Illinois General Assembly
State Government: Elected Officials | State Legislative Bodies
Recent News About Illinois General Assembly
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Pritzker asks IL Supreme Court to restore his power to force school students to mask, test, be excluded, over COVID
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says only the Illinois Supreme Court can "halt mischief," as school districts statewide ditch forced masking, testing and student exclusion policies that a Springfield judge says were illegal -
Illinois teachers unions fight to keep kids masked
A Sangamon County judge temporarily ended Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandate, and Pritzker’s appeal of that ruling lost. Yet the fight showed Illinois teachers unions want kids masked statewide on Pritzker’s say-so alone. -
Attorney for judges in subcircuit suit: ‘Naked political interference by legislature’
Edwardsville attorney James Craney has entered his appearance on behalf of Madison County Circuit Judges Sholar and Threlkeld in a lawsuit pitting the voters of Madison County against various state bodies. -
IL Supreme Court may be next stop for Pritzker's continued fight to reimpose school mask rules, other COVID mandates
Gov. JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul each promised to ask the Illinois Supreme Court to undo lower court rulings declaring Pritzker's COVID school rules to be non-existent, null, void -
'No actual controversy': Pritzker appeal of COVID school mandates TRO dismissed
Appellate justices declined to step in, saying a decision by a committee of state lawmakers to not allow Gov. JB Pritzker to renew his school mask mandate and other COVID-related school rules means the state, at this time, has no rules to enforce, and the Springfield judge has no rules to restrain -
Attorneys: Appeals court still must rule on Springfield judge's ruling, despite JCAR rejection of Pritzker's COVID school rules
Tuesday, a committee of Illinois lawmakers refused to allow Gov. JB Pritzker to renew his "emergency" COVID school rules. But a key legal question concerning the limits of Pritzker's powers should be addressed by a state appeals court, said attorneys for Pritzker and those for students and parents -
CTU-backed Amendment 1 would give teachers unions power over Illinois parents
Chicago Teachers Union takes credit for spreading the “new gospel” of union strike power across the nation. If the CTU-backed Amendment 1 passes in November, it will lock the union’s militant tactics into the state constitution, to the detriment of children and parents statewide. -
DeVore: Pritzker engaged in 'mental gymnastics' to justify appeal of Grischow TRO vs guv's school COVID orders
Attorney Tom DeVore urged a Springfield appeals court to reject Pritzker's attempt to block enforcement of a restraining order issued by a Springfield judge against his school COVID orders, noting 6 other judges already sided with Judge Grischow's reasoning -
House bill would lower property taxes by trimming Illinois government waste
Illinois leads the nation in local government bloat, with over 6,000 taxing bodies. The Citizen’s Empowerment Act, sponsored by Illinois House Rep. Jonathan Carroll, would make it easier for Illinois taxpayers to dissolve unnecessary layers of government. -
Welch and Harmon seek to intervene in Madison County’s subcircuit challenge; Aided by top Dem Party attorney
SPRINGFIELD – Michael Kasper of Chicago, who rescued three St. Clair County judges from likely denial of retention in 2016, represents legislators defending a law that tilted the scales of justice in Madison County toward Democrats. -
Haine on subcircuit law ruling: 'Undeterred in our fight against unconstitutional law'
The Fourth District Appellate Court today reversed a temporary restraining order which suspended the application of the new subcircuit law in Madison County. -
Springfield judge slaps hold on IL statewide school mask mandate; Pritzker's powers not 'endless,' judge says
The judge issued a temporary restraining order on Pritzker's authority to force school districts to require students to wear masks and to exclude children suspected of being exposed to COVID from school without due process -
Elik, Meier respond to Pritzker's budget address
Local state representatives called Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget plan during the State of the State address on Wednesday nothing but a “mirage” of “smoke and mirrors” to draw attention away from Illinois’ fiscal crisis during an election year. -
IL Supreme Court: Workers comp law doesn't stop big money class actions vs employers over worker fingerprint scans
The high court said workers' claims under the Illinois biometrics privacy law aren't actual workplace injuries, and employers should look elsewhere for relief from the massive potential liability under the biometrics law -
Madison County election and mapping officials point to major boundary flaws in judicial subcircuit law
SPRINGFIELD – Legislators who divided Madison County into three judicial subcircuits haven’t provided geographic data necessary for preparing ballots, according to the master of the county’s maps. -
Lake County citizen McConchie seeks to intervene in Madison County's challenge to judicial redistricting
SPRINGFIELD – Lake County citizen Dan McConchie aims to challenge division of his county into judicial subcircuits as a partner with Madison County at Sangamon County circuit court. -
Haine claims Supreme Court ignoring judge's TRO against Madison County subcircuit law
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is ignoring an order of Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadigan to reinstate countywide judicial elections in Madison County, according to state’s attorney Tom Haine. -
Pritzker vetoes COVID-19 sick leave for school workers, says only vaccinated deserve it
Gov. J.B Pritzker vetoed a bill guaranteeing sick leave for school and college employees related to COVID-19. He said he would rather sign a bill reserving compensation for employees fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. -
Meier files legislation to bring more transparency to controversial bills moving in the legislature
State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) has filed legislation to bring more transparency to the legislative process to fix what is known in Springfield as the "shell game." -
Here's hoping the good guys win judicial gerrymandering lawsuit
Kudos to State's Attorney Tom Haine and his assistant attorneys John Hanson and Emily Johnson for drafting a well-plead constitutional challenge to the grossly offensive judicial gerrymandering law rammed through the state legislature earlier this month.