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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services released a timeline into the case of Mackenzi Felmlee, inset, who mysteriously died in her Fairview Heights foster home. (Capitol News Illinois file photos) Article Summary Two months after it was first requested, the Illinois Department of Children Family Services released a timeline of involvement with a…

The United Methodist Church announced it will rent the billboard space where a Proud Boys hate group billboard cropped recently. They’ll replace it with a “Hate Divides… Love Unites” campaign. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Molly Parker, artwork provided by the United Methodist Church) Article Summary The regional Methodist Church conference in central and southern…

Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill in Springfield on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki) Gov. JB Pritzker signed the final two bills from the spring session Friday, giving his approval to more than 430 bills approved by lawmakers this year. The final bills signed Friday are designed to improve…

Gov. JB Pritzker takes questions from the news media at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki) Article Summary Article Summary The Citizen Participation Act now explicitly protects news reporting from “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” The Illinois Supreme Court had previously ruled that news reporting…

A 2023 storm caused extensive home damage in parts of Springfield, including trees falling on homes. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki) Article Summary JB Pritzker and legislative leaders have suggested Illinois should exercise more regulatory authority over premiums that insurance companies charge for homeowners coverage. That began after State Farm Insurance announced it…

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, is pictured on the Senate floor. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki) Article Summary The Illinois State Board of Elections fined Senate President Don Harmon $9.8 million for accepting greater campaign donations than the law allowed in 2024. Harmon loaned his campaign money during the 2024 primary, lifting…

A Lamar Advertising representative on Monday moves an ad for the far-right extremist group Proud Boys; the sign was taken down entirely around noon Tuesday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Molly Parker) Article Summary The recruiting billboard for a right-wing extremist group, the Proud Boys, was removed in Clinton County after an outpouring of outrage.…

Bill Daley, left, and Ray LaHood, right, speak at a launch event for their campaign to change how Illinois draws its legislative maps. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams) Article Summary Former federal officials are backing an effort to reform the state legislature’s redistricting process. Congressional districts would be unaffected. Illinois’ state Senate map…

Luke Harvey, owner of the Riverview Road Apiary, inspects a frame of bees. (Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Tom O’Connor) Article Summary Beekeepers face steep startup costs and significant bee colony losses – often exceeding 50% annually. Illinois has more than 5,400 registered beekeepers, with nearly 9 in 10 managing 10 hives or fewer.…

A billboard promoting the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, appears in a cornfield in Clinton County, Illinois. (Molly Parker, Capitol News Illinois) Article Summary A billboard promoting the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, has been put up near a high school in Clinton County in southern Illinois. The group, which has been labeled…