Stories by Peter Hancock — Capitol News Illinois

A legislative committee and the Illinois Department of Agriculture agreed recently to delay finalizing new regulations governing hemp production amid an outcry of protests from small, independent producers.

After another CPD officer “unreasonably and without a lawful purpose” struck a protester, the deputy chief “improperly grabbed the same protestor while they were on the ground and sprayed them directly in the face with Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray,” according to a report from the city’s watchdog.

The Justice Department believes President-elect Donald Trump can no longer be tried in accordance with longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will ask the Chicago City Council to restore 162 now-vacant positions to the Chicago Police Department charged with implementing the court order known as the consent decree. Johnson reversed course after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the team monitoring the city’s compliance with the consent decree warned the cuts would make it impossible for the city to comply with the requirements. 

For the son of a president-elect, Trump has already had an outsized impact on the next White House. He lobbied hard for the former president to choose his good friend, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, to be his running mate.

With a rapid assembly of his second administration — faster than his effort eight years ago — the former and incoming president has combined television personalities, former Democrats, a wrestling executive and traditional elected Republicans into a mix that makes clear his intentions to impose tariffs on imported goods and crack down on illegal immigration but leaves open a range of possibilities on other policy pursuits.

“Failure to thrive” was determined as the official cause of death for three piping plover chicks at Montrose Beach, likely due to a stretch of bad weather that kept the chicks from foraging for food.

That new plan, called Vision 2030, was announced Friday and is built around three main pillars: future-focused learning, shared accountability, and predictable funding.

Travel can be stressful in the best of times. Now add in the high-level anxiety that seems to be baked into every holiday season and it's clear that travelers could use some help calming frazzled nerves.

The study found Black women face more than double the rate of severe complications than White women. Additionally, living in high-poverty neighborhoods elevated maternal health risks across all racial groups.

Mayor Johnson says alderpeople should stop throwing tantrums and start negotiating the budget seriously. And disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis takes the stand in Michael Madigan’s historic corruption trial.

Following almost a year of legal battles and fierce public opposition, water utility Aqua Illinois is set to raise its rates in 2025. The privately owned water utility has not released an estimate of the exact impact the increase will have on customer bills in 14 northern Illinois counties.

People who use wheelchairs and guide dogs have watched drivers cancel rides, charge cleaning fees for guide dogs or outright refuse to take them where they need to go.

The show has been running at Briar Street Theatre in Lakeview since 1997.

That dictate from the president-elect’s announcement of Doug Burgum for Secretary of Interior sets the stage for a reignition of the court battles over public lands and waters that helped define Trump’s first term, with environmentalists worried about climate change already pledging their opposition.

A bombshell decision in the case of Jussie Smollett. What local organizations are doing to prepare for potential mass deportations. And renewed efforts to bring a new green space to Pilsen.

President-elect Donald Trump said he’ll carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history — and has even promised to use the military to help that effort.

The Chicago Department of Transportation is taking steps toward transforming an abandoned railway into what’s known as El Paseo Trail in Pilsen, reigniting a discussion about the fear of further displacement for the predominantly Mexican American neighborhood.

“It is time to treat people with developmental disabilities the same and have them be paid what they’re worth, which is what we pay everybody else,” state Sen. Cristina Castro told an Illinois Senate committee.

Seven years after the alleged assault, questions over what happened that night could jeopardize Hegseth’s nomination and seem likely to be central in his upcoming confirmation hearing.

Chicago notched 2.7 inches in the first snowfall of the season, according to the National Weather Service.

The longtime 25th Ward alderperson, who is testifying under a deferred prosecution agreement, marks the most substantial witness in the government's case against the former House Speaker. He is expected to testify for several days.

Business owners, industry members and economists alike warn that large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants, along with stricter border measures and the revoking of Biden-era protections, could have a seismic impact on the labor market and U.S. economy.

CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s second highest ranking leader, told reporters Thursday that the two sides remain “significantly” far apart at a time when CPS is facing a financial crisis.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of six organizations and six individuals against Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Department of Insurance Director Ann Gillespie and Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

The last pass of sweepers was originally scheduled for Nov. 22, but the season will now end on Nov. 29.