Jerry Nowicki
Jerry Nowicki is bureau chief of Capitol News Illinois and has been with the organization since its inception in 2019.
Before joining CNI, Nowicki spent two years on Illinois Senate staff as a legislative aide to state Sen. Steve Landek. Prior to that, he was editor of the LeRoy Farmer City Press, which won the 2015 David B. Kramer Memorial Trophy for Illinois’ best small weekly newspaper.
He said Capitol News Illinois offers a new view of Statehouse happenings in partnership with local newspapers.
“Capitol News Illinois provides an exhilarating opportunity to reconnect local newspapers with Statehouse coverage,” Nowicki said. “We know there are many outstanding reporters doing great work at the Capitol, but we also understand that a greater variety of voices is better for our democracy and for our industry. Our team could not be more excited to offer another unique, civic-minded and nonpartisan voice to the Capitol press corps.”
Complementing his Statehouse and reporting experience, Nowicki has lived in a variety of Illinois communities. He grew up in Evergreen Park, a southwest suburb of Chicago, and has lived for a time in each of New Lenox, Bloomington, Champaign and LeRoy. He currently resides in Springfield.
“We have a dynamic reporting team with varying points of view and life experiences,” Nowicki said. “I think my Statehouse and small-town weekly experience meshes well with the talented reporters that make up our team.”
He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Illinois State University and obtained his master’s degree in communication from Purdue University in May 2019.
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Lawmakers on Thursday passed a long-awaited amendment to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform’s provisions that will eliminate cash bail when the calendar hits 2023.
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Two days before lawmakers were scheduled to adjourn for the year, one of the lead negotiators of the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform filed a long-awaited amendment detailing several changes to the landmark cash bail overhaul.
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Lawmakers on Tuesday announced a bipartisan plan to use state revenues to pay down the remaining $1.4 billion in debt taken on by the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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While results are not official until certified by the Illinois State Board of Elections on Dec. 5, the Associated Press called the race for Gov. JB Pritzker instantly upon closure of the polls at 7 p.m.
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Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, cash bail will be abolished in Illinois. The measure that will eliminate it has been on the books since early 2021, giving the justice system two years to plan for the major overhaul of the state’s pretrial detention system.
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Beginning Friday and lasting through Aug. 14, the state will reduce its sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 1.25 percent for certain clothing items costing less than $125 and school supplies.
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Race pits conservative challenger against Pritzker’s progressive record
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The six Republican candidates for Illinois governor faced off Tuesday night in Chicago, albeit on two separate debate stages, hours after a shooting at a Texas elementary school that dominated a large portion of the debates.
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A new report from the state’s auditor general found more fault with the Illinois Department of Public Health in its response to a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at a state-run veterans home than was found by a previous watchdog report that investigated the matter.
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Illinois lawmakers worked until the early hours of Saturday to pass a $46.5 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as a $1.8 billion package of mostly-temporary tax cuts that Democrats said are intended to soften the impact of inflation on working families.