Claim OwnershipIllinois in Focus
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The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of Illinois from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/illinois-in-focus/support
290 Episodes
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Illinois taxpayers will be paying significantly more so state employees can have "Cadillac" health insurance coverage.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability met Tuesday in Springfield to review the fiscal year 2025 state employees’ group insurance program. According to the 2025 budget plan, the State Employee Group Health and Life Insurance program is proposed to receive more than $6.9 billion, a 21% overall increase from last year, when the program received $5.7 billion.
The state's taxpayers and workers share in the cost of the program.
Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_17c2197c-f69a-11ee-8063-234d44daa3dd.html
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As Illinois public health officials handle the ongoing outbreak of measles originating in a Chicago shelter for noncitizens, the state’s public health director said Thursday that two cases of tuberculosis also have been identified at a migrant shelter. Last month, the first cases of measles were discovered at a migrant shelter in Chicago. Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra reported to legislators in Springfield Thursday.
Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_ba23dd58-f2a9-11ee-8c1f-130add289b2b.html
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A shakeup at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has Republicans calling for reforms. Illinois Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said the resignation of two people from the PRB Monday, member LeAnn Miller and Chair Donald Shelton, following a recent parolee allegedly murdering a child and stabbing their mother is “another example of [Gov. J.B. Pritzker] failing to oversee an agency under his control.” State Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, said the PRB shouldn’t be under Pritzker’s control.
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(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to continue with his agenda despite an apparent defeat of his Bring Chicago Home referendum this week. The measure, which would have increased the city’s real estate transfer tax on properties over $1 million and, according to Johnson, use the funds to pay for homelessness programs, now appears to be rejected by voters. Fifty-four percent of voters said “no” to 46% “yes” with 98% of precincts reporting. “All the votes have not been counted so it has not been declared just yet,” Johnson said. “Look, there are 68,000 people unhoused, that’s the focus.”
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Illinois business owners are bracing for a potential tax hit from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The governor’s proposed budget extends the cap on business net operating losses, but increases the cap to $500,000. His office estimates the “revenue adjustment” will raise $526 million, the bulk of the nearly $900 million of tax increases in his $52.7 billion spending proposal.
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The Chicago Teachers Union is preparing for collective bargaining talks with the city, and the union's president suggested the new terms would cost taxpayers $50 billion. “We are asking you to give us an opportunity to tell our story. It will cost $50 billion, and three cent,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said Tuesday at the City Club of Chicago this week, setting the stage for upcoming negotiations with the city. "And so what? That's audacity." Some media outlets reported that Gates was "joking" when citing the $50 billion figure.
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A Cook County judge decided former President Donald Trump’s name should be removed from the Illinois primary ballot, but put a hold on the order expecting an appeal. Trump’s campaign said it will “quickly appeal.” In a 38-page ruling, the circuit court judge said the Illinois State Board of Elections’ unanimous decision to keep Trump on the ballot is overturned. A group of objectors challenged Trump’s access to the March 19 Illinois primary ballot alleging the former Republican president instigated an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and is ineligible to be elected president. Last month, the state elections board denied their objection. The group appealed to the state circuit court in Cook County.
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With a projected deficit of close to $900 million, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker presented his sixth State of the State and budget address Wednesday. The plan includes $52.7 billion in spending, roughly a 2% increase over the current fiscal year budget. What is sure to be a talking point in the coming months, the budget includes an additional $182 million for the care of migrants on top of what has already been spent.
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A new Tax Foundation study finds Illinois with the second highest corporate tax rate in the country. Some say that signals more struggles ahead for the Land of Lincoln. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation ranked states by their corporate income tax rates as of Jan. 1, 2024. Six states, Texas, Nevada, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota and Ohio, do not levy a corporate income tax. Of the 44 that do, Illinois’ 9.5% rate put the state at No. 2, up from No. 3 in last year’s report. The top spot in 2024 goes to Minnesota at 9.8%. The state with the lowest rate outside of the states that do not have such taxes is North Carolina at 2.5%.
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Battle lines are being drawn at the Illinois statehouse over whether to get rid of a lower minimum wage for tipped workers statewide. While some are advocating for tipped workers to get the minimum wage with tips on top, a legislator who also owns restaurants says such a move would be devastating to the economy. Advocates from the group One Fair Wage organized a rally outside of the Illinois statehouse Tuesday as legislators were returning.
