Chicago’s top doctor hinted the city could introduce a new proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirement for residents to visit bars, gyms, restaurants and other venues as have other major cities.
A WalletHub study found Illinois had more identity theft per person than anywhere else in the nation. It overall ranked as the 6th most vulnerable state to identity theft and fraud.
Illinois courts’ long history of being friendly to plaintiffs and personal injury attorneys showed up again in a reform group’s annual ranking. Cook County, St. Clair County and Madison County together moved up in the rankings of “judicial hellholes.”
Chicago’s mayor wanted police either vaccinated against COVID-19 or regularly tested, but the pushback from their union has received two recent legal advances.
Illinois is ending its debit card option and going to paper checks for unemployment benefits, unless recipients arrange for direct deposit. The state has yet to address a $5.8 billion deficit in the unemployment fund.
New COVID-19 cases have surged across Illinois, leading some state leaders to question why the only state east of the Mississippi with a universal mask mandate is seeing worse case rates than those without a mandate.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the congressional district map designed to boost Democrats in the U.S. House. With districts that snake and twist across the state, gerrymandering remains a hallmark of Illinois politics despite Pritzker’s pledge to veto such maps.
Illinois Tollway’s automatic toll payment machines cost as much as they collected in four years, but are now permanently idled. Most were incapable of making change, so overcharged drivers nearly $500,000.
The mayor of Illinois’ third-largest city, Naperville, said it is time for Illinois to drop its statewide indoor mask mandate. Illinois is the only state east of the Mississippi with an indoor mask mandate regardless of vaccination status.
Crestwood Mayor Louis Presta pleaded guilty to bribery, lying to federal authorities and tax charges as part of a pay-to-play red-light camera scheme. The cameras took $1 billion from Illinois drivers in a decade.
A former state lawmaker’s campaign committee was not aware it couldn’t spend $225,109 on personal vehicles, according to Illinois State Board of Elections members. That lawmaker now oversees public spending for the state.
Democracy depends on giving voters choices, but in Illinois nearly half the seats in the state legislature are filled without giving voters more than one name. A choice of one is no choice.
Every Illinoisan deserves a voice at the ballot box.
With additional protection in the Illinois Constitution, state employees and even public officials could be shielded from discipline and corruption reforms thwarted.