Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: School association doesn’t expect ISBE to enforce mask mandate ‘at this point’
An association representing large school districts across Illinois expects the issue of mask mandates to eventually dissipate, despite the attorney general appealing to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, a circuit court judge ruled Pritzker’s mask and exclusion policies for students and vaccine or testing mandates on staff null and void. Thursday, an appeals court dismissed the governor’s appeal. The attorney general is appealing to the Illinois Supreme Court, saying the governor’s mandates are still in effect.
News-Gazette: Editorial | Pension buyouts have their place, but it's a small place
Elected officials in Illinois have hit upon a number of ideas on how to address the state’s serious public-pension financial problems.
One they’re currently pursuing appears counterintuitive — borrowing money to save money
Chicago Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide school masking rule undone by courts. Here’s what happened.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker fully embraced his role in guiding the state through the coronavirus pandemic when he launched his reelection campaign in July, just a month after he had lifted nearly all restrictions as the vaccination effort gained steam and the state had fully reopened.
Within weeks, though, he rolled out another mask mandate for schools as the state lost ground to the delta variant. Now, two adverse court opinions have stymied Pritzker’s efforts to continue masking requirements at schools and renewed questions over the governor’s legal authority amid pandemic weariness and parent rebellion that has droned on for months.
The Center Square: Lawmakers question Pritzker's staff about the 'grown-up table'
Some of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s staff met with the Illinois House Appropriations Committee to discuss the governor’s recently proposed budget, and who will be part of negotiations.
The governor’s proposed budget was released earlier this month and includes $45.4 billion of state spending with the prospect of $1 billion in temporary tax relief.