Indoor work complete, Old State Capitol reopens to tours
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ Old State Capitol has re-opened to visitors after interior renovations were completed. Exterior work on the dome of the building continues, but indoor plaster work and painting is finished. That allowed the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to open for tours on Thursday. Visitors will see a new feature, an education gallery. […]
Where Can You Get Tested for COVID-19 In Central Illinois?
For health questions about COVID-19, call the Illinois Department of Public Health hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov. IDPH has also compiled a list of testing sites across the state, including information on testing eligibility and contact information. Public testing sites offer free testing regardless of insurance, with no need for a doctor’s referral. Illinois […]
Ethics Commission Finds Ex-Exelon Lobbyist Sexually Harassed Colleague
SPRINGFIELD — A state ethics commission has found a former Exelon lobbyist sexually harassed one of his female colleagues on two separate occasions in Springfield, in violation of the Lobbyist Registration Act. David Fein, formerly Exelon’s senior vice president of state governmental and regulatory affairs, will have to pay a $6,000 fine and his lobbyist […]
News Around Illinois: Sept. 18, 2020
TOP STORY — Friday, September 18 Parties Dispute How Far Feds Will Let Madigan Probe Go The U.S. attorney investigating House Speaker Mike Madigan OK’d a separate probe by a House committee, but Democrats and Republicans do not agree on how far it should go, Associated Press’s John O’Connor reports. John Lausch, U.S. attorney for […]
News Around Illinois — Sept. 10, 2020
2 Applicants Rejected For Marijuana Licenses Sues Illinois CHICAGO (AP) — Two companies that were rejected for Illinois marijuana licenses have filed a lawsuit to delay the state from awarding licenses to the winning applicants. The state announced that only 21 of 700 applicants would proceed to a lottery for 75 licenses. Southshore Restore and […]
News Around Illinois – August 21, 2020
Illinois Reports 1,832 COVID-19 Cases And 27 Deaths SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting 1,832 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 27 deaths. The number of confirmed cases on Thursday come from the state conducting 51,612 tests in the previous 24 hours. The state now has reported 213,721 cases and 7,833 fatalities. […]
News Around Illinois – Aug. 20, 2020
Vehicles Hit Illinois Covered Bridge Twice After Reopening LONG GROVE, Ill. (AP) — A covered bridge in northern Illinois has been damaged twice by vehicles within days of its reopening after a $1 million rebuild repaired severe damage a delivery truck inflicted in 2018. Less than 24 hours after Long Grove’s iconic covered bridge reopened […]
News Around Illinois – Aug. 19, 2020
Architect Of The Capitol To Take Up Issue Of Douglas Statue SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Board members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol on Wednesday will take up a request from the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to replace imagery of political giant Stephen Douglas and Illinois pioneer Pierre Menard because of […]
News Around Illinois – Aug. 10, 2020
Police Say They Arrested More Than 100 People During Mag Mile Looting Hundreds of people smashed windows, stole from stores and clashed with police early Monday in Chicago’s upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city. “We are waking up in shock this morning,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a Monday morning […]
News Around Illinois – Aug. 7, 2020
City Colleges Of Chicago Faculty And Staff Threaten Strike Over COVID-19 Safety Concerns Faculty and staff at City Colleges of Chicago are threatening to strike after accusing the administration of failing to ensure a safe work environment for employees required to return in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders of the unions representing faculty, clerical staff […]
News Around Illinois – July 24, 2020
Man Guilty of Repeated Rape of Child Gets 20-Year Sentence URBANA — A central Illinois man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to repeatedly raping a child a decade ago. In sentencing Gregory Reed of Mahomet on Thursday, Champaign County Judge Tom Difanis called him “sexually dangerous” man who should never […]
News Around Illinois – July 22, 2020
Police: 15 People Were Injured In A Shooting Outside A South Side Funeral Fifteen people were injured, one person was being questioned and multiple suspects were being sought after gunfire erupted outside a funeral home on Chicago’s South Side where at least one squad car was present, police said. First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said […]
Speaker Calls To Remove Stephen Douglas Imagery From Capitol
SPRINGFIELD — It was only a matter a time that recent events caused someone to focus in on Illinois State Capitol statues dedicated to those with racist pasts. Now, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is calling for the removal of two statues sitting outside the State Capitol and a portrait inside the chamber of the […]
News Around Illinois – July 3, 2020
Illinois Seeking New Poet Laureate, State’s First Since 2017 CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois is looking for a new poet laureate. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has launched a search committee to fill the post, which has been vacant since 2017. He said Illinois has been home to talented poets including Carl Sandburg, Gwendolyn Brooks and Sandra Cisneros, […]
News Around Illinois – July 2, 2020
From Tight Hallways To Packed Elevators, Urban Campuses Are Grappling With Social Distancing Colleges and universities in downtown Chicago often use their urban location as a selling point when attracting students. Now, those campuses — located in the densest part of the city — are turning into a potential liability as schools plan to reopen […]