Stories by amanda vinicky

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

Illinois Law Targeting ‘Deceptive’ Anti-Abortion Ministries Officially Scrapped

Illinois’ new law banning “deceptive” practices by anti-abortion ministries, passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, is scrapped before ever materially taking effect.

(WTTW News)

US Supreme Court Refuses to Block New Illinois Law Banning Some High-Power Semiautomatic Weapons

The law prohibits the possession, manufacture or sale of semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. It takes effect Jan. 1.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (Capitol News Illinois file photo)

Sponsor of State Law Targeting Crisis Pregnancy Centers in ‘Shock and Dismay’ After AG Backs Off Legal Fight

The sponsor of a state law intended to stop “deceptive” practices by anti-abortion advocates and centers said she is in “shock and dismay” over a pending legal arrangement agreed to by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that will effectively nullify the law that he championed.

Work is underway at a base camp for migrants in Brighton Park on Dec. 1, 2023. (WTTW News)

Pritzker Pulls State Funding From Migrant Base Camp in Brighton Park, Citing Environmental Concerns

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday rejected using state funds to continue building a migrant base camp in Brighton Park, citing environmental concerns.

An Illinois State Police squad car is pictured in a file photo. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)

Illinois State Police Launch Online Form to Report Public Corruption

Credible cases will be pursued by the Illinois State Police Special Investigative Unit, a group of agents dedicated to investigating public corruption cases.

Work is underway at a base camp for migrants in Brighton Park on Nov. 28, 2023. (WTTW News)

State, Greater Chicago Food Depository to Spend Additional $4M on Meals for Migrants; City to Take Over Next Year

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration cites “procurement delays” by Chicago as the reason for the shortfall, and says that the city in January will assume the responsibility of making sure migrants are fed, according to a news release.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin from Illinois at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Nov. 28, 2023. (WTTW News)

Senate Judiciary Committee Weighs Whether Gun Violence is a Public Health Emergency

“In cities like Chicago dealing with the constant drumbeat of gun violence, it has turned these public health officials into battlefield experts,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said. “They’ve seen the aftermath of bullets tearing through bone like it’s tissue paper.”

Rush Hospital outreach street nurse Joshua Dueshop vaccinates a resident of the Martha Washington senior apartments in North Center. (Amanda Vinicky / WTTW News)

With Public Health Systems Largely Leaving COVID-19 Vaccines to Regular Medical Avenues, Officials Say Outreach Is Still Needed

While the public health emergency is officially over, COVID-19 is still making people sick, and health officials say they’ve entered a new front.

(WTTW News)

AAA Predicts Highest Traffic in Years in Illinois This Thanksgiving. See IDOT’s List of Construction Closures

Thanksgiving travelers should expect to gobble up traffic over the next few days, with AAA forecasting 2.46 million vehicles to hit the roads in Illinois — some 60,000 more drivers than last year.

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

Under New Illinois Law, Those Convicted of a Felony or Crimes Like Bribery and Perjury Barred From Holding Elected State Office

The new statute forbids officials convicted of “a felony, bribery, perjury or other infamous crime” from holding local or state level elected positions.

The derailed train. (Credit: Chicago Fire Department)

National Transportation Safety Board Launches Investigation Into CTA Yellow Line Crash

The NTSB will examine the condition of the track and the train, how people were protected inside the train, the operator’s training and work history, and the CTA’s safety culture, including how dispatch cleared the Yellow Line train.

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

Lawmakers Leave Springfield Without Finalizing Plan for Chicago’s Elected School Board

State lawmakers left the capitol on Thursday without finalizing a plan to put in motion the 2021 law that seeks to diminish mayoral control over Chicago Public Schools. Competing plans from the state Senate and House are cause of the delay.

