Politics
A package of new regulations designed to tighten ethics rules for state lawmakers and Springfield lobbyists will not override Chicago’s ethics rules, much to the relief of city officials.
For 184 years, members of the Chicago City Council have been known as aldermen — even though its first female members were elected a half-century ago. That is set to change.
New rules for Chicago’s home-sharing industry are set to take effect Tuesday, including a ban on short-term rentals that last only one night, in an effort to block huge parties that have become a regular nuisance in some neighborhoods.
For the first time in nearly a year, visitors to Chicago from anywhere within the United States do not have to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19, city officials announced Tuesday.
Illinois Democrats used their supermajorities in the General Assembly to full advantage this weekend as their spring session reeled toward an end, pushing through a progressive agenda, a $42 billion budget with no tax or fee hikes on individuals, and legislative maps.
Illinois’ primary date next year is moving from March 15 to June 28, giving candidates for the U.S. House time to organize their campaigns and petition drives, given that legislators will not finalize a new map of congressional districts until fall.
With just one day remaining before they’re scheduled to adjourn until fall, Illinois legislators have a heaping set of issues left to tackle: a state budget, ethics reform, a follow-up to the major criminal justice overhaul signed into law in February, and legislation to fix issues with Illinois’ gun licensing system.
Barring quick action from the General Assembly, a requirement that health insurance companies treat virtual visits as they would regular, in-person appointments will soon lift. Lawmakers appear to be on the verge of extending that mandate before Monday’s planned adjournment.
All legal gun owners would need to be fingerprinted under legislation that narrowly passed the Illinois House on Saturday – a practice that gun rights advocates say will prevent violence, but which critics say is an example of excessive government overreach.
The American Legion counts all who served active duty in any branch of the U.S. armed forces as members. But for young Latino veterans like Marcos Torres and Daniel Del Rivero, it didn’t seem like a place for them.
President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget for next year that’s piled high with new safety net programs for the poor and middle class, but his generosity depends on taxing corporations and the wealthy to keep the nation’s spiking debt from spiraling totally out of control.
The number of marijuana dispensaries may soon soar, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker set to sign into law a measure intended to bring racial diversity to a burgeoning industry that has so far eclipsed entrepreneurs of color.
Illinois legislators voted along partisan lines Friday in response to another set of political lines: the boundaries of districts for the legislature, state Supreme Court and the Cook County Board of Review.
City officials prepare for summer violence. Lake Shore Drive name change gets a punt. Federal investigation now close to former House Speaker Madigan. And lawmakers down to the wire in Springfield.
After two months and 42,000 jabs, the city-run mass vaccination site near Wrigley Field will close Saturday, as efforts to bring a COVID-19 vaccine directly to residents ramp up, officials said.
As Chicago hits the unofficial start of summer this weekend, city officials have announced a citywide strategy aimed at preventing summer shootings and homicides by focusing resources in historically violent areas on South and West sides.