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Former President Donald Trump has scored a victory in his battle to be included on the primary ballot in Illinois. The Illinois State Board of Elections voted 8-0 Tuesday to reject a challenge to Trump’s candidacy. Several Illinois voters contend that Trump encouraged the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol during protests of the 2020 election results and the 14th Amendment would apply to him. “He took a leading role in organizing, facilitating, supporting, directing and protecting a conservative armed and violent invasion, seizure and disruption of the United States Congress on January 6,” said attorney Matthew Piers, who represented the challengers.
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With limited Illinois tax dollars, state officials are laying out their priorities amid ongoing budget pressures such as the hundreds of millions of dollars for migrant care. Promoting the taxpayer-funded $250 million Smart Start early childhood education initiative, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state will have to balance such future spending with other pressures. “And, if we don’t have enough resources for everything that everybody wants, what can we look to do in the future or what should we stop doing in order to make sure that we’re balancing expenditures with revenues,” Pritzker said at an event in Rochester Thursday.
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The migrant crisis in Illinois is prompting some policymakers around the state to take action. Tens of thousands of migrants have been transported to the state from the southern U.S. border. The city of Chicago reports about 33,000 asylum seekers have arrived since August 2022. The state of Illinois has provided $640 million to address the migrant influx. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city is facing a projected $538 million budget deficit for 2024, a financial burden his administration blamed in part on the growing cost of caring for migrants.
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As communities across the state continue to evaluate how to deal with the prospect of buses dropped off migrants from the southern border, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritkzer says the state is limited in what it can do. A patchwork of ordinances across the state either regulate buses and hotel stays to deter migrant arrivals, or declare non-sanctuary status. In McClean County, Emergency Management Agency Director Cathy Beck asked local officials for rural places to put shelters if needed. Reached for comment Wednesday, Beck said they have yet received any buses.
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A judge on Wednesday pushed back the start of the state's most high-profile public corruption case to October, citing a pending U.S. Supreme Court case focused on the federal bribery statute. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey set former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's racketeering case for Oct. 8, a six-month delay from the initial April start date. Madigan's defense team had asked for a stay in the case after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review Snyder v. United States, which focuses on an Indiana mayor convicted of accepting a bribe.
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With courts denying requests to delay the Jan. 1 deadline for Illinois gun owners to register now banned firearms with the state, lawsuits against the gun ban will continue in the new year. Last week, Southern District of Illinois federal Judge Stephen McGlynn denied a preliminary request for the Jan. 1 deadline to be delayed. Also last week, Attorney Thomas Maag filed for summary judgment against the law, alleging it violates citizens’ Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Months ago, Maag hinted at the looming challenge.
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A federal judge wants to see all parties in his courtroom when he considers a motion to stay proceedings in the state's most high-profile corruption case. U.S. District Court Judge John Robert Blakey issued an order Wednesday for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to appear in court along with co-defendant Michael McClain, a former state lawmaker and close confidante of Madigan. The judge will consider the defendant's joint motion to stay proceedings at a hearing at 2 p.m. on Jan. 3 in Courtroom 1203.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker has already signed a law to allow certain non-citizens to become police officers in Illinois. Now, the state's two U.S. senators want the same for the U.S. military. Many Republicans are opposed to the idea. House Bill 3751, allowing certain non-citizens with work permits or who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients to be police officers, passed the Illinois General Assembly with bipartisan support during the spring session. The measure had the backing of the Fraternal Order of Police.
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With the Jan. 1 deadline to register banned firearms approaching, Illinois has responded to a challenge of its gun and magazine ban in the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, a separate gun ban challenge at the nation’s high court has been forwarded to the full court’s conference next month. Illinois enacted a ban on more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines over certain capacities on Jan. 10. The law also requires those with grandfathered firearms now banned to register them with Illinois State Police by Jan. 1. Failure to comply could lead to felony charges. ISP's second notice emergency rules for the registry were filed this week to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
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The U.S. Supreme Court now has another challenge against Illinois’ gun ban on its docket. Illinois on Jan. 10 banned the possession and sale of more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines over certain capacities. A week later, lawsuits started to be filed challenging the constitutionality of the law. Cases are still pending in the district, appeals courts and now the U.S. Supreme Court. Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court docketed a case out of Naperville where plaintiffs challenged the city's and state’s gun and magazine ban. Plaintiffs are seeking an emergency appeal of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals three-judge panel ruling for the state.
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