Politics and Government

Expressing concern that the Illinois State Board of Education might have overstepped its bounds by threatening to withhold funding from school districts that do not enforce its mask mandate, a legislative panel on Tuesday urged the agency to put its policies into formal rules.

A new report from the Chicago Civic Federation shows most county circuit court clerks in Illinois will lose about 11% of their general fund fee revenue when cash bail is eliminated in 2023. Bond payments can go to a variety of things, including court-ordered fees, fines, restitution, and bond processing fees. It's that last category that helps fund circuit clerk operations.

The Illinois Senate put the final legislative stamp on an energy regulation overhaul bill Monday, sending it to Gov. JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it.

Reverend Tony Pierce helped steer new energy legislation in Illinois toward a focus on equity.

The City of Bloomington could restore its moratorium on utility shutoffs, but only for a few weeks. The city council on Monday will consider a request to stop utility shutoffs through the end of September.

The Illinois House approved an energy regulation and decarbonization bill Thursday, a major step forward for a wide-ranging omnibus bill that had eluded lawmakers throughout the legislative session and the governor’s three years in office.

The Normal Public Library has opened an exhibit that includes an oral history from McLean County residents recounting their 9/11 stories 20 years after the attacks.

Some people have moved beyond the anguish of 9/11. For others, the pain is raw and new two decades later. For many 9/11 is history that has shaped the nation. Others believe it continues to echo in our national image and policies.

Two decades after the 9/11 attacks, the nation has not yet deeply reconsidered the national security response to the tragedy and whether the rights of citizens have eroded, according to the ACLU of Illinois.

One year after the head of Illinois’ largest public employee pension fund resigned due to what the fund has only described at “performance issues,” a recently published report by the state’s chief ethics officer reveals the circumstances behind the departures of two more former high-ranking officials at the pension fund in 2020.