Kids with signs encouraging lawmakers to extend the Invest in Kids Act. (WTTW News)

What to Know About Invest in Kids, the Controversial Tax Credit Scholarship Program Advocates Want to Extend Past This Year

Donors receive state income tax credits for their contributions to the Invest in Kids program, which helps some 9,600 students across Illinois attend private and trade schools. But barring last-minute legislative action, authorization for the program runs out at the end of 2023.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Chicago Would Move to Fully Elected School Board 2 Years Sooner Under New Proposal

The end to mayoral control of the Chicago Board of Education could come sooner than expected.

An illustration if the medication Beyfortus. (Credit: AstraZeneca)

Demand for Child RSV Vaccine Is Greatest in History, Health Officials Say. Many Pediatricians Can’t Meet It

Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said manufacturers, who are making the immunization for the first time, underestimated demand.

(WTTW News)

Gun Owners in Illinois Are Now Required to Register Assault Weapons. What Happens if They Don’t?

Since the Protect Illinois Communities Act became law in early 2023, the sale of numerous types of guns, cartridges and accessories has been illegal in Illinois. People who owned the covered guns prior to the law can keep them but are required to register them with the state.

A gun store display is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Illinois’ Assault Weapons Ban

Illinois’ nearly year-old ban on guns deemed assault weapons can stand, per a decision issued Friday by a federal appeals court. Still, other legal challenges could be ahead.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

State Lawmakers Release Latest Chicago Elected School Board Map

A year from now, Chicago voters will for the first time decide who will run the city’s schools. But first, Illinois legislators have a lot of decisions to make about how that process will work. Chief among their responsibilities is dividing Chicago into 20 districts.

(WTTW News)

Illinois House Approves Proposal Clearing the Path for Legislative Staff to Unionize But Future in Senate Is Unclear

A group of individuals working for the office of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has been exploring forming a union. Welch is now the sponsor of a bill creating the Legislative Employee Labor Relations Act.

State Sen. Robert Martwick speaks at a news conference Oct. 24, 2023. (WTTW News)

Lawmakers Push for Compensation for Chicago’s Elected School Board

State Sen. Robert Martwick, a Democrat who represents parts of the city’s Northwest Side, said if Chicago wants a diverse school board, it needs to remove barriers that would prevent some residents from running for board seats.

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

Illinois Lawmakers Return to Springfield for Veto Session. From Tax Breaks to Nuclear Power Plants, Here’s What’s on the Agenda

Members of the Illinois legislature will reunite on Tuesday to take care of any unfinished business before the year’s end, including deciding the ultimate fate of measures rejected in whole or in part by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

(agilemktg1 / Flickr)

As Costs Jump, Cutoff Date Set for Enrollment in Illinois Health Care Program for Immigrants

The Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) announced the cutoff date on Thursday, making good on a spring promise to limit membership in order to keep costs in check. Activists who want the program expanded rather than curtailed said that the move was expected but nonetheless disappointing.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pictured in a July 2023 file photo. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Launches National Campaign Aimed at ‘Safeguarding Reproductive Rights’ In Other States

A spokeswoman for Think Big said Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, is the sole funder of Think Big America. She did not share how much Pritzker has spent on the effort, but that the figure will be “consistent with his giving throughout his entire life.”

(WTTW News)

Illinois State Legislators Push Measure Requiring Guns to be Temporarily Taken Under Certain Orders of Protection

The previously stalled measure that she said will help to protect future victims by requiring police to temporarily take guns from firearm owners under certain orders of protection.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to the Jewish United Fund’s Israel solidarity gathering on Oct. 10, 2023, in Glencoe. (Credit: Governor’s Office)

Pritzker Says Illinois ‘Unequivocally’ Stands With Israel Amid Hamas Attacks

Israel declared war after a surprise attack Saturday by Hamas, an Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Authorities report hundreds of deaths.

(WTTW News)

Local Legislators Spent Years Trying to Pass Gun Laws. After Highland Park’s Deadly Parade Shooting, Illinois Took Action

It seemingly took a hometown tragedy to make it happen, but in January the statewide assault weapons ban Illinois legislators who represent Highland Park spent almost a decade fighting for became law – one of several measures Illinois legislators took in direct connection to the shooting.