Peter Hancock - Capitol News Illinois

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois House and Senate approved hundreds of bills this week ahead of a Friday deadline, including a plan proposed by Gov. JB Pritzker to limit cell phones in schools

From Capitol News Illinois: Public school teachers in Illinois may soon have to add Latin Americans to the list of ethnic groups whose contributions to American history and culture must be taught in class

From Capitol News Illinois: State employee health care costs have been rising steadily for several years due to growth in the state’s workforce and general health care inflation

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois State Board of Education presented its budget request for $10.9 billion to fund public schools in the upcoming fiscal year. The request includes $300 million in new spending for schools, plus $50 million for property tax relief grants

From Capitol News Illinois: The bill calls for annual increases in university funding of $135 million each year over the next several years, with priority for new money given to schools that are currently the most underfunded.

From Capitol News Illinois: State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, who works as an insurance agent, said the new bill was an improvement over earlier versions. But he said it does not address the factors that he said are the real causes of rising premiums

From Capitol News Illinois: A recent decision from a local appellate court in Washington, D.C., striking down a ban on large-capacity magazines could have an impact on a pending case challenging a similar ban in Illinois.

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker is calling on agencies in his administration to set goals for increasing the number of adults in the state with college degrees or other postsecondary credentials

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois Supreme Court began weighing arguments Tuesday in a case that challenges the state’s ability to prohibit people with nonviolent felony convictions from possessing a firearm

From Capitol News Illinois: Advocates for health care providers that treat low-income and uninsured patients are pressuring state lawmakers to pass legislation they say would prevent drug manufacturers from restricting access to discounted medications

From Capitol News Illinois: Eighteen former Department of Justice attorneys signed onto an amicus brief arguing the Trump administration has no legal authority to demand voter registration data from Illinois

From Capitol News Illinois: In his eighth State of the State address, Pritzker focused on affordability issues affecting Illinois residents and blamed President Donald Trump for the state’s tight financial condition

From Capitol News Illinois: Mendrick has been a vocal critic of the state’s SAFE-T Act, and also says public schools should return to focusing on teaching basic skills such as reading, writing and math, and that they should have to compete with private schools for enrollment

From Capitol News Illinois: A bill that would give state insurance regulators authority to review and modify homeowners insurance rates failed on the floor of the House last year but could be revived for a second vote when lawmakers return to the Statehouse

From Capitol News Illinois: A new report suggests Illinois could be on the hook for plugging and cleaning up thousands of inactive and abandoned oil and gas wells scattered across the state