State News
Illinois Arts Council Agency announces 2024 Master/Apprentice Program
Application, guidelines now available The Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) has announced the opening of the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Master/Apprentice Program. The application is open in the Illinois Arts Council’s online Salesforce system and has a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Dec. 1, 2023. The awards will be announced in the spring…
Read MorePritzker administration launches applications for state-designated cultural districts
Eligible localities, nonprofits are encouraged to apply to be designated a State-Designated Cultural District Information Session (Webinar): 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023 — Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3RvGAo1 The Pritzker administration recently launched the application to apply to become a State-Designated Cultural District in Illinois. State-Designated Cultural Districts are communities, towns, or specific geographic areas that…
Read MoreState’s high court opens new interactive learning center
Displays offer insight into role of judicial branch By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1946, the Illinois Supreme Court heard a case that would eventually become a landmark in American legal history. The public school district in Champaign, like many other districts in Illinois at the time, allowed a group of…
Read MoreAs state Supreme Court weighs another BIPA lawsuit, lawmakers mull child data privacy framework
Health care industry argues it is exempt from biometric privacy liability By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In Springfield on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, the medical industry went to court. The Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pair of class action suits brought by two suburban nurses, Lucille Mosby and Yana Mazya,…
Read MorePritzker administration provides $19 million for community revitalization
Strong Communities Program assists 68 units of local government with affordable housing creation, community development efforts The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) Board approved $19 million to support affordable housing and community revitalization efforts across Illinois. Awarded under the Strong Communities Program (SCP), the initiative will provide funding to 68 units of local governments and…
Read MoreBiden administration responds to calls from Pritzker, other leaders, for help in migrant crisis
Homeland Security will expedite work authorizations among other actions By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Department of Homeland Security will speed up the processing of work authorizations for asylum seekers and extend Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants, actions that could help thousands of migrants who have arrived in Illinois in…
Read MoreFormer Illinois State Police trooper who pleaded guilty in relation to deadly crash postpones hearing
Matt Mitchell is seeking driver’s license reinstatement after 2007 crash that killed Metro East sisters By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Matt Mitchell, the former Illinois State Police trooper who caused a high-speed, distracted-driving crash that killed sisters Kelli and Jessica Uhl, has asked to delay his Sept. 20 hearing for the reinstatement of…
Read MoreAs SAFE-T Act goes live, murder suspects previously eligible to post bond are held in jail
Hearings have been longer, more deliberative – resembling federal detention proceedings By BETH HUNDSDORFER & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com In courtrooms around the state early this week, judges conducted the first hearings under a new system that determines whether a defendant will be jailed while awaiting trial based on dangerousness and risk of…
Read MoreNew State Police rules for assault weapons permits will take effect Oct. 1
People who owned banned weapons before new law must apply for FOID endorsement By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinoisans who own weapons that can no longer be purchased or sold in the state under its new assault weapons ban will soon be able to register those weapons so they can legally…
Read MoreFormer trooper seeks restoration of driving privileges nearly 16 years after fatal St. Clair County crash
Secretary of state’s office will hold hearing later this month; former state trooper’s 2007 high-speed crash caused the death of teen sisters Jessica and Kelli Uhl By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com For years, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White blocked attempts by an ex-state trooper to regain his driving privileges after a…
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