Illinois in Focus

Illinois in Focus Ep 147: School determining mask rules as parents prepare for checks Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Joe Biden called for investment in both people and infrastructure during a speech Wednesday at McHenry County College, his first visit to the state since taking office. He also called for higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations to fund two years of community college for all students. He said additional education was needed for the U.S. to compete with the rest of the world. Unveiled...

Those needing to speak in person with someone at the state’s unemployment offices haven’t been able to for well over a year and it’s still not clear when the offices will be open. Offices around the state for the Illinois Department of Employment Security have been closed since the spring of 2020. For months while unemployment claims spiked because of the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions closing b...

Illinois has some of the highest fuel gas prices in the country, and next week, taxes on fuel will increase. On July 1st, the tax will increase about a half-cent per gallon, depending on the blend. Gasoline prices are the highest they’ve been since July 2019, when the state gas tax doubled to 38 cents. At that time, lawmakers put in place an automatic gas tax hike tied to inflation. Support this p...

Illinois in Focus Ep 143: Some question if it's a 'new day' following overtime session Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the state prepares to fully reopen for the first time in 15 months on Friday, the governor is giving Illinoisans a pat on the back. Starting Friday, there will be no capacity restrictions, but businesses can still require masks for unvaccinated people. There are also mask requirements for public transportation, medical facilities, correctional facilities, schools and day care centers. On Friday...

Illinois in Focus Ep 141: Partisan politics on display as legislative session ends Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tim Mapes served for years under former House Speaker Michael Madigan as the clerk of the Illinois House and as Madigan’s chief of staff. Now, Mapes has been indicted on a charge of lying to a grand jury in a federal bribery probe connected to the longtime former speaker. Last summer, federal prosecutors revealed a deferred prosecution agreement ComEd entered into where the utility admitted to pay...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s emergency rule requiring businesses to mandate masks has been repealed and a leading retailers association says they are not being asked to check your vaccine status, but they could if they wanted. The latest order issued Monday says the governor’s “bridge” reopening plan does require retailers to “cap occupancy at 60 percent of store capacity, or, alternatively, at the occupa...

Illinois is entering another COVID-19 reopening phase that was added by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in March. Capacity limits on a wide range of businesses and activities will be slightly loosened Friday as the state enters the next to last phase of the governor’s pandemic reopening plan. Pritzker announced last week that the state would enter the Bridge Phase of his plan, a final step before all restricti...

Pandemic restrictions in Illinois will be further loosened next week, and the state could reopen nearly fully as early as June 11. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday the state will be entering the “Bridge Phase” on May 14, a transitional period between Phase 4 restrictions and fully opening in Phase 5. The bridge to Phase 5 expands capacity to 60% for theaters, gyms, spectator events, offices,...

Illinois will lose one member from the U.S. House of Representatives because of continued population declines. It was expected Illinois would lose representation, based on year-over-year annual Census estimates showing the state losing an estimated 253,000 residents over the past ten years. Illinois was one of seven states that will lose one seat for the Congress that will be seated in 2023. Illin...

Illinois lawmakers are poised to make leadership term limits of no more than ten consecutive years state law. Before he resigned from the House earlier this year, Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, served in the state legislature for more than 50 years. Madigan served as House Speaker for 24 consecutive years from 1997 to 2021. For two years when Republicans had the majority in the House, Madigan was the...

With research showing state spending grew 30% faster than Illinois’ median household income over the past decade, a new bill would tie spending in Springfield to growth in household income. Senate Bill 589, introduced by state Sen. Suzy Glowiak-Hilton, D-Western Springs, was presented during a subject matter hearing Wednesday of the Senate Appropriations Revenue and Finance Committee. The bill wou...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday clarified statements from his chief of staff, a day after she said the state was headed for a full reopening this summer. On Tuesday, Anne Caprara told a Senate committee she and the governor hoped to have restrictions lifted soon. “I think we both hope that we are going to be in a place to move to Phase 5 in the beginning of the summer,” Caprara said. “I always hes...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that vaccination passports could be useful in the coming weeks as more Illinoisans get vaccinated for COVID-19. As for a vaccination passport to prove a person has been inoculated against the coronavirus, Pritzker says a vaccination app would be useful, but should not be required to enter an event or facility. “As long as it is your choice,” Pritzker said. “If peo...

Illinois is nearing another phase in the state’s reopening plan, but things won't open up all at once. Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week unveiled what he called his “Bridge Phase,” announcing new guidelines that will allow for higher capacity limits at public places such as spectator events. The guidelines also involved fewer restrictions on businesses during the transition between the current Phase 4...

State officials have recorded 21,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Illinois since the outset of the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 19,893 deaths through the end of February in Illinois where COVID-19 was listed among multiple causes. Of those deaths, about 1,830, or 9.2%, had COVID-19 listed as the sole cause of death. That percentage is higher than it was in Septem...

Despite being the highest taxed state in the nation, financially strapped Illinois is set to get more than $10 billion in federal tax dollars from the $1.9 trillion spending bill that passed the U.S. House Wednesday. Illinois’ Democratic leaders cheered the passage of the bill while Republicans were critical. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support H...

There’s a growing chorus in Illinois urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to provide the hospitality sector some clarity and certainty about when things will open more. Pritzker didn’t give specifics about when he would relax COVID-19 mitigation when asked on Wednesday. Texas is set to open up 100% March 10. The Illinois hospitality sector has seen a massive decline in revenue over the past year and the indu...

Just days after his handpicked replacement to the Illinois House, state Rep. Edward Guerra Kodatt, stepped down, former state Rep. Michael Madigan is now backing Angelica Guerrero Cuellar. In a joint statement with Chicago Alderman Marty Quinn late Tuesday from a Madigan spokesperson, Madigan suggested Kodatt resign “after learning of alleged questionable conduct.” Madigan did not elaborate on the...

Former House Speaker Michael Madigan, the longest serving statehouse speaker in the country, and the longest serving state legislator in Illinois, resigned Thursday. In a statement Thursday, Madigan thanked his family and touted his accomplishments over five decades in office. He leaves under a cloud of a federal corruption probe involving bribes utility ComEd admitted it paid to associates in an...

Episode 125: Biden asks Madigan investigator to resign Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 124: Lawmakers cut the line for COVID vaccines Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 123: High school sports return as new legislature remains absent in Springfield Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.