Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Illinois State Police released preliminary toxicology results that showed no drugs or alcohol in the system of a driver who crashed into a central Illinois after-school program, killing four young girls. Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said Thursday police are still investigating the cause of the crash but found…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Nine Illinois police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024 were honored at a ceremony in Springfield Thursday. The Illinois Peace Officers Memorial takes place every year on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died on the job in the prior year.…

Capitol News Illinois CHATHAM — As a central Illinois community mourns the deaths of three children and a teen counselor killed Monday when a vehicle crashed into the building that housed their after-school program, it has rallied around survivors. Ainsley Johnson, 8; Kathryn Corley, 7; Alma Buhnerkempe, 7, all of Chatham, and counselor Rylee Britton,…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has one priority if she is elected to the U.S. Senate in 2026: fighting back against President Donald Trump’s policies. “What I’m just seeing is that the old playbook in Washington, D.C., isn’t working,” Stratton said Wednesday in an interview with Capitol News Illinois. “People…

Capitol News Illinois Lawmakers apparently are close to a deal to resolve one of Springfield’s most hotly contested issues this session: transit reform. Public transit agencies in Chicagoland — a region with roughly two-thirds of Illinois’ population — face a collective $770 million budget gap in the upcoming fiscal year. Heads of the agencies have…

Capitol News Illinois President Donald Trump marked the 100th day of his second term on Tuesday as Gov. JB Pritzker has spent the week calling on Americans to pressure congressional Republicans to oppose Trump’s agenda and highlighting how Trump’s policies affect Illinois. “I’m deeply concerned about what the next 100 days, and frankly, the next…

Capitol News Illinois CHATHAM — The driver of a vehicle involved in a deadly crash Monday at an after-school program formerly worked for the Illinois State Police, the agency investigating the crash. The ISP identified the driver as Marianne Akers, 44, of Chatham. She worked at the ISP from June 2006 to August 2018, an…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for after-school programs that provide tutoring, recreation and other services made their case again Tuesday for a $50 million state appropriation to restore programs in some schools where funding has run out and to expand them into more schools. “There are decades of research that supports that after-school programs…