While price gouging is unlawful in Illinois and more than 40 other states, there is no federal law specifically banning businesses from raising prices on essential goods to increase their profits during an emergency. In their letter to Congressional leaders, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the coalition argue that a national ban on price gouging would give the federal government the power to crack down on the practice when it cannot be stopped by a single state.

Barrington Township has placed a nonbinding referendum on the ballot that supporters consider a first step toward officials establishing a path to public pension reform in the state. The question asks, “Do you support constitutional pension reform to protect workers’ existing retirements and generate savings which could provide property tax relief or be reinvested in the community?”

Skeptical lawmakers have questioned the proposed 1,500-bed capacity of each new prison. Prison populations statewide have declined dramatically in recent years. Stateville has a listed operational capacity of just over 3,000 inmates and in June had a population of 568. Logan’s capacity is listed at about 1,400 and in June had just over 1,000.

“I think it’s time for a wake-up call in Springfield,” said Dave Stopher, a Troy resident, who’s been advocating for the idea on behalf of the local chapter of the Illinois Separation Referendum. “If Madison County passes this, I think Springfield will actually start to realize, ‘Hey, there’s something going on here.’”

“Campaign contributions don’t equal votes, but they often indicate voter enthusiasm and likeliness to vote.”

Jim Dey: “A handful of contests raise interesting questions about voter insight. In no particular order, they are proposed tax increases requiring voter approval, former Gov. Pat Quinn’s statewide property-tax advisory referendum and an ugly race in the 104th Illinois House District once represented by Danville Republican Mike Marron.”

There are an additional 2,993 students across all state universities this fall, which represents an overall enrollment increase of 1.6 percent and a total overall enrollment of 185,590 students – the highest overall enrollment in eight years.

Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette spoke recently about the impacts of the closure of the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center: “We have juveniles who are becoming emboldened, who are being arrested with firearms, who we have to turn around and release back to their guardians and go back home, and I think that sets a terrible precedent and a bad message for what we as citizens expect in our community.”