex-Lawmakers, Lobbyists Wrote to Support Convicted Ex-Madigan Aide Tim Mapes
Mar 5, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Tim Mapes was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison, though U.S. District Judge John Kness told Mapes he had “zero hesitation in agreeing, wholeheartedly, that you are a good man,” after reading dozens of letters written to the court on Mapes’ behalf.
Former Illinois Lawmaker Taken Into Custody Amid Delays to His Corruption Trial After Sudden Hospitalization
Judge declares Sam McCann out of ‘excuses’
Feb 9, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
The arrest caps a bizarre week that was supposed to have seen his corruption trial begin and end – until a last-minute hospitalization forced its postponement until Monday.
Democratic Leaders in Springfield Poised to Revisit Biometric Information Privacy Act After Court Rulings
Feb 2, 2024 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Democratic leaders in the legislature appear ready to revive talks to reform the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, after business groups poured cold water on the majority party’s ideas last spring.
Illinois Secretary of State Helps Launch First-of-Its-Kind State ID Program for People Leaving Cook County Jail Custody
Dec 11, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Regardless of how long a detainee stays in jail, however, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said a state ID has consistently been at the “top of the list” of needs that those in jail reported to officials upon intake “because it unlocks everything else.”
Illinois High Court Rules Health Care Workers Exempt From Biometric Information Privacy Law
Nov 30, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
The justices ruled against a pair of nurses who sued their employers over their use of fingerprint-enabled medication storage — a technology many hospitals have adopted to curb abuse or theft of certain drugs.
Illinois Supreme Court Skeptical Consolidation of 649 Municipal Police and Fire Pension Funds Hurt Retirees’ Voting Rights
Nov 22, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
The nearly three-dozen pensioners and 17 individual pension funds that sued have already lost twice in lower court. But their attorney was insistent the retired police and firefighters were wronged when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law – passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Illinois Lawmakers Pass Bill Aimed at Modernizing Professional Licensing
Nov 13, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has failed to meet its goals to speed up both initial licensing and renewals in key industries as applications to the agency grew by 15% between 2019 and 2022.
J.B. Pritzker Urges Joe Biden to Intervene as ‘Untenable’ Pace of Migrants Arriving in Illinois Accelerates
Buses from Texas accelerate as Illinois counts 15,000 new arrivals in 13 months
Oct 3, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Without naming GOP figures like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Pritzker blamed political leaders who “have shipped people to our state like cargo in a dehumanizing attempt to score political points.”
Disparately Resourced Public Defenders Across the State Prepare for End of Cash Bail in Illinois
Sep 16, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Illinois on Monday will become the first state to fully abolish cash bail through an act of the legislature — a major criminal justice overhaul spurred by the advocacy of a progressive faction of the Democratic Party that’s grown increasingly powerful in recent years.
Emails Shown at Mapes Trial Detail Madigan World’s Response to 2018 Sexual Harassment Scandal
Aug 16, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
The email was introduced as evidence in the trial of longtime Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes, who was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice after allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating Madigan and his inner circle.
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Illinois Law Subjecting ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ to Civil Liability
Aug 4, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
A new law allowing Illinoisans to sue so-called crisis pregnancy centers under the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is on hold after a federal judge late Thursday granted a preliminary injunction against it.
Illinois to Invest More Than $23M in Abortion Access, Reproductive Health Care Initiatives
Aug 1, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced several new programs to help address the influx of out-of-state abortion seekers the state has seen in the 13 months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Could Face Lawsuits Under Illinois’ Expanded Consumer Fraud Act
Jul 28, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Crisis pregnancy centers are facilities often affiliated with anti-abortion, usually religious, organizations. CPCs range from volunteer-run outfits that can’t offer much more than counseling to facilities with licensed medical professionals on staff who can perform exams.
COVID Unemployment Surge Led to $5.2B in Overpaid Benefits in Illinois, Including Fraud
Jul 27, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Included in that sum was $6 million paid to 481 dead people and $40.5 million in unemployment checks written to incarcerated individuals. And, the audit warned, those numbers could be a significant undercount.
State’s ‘Rainy Day’ Fund Hits Record-High Balance at Start of New Fiscal Year
Jul 1, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is ringing in fiscal year 2024 by celebrating a record-high $1.94 billion in Illinois’ “rainy day” fund and setting her sights on doubling that figure in the next decade.
On the Witness Stand, Former State Sen. Terry Link Finally Acknowledges He Wore a Wire for FBI
Jun 10, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, has spent years denying news media reports that he was the legislator-turned-cooperating witness described in charging documents made public after the arrest of ex-state Rep. Luis Arroyo in October of 2019.
As Trial Begins, Politically Connected Businessman Claims Feds Set Him Up to Bribe Illinois Legislator
Jun 7, 2023 | Hannah Meisel — Capitol News Illinois
James Weiss stands accused of bribing two Democratic lawmakers in an effort to shield his fledgling business from threatened bans at the state and local levels.