“This case aptly illustrates the impossibility of the (school) District fulfilling its educational mission while simultaneously accommodating the concerns of every parent,” Judge Lindsay Jenkins wrote. In this case, the judge said, that conflict diminishes the father’s otherwise-fundamental right to parent his child, because the mother’s wishes align with the school district’s policy goal of “maintaining a non-discriminatory environment for students and protecting students’ privacy, mental well-being and physical safety” – and especially if that student identifies as transgender.

The case will likely turn on questions about whether each of the four defendants knowingly joined the alleged conspiracy, whether they acted with a corrupt intent tied to Madigan’s official actions or duties, and whether they did so in connection to legislation.

It reads, in part, “Brandon Johnson today decided to use his first interaction with the Legislature to launch one of the most partisan speeches we have heard in a long time on the House floor. It is hard to build a bridge with someone who comes to Springfield looking to pick a fight.”

The Illinois Freedom Caucus, consisting of downstate Republicans, criticized Johnson’s speech. “What we wanted to hear today was real ideas and real solutions – not more virtue signaling,” the group said in a news release. “Instead of solutions, all we heard today was one woke cliché after another. There is no vision for building a better business climate in Chicago.”

According to the Illinois Municipal League, as of 2011, 10% of total income tax collections were dedicated to municipalities and counties. The percentage share of state income tax revenue to local governments was then reduced to 6%. “We need these funds to cover rising costs, including mounting public safety pensions, unfunded mandates, infrastructure, stormwater and community improvement are extremely limited,” Cary Mayor Mark Kownick said.

Total sales reached nearly $135 million in March, with $101 million coming from Illinoisans and nearly $34 million from out-of-state residents.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal bureaucracy with a vast jurisdiction, is testing a novel approach to crime and punishment. In a lawsuit against Townstone Financial, a small Chicago-area nonbank mortgage firm, the CFPB is signaling that it may attempt to punish anyone who complains about neighborhood crime.

The news that Democrats picked Chicago as their 2024 Democratic National Convention host site has only bolstered Pritzker’s position just months into his second term. “It shows he has clout, to use a Chicago term,” said Dick Simpson, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago. “It offers him a chance to become one of the early contenders for the 2028 presidential election.”

During the pandemic, the state awarded a new set of programs 21st Century grants and allowed organizations to keep unspent money, not realizing this would result in insufficient funding to continue funding longtime recipients. ISBE estimates this could result in a shortfall of up to $15 million.

In the first six months that the 988 mental health crisis hotline has been operating, Illinois has fielded 66,553 calls, 8,712 texts and 14,574 chats.

There were 154 robberies in 2021 – up from 36 in 2018. Durbin also wants to know why a rapid alert system to notify carriers if a crime was committed near their routes was discontinued in 2021.

State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, previously suggested splitting the state into two parts, separating the Chicago area from the rest of the state. “They trample on our rights and force their insane ideology on the rest of the state and act as though we should be grateful just because there are a lot of people in Chicago paying taxes,” he said. “Mankind has survived thousands and thousands of years before the state of Illinois ever started collecting tax revenue from anyone. Not one human being has ever survived without agriculture. Rural residents need woke Chicago politicians like a fish needs

Gov. J.B. Pritzker promoted Illinois’ fiscal progress and ratings upswing in a direct pitch to investors as the state tees up its first general obligation bonds to carry single-A-level ratings since 2016.

Developer Dirk McCormick retained his seat on the Riverton school board by picking up a vote from a provisional ballot, breaking an election-day deadlock with another candidate, political newcomer David A. Leach. And in Loami, Steven Lambert has claimed a one-vote win over longtime village president Al Mann, 84-83.

Illinois has the fifth-highest rate of car thefts in the country, according to a new report. There were nearly 39,000 cars stolen in Illinois last year; That’s nine out of every 1,000 cars.