Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Gov. J. B. Pritzker will present the new state budget Wednesday. Details will include Illinois' pandemic response, funding for schools, and for violence prevention, and potential tax relief. Among the expected proposals are holding the line on a gasoline tax, and temporarily lifting a 1% tax on food. 

As Gov. J.B. Pritzker heads into a reelection year that could prove trying, on Wednesday he is set to present a budget proposal with nearly $1 billion in one-time tax relief.

Wednesday marks two weeks since Chicago Public Schools students returned to class — after a standoff between the teachers’ union and the district over COVID-19 protocols resulted in canceled classes. Union leadership already has another fight on its hands.

It’ll be easier to access birth control in Illinois, courtesy of a new law that allows pharmacists to dispense hormonal contraception without a doctor’s prescription.

It’s been nearly a year since candidates began announcing their intent to run for Illinois governor, but Monday brought a new entrant to shake up the race. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin declared he’s running as a Republican in an online video. 

Knowing that most teachers wouldn’t show, even with the warning that they would therefore not be paid, CPS canceled class for Wednesday, and now Thursday too.

In the face of a potential walkout by Chicago Teachers Union members, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said he is committed to putting in place COVID-19 cases metrics for closing schools and classrooms.

Some 300 new laws will take effect in Illinois in the new year. They range from changing how gun licenses are processed — to regulating pet sales.

A series of new laws could make it easier for consumers to comparison shop for prescriptions, make sure unused medicine doesn’t go to waste, and expand coverage of fertility treatment.

The General Assembly canceled its Jan. 4 and 6 session dates, and will likely call the session off the following week as well “amid the ongoing global pandemic.”

Because of the pandemic, in 2020 the legislature was thrown a bit off course, so there weren't a ton of laws that took effect at the start of 2021. Not so for 2022. Dozens of measures will kick in starting Saturday.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady instituted the requirement Tuesday, as increases in COVID-19 cases have seen the positivity rate rise to 7.3%  – past the point of rapid spread.

“As the mayor of this city, I want to assure you that from day one in my time as mayor public safety has been, is, and will continue to be my highest priority,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday in a special speech to show she’s taking crime seriously. 

“This extension is necessary as my office continues to address the heavy customer volume caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through expanded online services and the introduction of appointments at select Driver Services facilities,” Secretary of State Jesse White said in a statement Friday.

Repeal of the Parental Notification Act erases what has been described as Illinois’ last law restricting the procedure.

At an hourslong hearing Thursday, the public got a look at what a Chicago casino might look like and where it would go.

Decades ago, the state of Illinois outlawed midwifery. Now the state’s in the process of changing course with a new law signed Tuesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

In 2014, Chicago saw homicides hit a historic low at 426. The city has exceeded that number every year since and is on pace to again this calendar year by more than 80%, according to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging. Doctors believe that’s still due to the delta variant though it’s expected Illinois will soon see more cases of the omicron variant as well. A key White House advisor tells us how the nation’s ready to tackle it with an eye toward equity.

All bets are in. The state’s gaming commission chose which developers will be allowed to build new suburban casinos — and where. This comes nearly two-and-a-half years after the state’s gambling expansion law passed.

One bill would require all unvaccinated individuals who are hospitalized or need other medical treatment because of COVID-19 to pay any related costs out of pocket. The other would forbid discrimination against anyone who chooses not to be vaccinated out of religious or personal beliefs.

Illinois has dispersed $750 million to help those who fell behind on rent during the coronavirus pandemic. Far less – so far $100 million – has gone to homeowners having trouble keeping up with their bills. And it may be months before homeowners receive funding.

It has been 40 years since the first cases of what’s now recognized as HIV/AIDS were reported. Today, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago estimates that 45,000 people are living in Illinois with HIV or AIDS, 28,000 of whom reside in Chicago.

“The many challenges of COVID-19, coupled with the inconvenience of life-threatening conditions that cold weather and extreme weather brings every year, that means we’ve got to utilize every tool that we can to protect the health and well-being of our residents,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

Evanston/Skokie District 65 had to cancel classes all week due to staffing shortages, but the problem isn’t limited to the district. Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents President Mark Klaisner says there’s an educator shortage statewide.

Illinois has intentionally reduced its prison population, and made changes to sentencing laws to reduce offenders’ time behind bars. Now some victims’ family members are calling for the state to reverse directions when it comes to those who murder children.