Quentin Fulks was deputy campaign manager for Pritzker’s 2018 run, and in 2020 headed up the “Vote Yes for Fairness” ballot initiative committee that tried to pass a graduated income tax in Illinois. U.S. Sen. TammyDuckworth is vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, and part of a chorus of Midwesterners touting the “Blue Wall” of the Midwest, primarily Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as being key to Biden’s success.

A unanimous vote approved a bill covering Chicago first responders severely sickened by COVID in the days before vaccines were available. Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s brother, Chicago Police Detective Joaquin Mendoza, was permanently disabled by COVID, having lost his kidneys and had five strokes, the CPD disability board’s doctor found.

The letter from the caucus reads, in part, “The emergency declaration in Illinois is no longer in effect. Even hospitals and clinics have removed masking requirements. There simply is no need for such a policy to exist in 2023. Requiring drivers to wear a mask during a driving test is excessive at best and dangerous at worst. Few if any drivers will be wearing masks when they are behind the wheel of a car.”

According to a survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, 30% of teacher positions went unfilled or went to a less-than-qualified hire. The Illinois Educator Shortage Survey revealed the shortages due to multiple factors, including unrealistic expectations on educators and schools; unsafe work environments; years of deprofessionalizing the field through inadequate pay; and unstable retirement benefits.

But if the bill is passed, schools won’t be required to change the way they teach about substance abuse; The Illinois State Board of Education will provide more materials so schools have the option to change the way they teach the subject. The proposal was sparked by the death of an 18-year-old, Louie Miceli, 10 years ago.

As part of their work Thursday, jurors sought clarity from the judge on a couple of issues, including requesting hard copies of several transcripts. In a separate note, jurors also asked how much former McPier boss Juan Ochoa was paid for his role on the ComEd board. During the trial, Ochoa testified it was about $80,000.

Ted Dabrowski, president of the nonprofit Wirepoints, said people are moving away from Blue states like Illinois to Red states. “Those states that are pro-growth, low taxes, friendly to business, they are growing like crazy, and those states that are more oppressive on taxes and policy, people are leaving those states,” said Dabrowski. “The average income of the people moving to Illinois make $44,000 less than the people who are leaving Illinois, so we’re losing wealthier people and the ones that come in are not as wealthy. That is a big problem too because it is a destruction of our

The Family Bereavement Act offers parents and other family members up to 10 days of unpaid leave. Under state Sen. Karina Villa’s measure, the leave would be extended to 12 weeks of unpaid if that person works for a company with more than 250 full-time employees and six weeks for those with fewer than 250 full-time employees.

Illinois homeowners in the state’s top 11 most populous counties have lost almost $400 million in tax foreclosures between 2014 and 2021, according to research by the Pacific Legal Foundation. On average, these former homeowners lost 84% of their equity. Among those counties studied across the country, Illinois suffered the highest number of homes taken under this scheme and, combined, lost the most equity in their homes.

“The definition of ‘balanced’ will be the question,” said House Republican Leader Tony McCombie. “The speaker says it will be balanced. But does balanced mean we will borrow funds from other agencies and other funds? Yes. Does it mean that we will move funds from one fund to another? Yes. I don’t hope for that, but it’s been that way ever since I’ve been there.”

A bill moving through the statehouse would require school administrators to inform parents or guardians within 24 hours of reported bullying. The Illinois State Board of Education could also be tasked with creating a model bullying policy template for schools.

The online portal offers the potential for a new level of collaboration between political operators and certain media outlets — one in which candidates can easily seek to customize news stories without the public’s knowledge. The Illinois-centric outlets form just one part of a broader network of sites, estimated to number more than 1,200 nationally, that the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University has connected to Brian Timpone.

Tara Ingham, executive director of the Midwest Food Bank (MFB), which distributes food to dozens of area food pantries, said that in 2022, demand for food from MFB’s partner agencies increased 25%. This year, that number has jumped to 30%.

“Despite the many fine colleges here, nearly half of our high school seniors who go to four-year colleges choose to attend colleges out of state. That puts Illinois below only New Jersey in terms of losing more college students than it brings in…Cost is critical. It was the No. 1 issue for survey respondents in choosing a college.”

“We are not OK – for only 11% of Black children [in Illinois] to be proficient in reading is not OK,” Tinaya York, the founder of the group Literacy for Life, reading coach and a former Chicago teacher and principal, told a meeting of Illinois literacy advocates. “I can walk into any classroom full of Black children and hear the same struggles with reading I heard 20 years