Pritzker Has ‘No Plans’ For Added Mitigations; ‘Local Control’ Focus Of School Guidelines
SPRINGFIELD – The wide availability of COVID-19 vaccines has changed the state’s approach for mitigating the virus’ spread statewide and in schools. For school districts, that means suggested rather than required guidance, with an emphasis on local control in imposing mitigations. For the governor’s office, that means there are “no plans” to reinstate some of […]
State To Pick Overdue Marijuana Dispensary Winners By Aug. 19
SPRINGFIELD – More than a year after new marijuana dispensary licenses were scheduled to be distributed per the state’s 2019 adult-use legalization law, the governor’s office announced the initial lottery and two new ones will happen by the end of August. The state also announced the award of more than 200 other licenses for […]
Illinois Supreme Court To ‘Triage’ Eviction Cases
SPRINGFIELD – With the state-imposed moratorium on residential evictions set to expire Aug. 1, the Illinois Supreme Court announced a plan Thursday that provides an additional one-month “triage” period for tenants and landlords in certain cases to seek rental assistance. Gov. JB Pritzker first issued an executive order prohibiting residential evictions in March 2020 in […]
Pritzker Signs Ban On Deceptive Interrogation Of Minors, Other Criminal Justice Reforms
SPRINGFIELD – Terrill Swift spent 15 years in prison, convicted of a rape and murder which DNA evidence later proved he did not commit. On Thursday, he appeared alongside lawmakers and criminal justice reform advocates in support of a bill signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker to ban deceptive police interrogation of minors. The measure, […]
Illinois Reports Zero COVID Deaths For First Time Since Pandemic Began, But Delta Variant Coming From Missouri
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported zero deaths from COVID-19 were recorded on Monday — the first time the state has seen no COVID deaths in nearly 16 months. That figure is subject to change if IDPH receives supplementary reports of COVID deaths from Monday, but state leaders cheered the […]
‘I Wanted More,’ Pritzker Says Of Ethics Bill
SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker wants to make it clear that he’s not a wholesale believer in the ethics reform package Democratic lawmakers pushed through the legislature this week. The Democrat, who has less than a year and a half left in his first term as governor, takes umbrage with the suggestion he claimed any […]
WATCH LIVE: Pritzker’s June 1 COVID-19 Update
WATCH LIVE: At 1:30 p.m. today Gov. Pritzker is holding a press briefing in Springfield to provide an update on the state of COVID-19 in Illinois. The questions we receive from you directly inform the stories we tell and what we investigate. Let us know what you need to know!
New Health Care Law Aims To Stop Systemic Racism
SPRINGFIELD — Before Vallena Adkinson’s 35-year-old daughter Helen Heath died in March from complications of the autoimmune disease lupus, Adkinson spent years navigating a health care system she said treated her daughter poorly because she was Black. She said during her daughter’s hospital stays, she was often treated rudely when seeking better treatment for Heath, […]
Lawmakers Demand Pritzker Open Unemployment Offices To Public, Want Answers On Fraud Payments
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ Department of Employment Security has received more than 1.3 million fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, the state isn’t making public how much money has actually been paid out to fraudsters. Gov. JB Pritzker this week said an ongoing federal investigation into pandemic-related unemployment fraud […]
Fully Vaccinated Illinoisans Can Ditch Their Masks In Most Circumstances: Pritzker
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said Illinoisans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear face masks in most circumstances. Pritzker’s announcement follows updated guidelines released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The updated executive order allows vaccinated people to ditch their masks, both outdoors […]
Pritzker Signs Rental Assistance Bill, Says He Will ‘Phase Out’ Eviction Moratorium by August
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker announced Monday the state will plan to “phase out” its moratorium on pandemic-related evictions by August and launched a new program to provide assistance to renters and homeowners financially impacted by COVID-19. The announcement regarding the planned end of the eviction moratorium came as Pritzker signed House Bill 2877, a […]
Pritzker Won’t Cut Enhanced COVID Unemployment Benefits As Employers Claim Workforce Shortage
SPRINGFIELD — Unemployed Illinoisans will keep receiving an extra $300 in pandemic-enhanced weekly benefits, Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday, even as Republican-led states around the nation move to end those benefits early, claiming they’re disincentivizing working-age people from getting jobs. “Our job here is to make sure we’re creating jobs and helping people to rebuild […]
Pritzker Announces New Round Of Rebuild Illinois Grants
URBANA – Gov. JB Pritzker used local road projects in Champaign County as his backdrop Tuesday to announce the latest round of Rebuild Illinois grants. The governor’s actual backdrop was a lineup of heavy equipment at the Champaign County Highway Department building in Urbana. Standing in front of them, Pritzker listed the accomplishments of Rebuild […]
217 Today: Monday May 10, 2021
Friday, May 7, 2021 https://will.illinois.edu/nfs/217Today5-10-21.mp3 Today’s headlines: Illinois lawmakers are debating whether to permanently allow temporary nursing assistants to take on the duties of a certified nursing assistant in long-term care facilities. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says he hopes negotiations with Republicans on President Biden’s $3 trillion infrastructure bill will produce results “soon.” Champaign County health […]
Investigation Of Deadly COVID Outbreak Found State-Run Veterans Home ‘Inefficient, Reactive…Chao
SPRINGFIELD — “Lack of COVID-19 preparation,” paired with “failures in communication” both in and outside of the state-run LaSalle Veterans Home contributed to a major COVID-19 outbreak that killed 36 residents at the facility and infected dozens more, according to a report published by Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration Friday. The investigation revealed missed opportunities and […]