Capitol News

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House gave its approval to legislation that would give high school athletes a limited right to compete in non-school events or on non-school teams during the same season in which they play for their school. The House voted 68-39 on April 9 to pass a scaled-back version of…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — When Elizabeth Pollock took over as the Champaign County public defender in 2022, one of her team’s attorneys was handling 500 cases by herself in a courtroom that should have been staffed by at least three public defenders. “That is a recipe for disaster because it’s not just taxing on…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — After nearly five days of testimony, state Sen. Emil Jones III’s federal corruption trial appeared to be nearing its end Tuesday afternoon — until the senator unexpectedly took the witness stand. Over the last week, the jury has gotten to know Jones’ voice and mannerisms through several hours of secretly…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — For over 65 years, Bernice and Frank Monteleone have been raising minks on their farm in Elgin. The couple bought their first mink in 1959 — a red female who was pregnant at the time. She quickly produced seven babies, or kits. “Before then, I had never seen a mink…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — On a still-warm early fall morning in September 2019, federal agents walked into the Illinois Capitol building in Springfield and left with boxes of evidence collected from the legislative office of then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago. Roughly 200 miles north, more agents executed search warrants on Sandoval’s home on Chicago’s…

Capitol News Illinois A bill that would tighten homeschooling regulations in Illinois missed a key deadline on Friday. But its sponsor, Rep. Terra Costa Howard, said it’s still alive — and she’s working on changes recommended by fellow lawmakers to get it passed. “We recognize that there’s some more changes that need to be made…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — Christopher Katz didn’t question why he began receiving $300 weekly payments from an executive at Chicago-based red-light camera company SafeSpeed in the summer of 2019 — despite not yet having sat for a formal interview or done any work. He didn’t question why his first check was made out from…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — A bill that would reform the Prisoner Review Board passed the Illinois Senate on Thursday, aiming to protect victims and increase transparency about prisoner releases following years of controversy surrounding the board’s decisions. Championed by Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, Senate Bill 19 would give victims the ability to…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House shot down legislation Thursday that would have allowed some people incarcerated for crimes they committed when they were under 21 to become eligible for release. In a rare rebuke of a Democrat-sponsored bill, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voted against House Bill 3332, causing the bill to…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Law enforcement officers would no longer be allowed to search a vehicle or detain a driver who is over age 21 based solely on the smell of burnt cannabis in the vehicle under a bill that passed Thursday in the Illinois Senate. Senate Bill 42, sponsored by Sen. Rachel Ventura,…