Southern Illinois News

From Carbondale Reporter

Rep. Windhorst encouraged by Pritzker's 'budget cuts memo'

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Perhaps for the first time since arriving in Springfield, Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) is standing up for a proposal coming from the office of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

From Chicago City Wire

Taxes will continue to rise until there is pension reform, says WFLD Fox president and GM

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

WFLD Fox 32 Chicago President and General Manager Dennis Welsh did not mince words about the perilous place Illinois’ growing pension crisis has left the state in during a recently aired editorial on the network in which he predicted voters are primed for revolt given anything short of pension reform.

From Prairie State Wire

Illinois’ pension debt remains worst in the nation

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Illinois’ record-setting 2017 income tax hike has done little to slow the state’s rising pension costs, leaving state taxpayers on the hook for nearly $250 billion in unfunded public pension liability.

From Prairie State Wire

Motorists get no relief from periodic efforts to eliminate Illinois' toll system, IPI reports

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

The prospect of Illinois' tollways becoming “freeways” has proven to be an agonizingly slow process that still has not come close to fruition.

From Carbondale Reporter

State Rep. Windhorst helps get bill passed to look into repurposing Tamms correctional facility

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) is touting his persistency in working for the passage of a bill that paves the way for a task force to begin studying potential usages of the now shuttered Tamms Correctional facility.

From Prairie State Wire

Former state Rep. Breen launches Fair Maps initiative

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Former state Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) is leading the charge for a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot that would create fair legislative maps for Illinois, launching a new website today.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst urges residents to take online property tax survey

By Glenn Minnis | Aug 24, 2019

Still in his first-term, Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) wants to know everything his constituents are thinking when it comes to their high and still rising property taxes.

From SW Illinois News

Former state rep. candidate Paul Jacobs says Cullerton indictment makes him think he should run again

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Former District 115 candidate Paul Jacobs is moved to action by the thought of all the corruption he believes is now flowing through Springfield.

Rep. Windhorst participates in Edgar Fellows Program at UIUC

By Glenn Minnis | Aug 11, 2019

Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) is back in Springfield after having spent five days on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus as part of the Edgar Fellows Program.

From DuPage Policy Journal

Ives sets sights on GOP bid in 6th Congressional District

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Former state Rep. Jeanne Ives (R. Wheaton), who narrowly lost her bid to unseat then Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in the GOP primary just over a year ago, is back in the political spotlight after announcing her run in the 6th Congressional District.

From Kane County Reporter

Skillicorn, GOP colleagues introduce Heartbeat Bill

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Veteran state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) is among a group of GOP lawmakers introducing House Bill 3850 that would repeal the Reproductive Health Act recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

From Prairie State Wire

Wirepoints calls out Pritzker for doubling state's gas tax, breaking promise to middle class

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Illinois state lawmakers have a dubious history of subjecting residents to gas tax hikes, but the recent doubling of the state gas tax to 38 cents per gallon seems to have taken things to an entirely new level.

From Prairie State Wire

ISRA alerts members about 'anti-gun nature' of Bloomberg organization's event coming to Marion

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) Executive Director Richard A. Pearson recently shared a bulletin with members alerting them to be on the lookout for anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment groups funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that will be misrepresenting themselves as organizations promoting community safety.

From Kane County Reporter

Skillicorn files bill to 'end the war on fireworks'

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Illinois state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) wants to see Independence Day become a time when locals are allowed to take full advantage of more of their liberties.

From Carbondale Reporter

OEIG report: Former SIU president Dunn mismanaged hires of chancellor’s family members

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

A new Office of the Executive Inspector General (OEIG) report finds that former Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC) President Dr. Randy Dunn “improperly negotiated” several hires during his tenure as well as violated certain established hiring procedures.

Rep. Costello out, along with his 'No' vote

By Glenn Minnis | May 7, 2019

Longtime Democratic state Rep. Jerry Costello II (116th District) abruptly announced his resignation on Tuesday, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker has already appointed him as Director of Law Enforcement at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

From Prairie State Wire

Federal probe into Pritzker's 'scheme to defraud' could land him in unfortunate company, IPI reports

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

With news that he is now under federal review, newly elected Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker finds himself in dubious company.

From Prairie State Wire

ILGOP Chairman Schneider thinks 'tax-hiking hypocrite' Pritzker should look in the fiscal mirror

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider finds it difficult to seriously consider Gov. J.B. Pritzker's graduated income tax-hike proposal, given the source of the plan's own history of personal finance.

From Prairie State Wire

Coming up short: Illinois Policy Institute picks apart Pritzker's 'false promise'

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

An Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) review finds Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new progressive-tax plan might not be everything it’s being promoted to be.

From McHenry Times

Rauschenberger says Skillicorn is 'right fighter for the 14th' District

By Glenn Minnis | 6 years ago

Former state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger is all in on the idea of Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) being in Washington, D.C. representing the 14th District.