In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton hosted a panel in Springfield at which he pledged to expand the state’s behavioral health services.
Stories by Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
Pritzker Pledges to Expand Access to Mental Health Care in Illinois
May 18, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
Illinois Supreme Court Considers Expectation of Privacy in Hospitals After Murder Evidence Gathered From Clothes
Police burden of proof in concealed carry violations also on the table
May 15, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
While Cortez Turner was in a hospital room being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg in 2016, police took his clothes. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether that action violated Turner’s expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment.
As Medicaid Redeterminations Restart, About 73% of Illinois Recipients Remain Enrolled
May 14, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted changes to Medicaid requiring states to keep patients continuously enrolled through the public health crisis, even if they might have become ineligible due to changes in their income or family circumstances. That continuous enrollment program expired in March 2023.
Illinois Officials Seek Greater Oversight of Prescription Drug ‘Middlemen’ That Some Say Drive Up Prices
May 8, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
Pharmacy benefit managers have received growing scrutiny on both a state and national level for the effect many claim they have on driving up drug prices. Local pharmacy owners testified at recent committee hearings that they are being squeezed through the price of acquiring drugs wholesale and dispensing them.
Illinois to Create Advisory Council for Affordable Sickle Cell Treatment
Mar 20, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
About 5,000 Illinoisans live with sickle cell disease, a gene defect most common in Black people that causes red blood cells to be misshapen and die off early, resulting in chronic fatigue and pain.
His Conviction Was Overturned After 35 Years Wrongfully Served. State Law Caps His Compensation at 14 Years
Mar 2, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
A new bill in the General Assembly would seek to remove the roughly $200,000 cap on payments to exonerees that maxes out at the 14-year mark, replacing it with a payout of $50,000 per year, capped at just over $2 million.
New Birth Center to Open on South Side as Pritzker Touts Proposed Maternal Health Spending
Feb 26, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
The nonprofit Chicago South Side Birth Center will mark the city’s second active midwife-led birth center, but the first for the South Side. Advocates say the Black-led center offers safe birthing alternatives in a medically underserved area of the city.
Chicago Nonprofit to Receive $15M in Federal Funding to Help Launch Regional Water Sustainability Industry
Jan 30, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
The U.S. National Science Foundation awarded the grant to Current Innovation NFP, a nonprofit “innovation hub” whose mission is to “solve pressing water challenges caused by climate change and pollution.”
Illinois Partners with Google to Launch New Portal for Children’s Mental Health Resources
Jan 29, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
The Illinois Department of Human Services is partnering with Google to launch a new centralized portal for children’s mental health care, state officials announced Monday.
Illinois Supreme Court to Determine If Cannabis Odor is Cause for Vehicle Search
Case tests language of 2020 legalization law
Jan 10, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
The court heard two consolidated cases of individuals who were in vehicles that were searched after an officer used the smell of cannabis as probable cause. Lawyers argued the smell of cannabis alone should not be probable cause to search a vehicle given that the substance is no longer illegal in Illinois.
Amid Record Overdoses and Drug Counselor Shortage, Illinois Workforce Expansion Program Aims to Fill Gap
Jan 6, 2024 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
Amid five straight years of record overdose deaths in Illinois, a new state program aims to alleviate a shortage of professionals who work to prevent substance use disorders.
Illinois Supreme Court Rules Chicago Not Liable for Street Pothole Not ‘Intended’ for Cyclists
Dec 20, 2023 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
The case pertained to a section of the Tort Immunity Act, which states local public entities have a duty to maintain property in a safe condition for “people whom the entity intended and permitted to use the property.”
Illinois Health Plan Declares Racism a Public Health Crisis
Dec 8, 2023 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
A new state health report pinpoints racism as a public health crisis while also noting Illinois needs to improve in the areas of maternal and infant health, mental health and substance use disorders.
Candidate Filing Begins Monday, Signaling Official Start of 2024 Election Cycle
Nov 24, 2023 | Dilpreet Raju — Capitol News Illinois
Monday morning marks the official beginning of the 2024 election cycle in Illinois, opening up the week-long period when candidates for local, state, congressional and judicial races are required to turn in the signatures they’ve spent the last two months collecting to get on the ballot.