Tag: Illinois General Assembly
In Washington, D.C. … Activities in Washington over the past week bring to mind a quote from that great sage, Yogi Berra: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Once again, Congress found itself at a critical juncture to approve a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would allow the federal government to operate Saturday, Oct. 1, the...
In Springfield … Gov. Pat Quinn held a press conference Thursday, Sept. 8, to discuss his Fiscal Year 2012 budget management strategy. Quinn contends that the FY2012 budget approved by the General Assembly has a shortfall of approximately $313.5 million in operations and personnel across all state agencies, with the most severe deficiencies at the...
In Springfield … The latest rumors in Springfield surround Gov. Quinn signaling his intention to issue layoff notices to thousands of state employees and closing several state facilities, including a prison, juvenile detention center and homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. While no specifics are being released by the governor’s office at this...
In Springfield … Gov. Pat Quinn today signed Senate Bill 2185, known as the Illinois DREAM Act (now Public Act 97-0233). This act is intended to make college more affordable for undocumented immigrants. It allows anyone with a Social Security number to enroll in a state-administered college savings program. It also establishes an Illinois DREAM Fund Commission...
Mike Fortner, a professor in the NIU Department of Physics and a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, is the focus of a chicagonews cooperative piece on the lawsuit filed by Illinois GOP challenging the new legislative map. “It Can Take a Scientist to Help Understand Redistricting,” reported by Kristen McQueary, also appeared...
In Springfield … Illinois House and Senate Republicans filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday, July 20, seeking to invalidate the redistricting maps approved this Spring by the Illinois General Assembly on the grounds that the maps: Violate the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 because African-Americans and Latinos have not been provided a “fair...
In Springfield… Governor Pat Quinn, in the last hours of the state fiscal year, used his amendatory veto powers to cut $336 million from the FY 2012 appropriations sent to him by the General Assembly. The majority of the cuts ($276 million) will be to Medicaid, with $90 million cut from the school bus program...
In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly convened for one day Wednesday, June 22, to handle some matters left over from the spring session, most notably the passage of the FY2012 capital bill (SB 2414). The Senate amendment added in the last days of session was removed, and the bill was sent Thursday, June 23, to Gov. Quinn....
In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly comes back in session today. The purpose of this session is to deal with some outstanding issues, most importantly, the capital bill. The Senate had added an amendment that included more than $400 million in additional funding, including $17 million for the Monetary Assistance Program. The House had refused to...
The Senate and the House of Representatives have both taken a week of district time over the last several weeks, with both chambers scheduled back this week. The major issue facing Congress and the Obama administration is the need to increase the nation’s debt ceiling before the U.S. government begins to default on its borrowing,...
We closed the books on another semester two weeks ago, which in theory means that it was a time to catch our breath … but not so this year.
The General Assembly closed out its spring session Tuesday night by passing a budget for Fiscal Year 2012, but set aside issues related to pension reform and annuitant health insurance premium changes. Both of those items are expected to be the topic of continued discussion and debate over the summer and are scheduled to be...
