District News

House bill would give kids more religious freedom in schools

Original article written by Matt Roy for WICS & WRSP on Wednesday, April 14th. A link to the original article may be found HERE . There is also a brief  video segment from Fox News embedded in the original article. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — An education bill was unanimously passed by the Illinois House of Representatives Wednesday…

Citizens Empowerment Act Could Mean Relief for Illinois Property Taxpayers

Original article written by Justin Carlson for the Illinois Policy Institute  on March 22nd, 2021. A link to the original article may be found HERE. House Bill 433 would make it easier for Illinois taxpayers to dissolve unnecessary units of government in the state with the nation’s highest number of government units. Illinois is home…

Illinois, More States Weigh Elijah’s Law for Food Allergy Kids in Preschools

Story originally written by Jen Jobrack for AllergicLiving.com on March 17th, 2021. Link to the original article may be found HERE Protecting the lives of very young children with food allergies, “Elijah’s Law” is starting to be replicated around the country. New York State was the first to pass the law in September 2019. Now…

Bill would end restraint and isolation of students in Illinois

Story was originally written by Steve Hancock for Capitol News Illinois. A link to the original article may be found HERE SPRINGFIELD – A House committee agreed Wednesday to continue working on a bill that aims to end the use of physical restraints and isolation as a way of controlling misbehaving students in public school…

Illinois Legislator Discusses New Online Gaming and Poker Bill

This story was originally written by Sean Chaffin for the website US Poker. A link to the original article may be found HERE There continues to be some movement among US states regarding online poker and iGaming in general. The latest comes in Illinois where two state representatives introduced an Internet gaming bill this week. The legislation would legalize…

Lawmakers, governor condemn Rep. Mary Miller’s ‘Hitler was right on one thing’ comment

Original article written by Mark Maxwell for WCIA on January 6th, 2021. A link to the original story may be found HERE. CHICAGO, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois’ newest member of Congress is facing widespread public backlash after quoting Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler at a political rally in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Tuesday.…

Final nail in ‘The Velvet Hammer’s’ political coffin? Madigan’s record run as speaker could be nearing an end

Original story published by Rachel Hinton of the Chicago Sun-Times on 11/19/2020. Photo credit to Tim Akimoff of WBEZ. A link to the article may be found HERE   Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan may soon be out of the leadership post he’s held for nearly four decades. After members of his inner circle were…

State Rep. Jonathan Carroll’s guide to IDES Concerns

Friends, I’ve been working with my staff on another guide to assist you during these tumultuous times. We outlined the most common IDES related problems our office has gotten calls about, and set up this guide specifically detailing how to address each one. There are some steps that you can take on your own that…

Leadership Now

Let me be very clear; I don’t want to see Donald Trump fail. Because if he fails we all fail. I just can’t sit by anymore and not express my outrage and anger with him as our president anymore. This isn’t just about policy; it’s about decency. As I’ve written about in the past, I’m…