City Council Panel OKs Gun Range Ordinance

July 5, 2011

Gun ranges would be free to operate in Chicago, but only in areas zoned for manufacturing under rigid conditions, thanks to a mayoral plan rushed through a City Council committee Tuesday to avoid an adverse court ruling. Two federal lawsuits have been filed challenging the ban on gun ranges in a city whose residents are [...]

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Quinn Signs Workers’ Compensation Reform

July 1, 2011

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said companies should see their workers’ compensation premiums drop because of a new law he signed Tuesday overhauling the system that takes care of employees injured on the job. “We’re going to be helping the employers of Illinois, the workers of Illinois, all of those who are committed to economic growth [...]

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Public Schools Consider Tax Increase

July 1, 2011

Chicago Public Schools officials are looking to collect $100 million more in property taxes and seek further cuts at central office and in middle management positions as they try to bridge a gaping deficit. Chicago Public Schools officials are looking to collect $100 million more in property taxes and make further cuts at the central [...]

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Blagojevich Found Guilty on 17 Counts

June 27, 2011

A jury convicted disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on Monday of corruption for trying to trade the U.S. senate seat once held by President Barack Obama for financial and political gain. Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat thrown out of office in 2009, was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts by the jury of 11 [...]

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IL Back Seat Belt Bill Signed Into Law

June 27, 2011

The late Rep. Mark Beaubien’s widow and family were on hand in Chicago Monday as Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Barrington Hills lawmaker’s final piece of legislation — a law requiring Illinoisans to buckle up in the back seat. Dee Beaubien said the law was “extremely important” to her husband, who considered traffic safety legislation [...]

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Lawmakers to Hold Hearings on Business Tax

June 24, 2011

Illinois lawmakers announced today they will hold hearings to review the state’s business tax structure, giving companies threatening to leave the state a forum to vent about this year’s tax hike. Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan said the two chambers’ revenue committees will work together to hear ideas from numerous business-oriented [...]

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Gov. Quinn Signs Congressional Map, GOP Lawsuit Expected

June 24, 2011

Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law the state’s Democratic-drawn map of new Congressional boundaries, a plan designed to reverse Republican gains in last year’s election that is expected to face a court challenge by GOP interests. Democrats had unfettered control of the map-making process, a once-every-decade process mandated following the federal Census, by virtue [...]

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Wrongful Convictions Cost Illinois Taxpayers $214 M, Study Says

June 20, 2011

A new investigation has found that the wrongful convictions of 85 people have cost Illinois taxpayers $214 million. The seven-month investigation by the Chicago-based Better Government Association and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University’s law school found the bulk of the cost — $156 million — was settlements and judgments paid to those [...]

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Court Orders Trial For Abortion-Notification Law

June 17, 2011

The Illinois Appellate Court has sent a never-enforced law requiring a girl’s guardians to be notified before she has an abortion back to the circuit court for trial. The ruling Friday reverses a decision by the Cook County Circuit Court, which had lifted a restraining order on the law but allowed time for appeals before [...]

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AMA to Reconsider Support of Health Insurance Requirement

June 17, 2011

A divided American Medical Association will consider withdrawing its support of a key tenet of the health overhaul law that requires Americans to purchase an insurance plan. The Chicago-based national doctors group, which represents nearly a quarter-million physicians, is being asked by several medical societies within the organization to change its stance in favor of [...]

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