Peter Hancock
Peter Hancock joined the Capitol News Illinois team as a reporter in January 2019.
Before that, Hancock covered Kansas state government for much of the past two decades. For the previous 4 years, Hancock had been the statehouse reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World. He provided year-round daily coverage of the Kansas Statehouse, state government, appellate courts, elections and Kansas’ congressional delegation. He previously worked for 8 years as a statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, and with the Kansas Health Policy Authority and the Kansas Education Policy Report.
“As a longtime veteran of statehouse reporting in Kansas, I know how challenging it is for individual newspapers to make that kind of commitment,” Hancock said. “Capitol News Illinois offers a unique opportunity for newspapers throughout the state to pool their resources and enable a small team of reporters to deliver critical news and information about state government to communities throughout the state.
“ I covered state politics and government in Kansas for the better part of the past 20 years, working in both print and broadcast journalism. I graduated from the University of Kansas with bachelor’s degrees in political science and secondary education. Although I was born and raised in the Kansas City area, I have deep family roots in central and southern Illinois, and so coming to Springfield is a bit like coming back home.”
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Lawmakers passed one of the narrowest packages in recent memory, due mainly to the Trump administration’s vows to make sweeping cuts in federal funding for the program while state lawmakers faced their own set of budget constraints. -
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is asking state lawmakers for a $15 million increase in his General Revenue Fund budget for the upcoming year, saying his office needs a more “stable” system of funding as it takes on greater responsibilities, including the growing volume of litigation against the Trump administration. -
More than 175 years after their reservation in Illinois was illegally sold at auction, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is now in line to get their land back. -
Gov. JB Pritzker plans to offer a proposal in his budget address Wednesday that would allow some community colleges to offer four-year baccalaureate degrees. -
Illinois lawmakers voiced a wide range of reactions Wednesday following former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s conviction on multiple federal corruption charges. -
Organizations that provide tutoring, recreation and other after-school programs are calling on Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education to release $50 million that was included in this year’s budget to fund those programs. -
The Illinois State Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve a budget request for the upcoming fiscal year of nearly $11.4 billion, a 4.6% increase over this year’s budget, despite projections that the state will face a substantial revenue shortfall next year. -
Public schools in Illinois have enjoyed several consecutive years of substantial increases in state funding, thanks largely to steady growth in state revenues and a new funding formula that lawmakers approved in 2018. -
Illinois’ presidential electors will meet at the Statehouse on Tuesday to cast their votes for president and vice president of the United States. -
