While schools and nonprofits across Illinois brace themselves for the potentially devastating cuts proposed in Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2011 budget, officials in many of the state’s public transit agencies are seeing their budgets climb. But some say the increase provides little relief to their more immediate problem – a failure by the cash-strapped state...
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A one-of-a-kind state park in downstate Illinois could be in danger of closing its gates if its state funding is cut. Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget, unveiled last week, eliminates a big chunk of money heavily relied upon by the Wildlife Prairie State Park, located just outside Peoria. “The park will close if sufficient community interest...
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For anyone who’s paid a traffic ticket, filed a lawsuit in small claims court or checked online to find the next court hearing, the circuit clerk’s role is integral. But that could change, as all 102 circuit clerks across Illinois, including Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, face 10 to 20 percent salary cuts...
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No matter what the outcome in the Park National Bank seizure, the situation has broken down barriers between the Austin community and Oak Park residents. It’s the silver lining in the cloud that has hung over those two communities since  October. That’s when the popular neighborhood bank, located in Oak Park, was seized by federal...
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Judge Ursula Walowski works at a pace that can only be described as frenetic. A judge in Cook County’s Domestic Violence Court, Walowski sets bonds, dismisses cases and imposes her judgments so swiftly that simply following along can become dizzying. With so many cases on her docket, a visitor to her courtroom may wonder: Does...
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With three months remaining in the school year, there have been 118 shootings involving Chicago Public School students. The numbers, down from last year, have prompted Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) to introduce an anonymous Violence Prevention Hotline, but one representative said it is just another “useless mandate.” House Bill 4647, which passed the House 112-1...
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It’s an iconic American image – kids hopping on their two-wheelers and skidding through the streets. But those visions of skinned knees and summer vacations might be in for some tweaking if lawmakers pass a controversial law that would require kids to wear helmets while biking. Illinois lawmakers are currently pondering two child helmet bills....
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Chicago Police Board Growing Bored?
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Public schools across the state await an appellate decision on whether they must reinstate the controversial moment of silence at the beginning of each school day. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is grappling with the decision to uphold the district court’s opinion that held it unconstitutional. In the meantime, lawmakers are struggling to...
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Eating a Big Mac, a Whopper or a juicy Potbelly sandwich could come with a reminder for consumers in Illinois. State Rep. Deb Mell (D-Chicago) introduced a bill last month that would force chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Potbelly to disclose on their menu boards the number of calories contained in each...
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Nancy Buckley knows all too well the ill effects of bad air. In the past year, the 44-year-old has been hospitalized three times due to severe asthma attacks. “It’s like somebody sticking a pillow over you and you’re trying to breathe through it,” said Buckley, who lives on the North Side of Chicago. ...
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SPRINGFIELD – For Dora Brooks-Rodriguez and Trista Bond, it’s the second chance they’ve been waiting for. After years of volunteering at their local schools, they are now on their way to the head of the classroom. But the program that has given more than 500 an opportunity at a college education and a second...
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Chicago students and workers joined protesters around the nation Thursday for what organizers are calling the “March 4th Day of Action” for higher education. Nearly 200 students and faculty members rallied at the University of Illinois-Chicago to demand that the university not “balance the budget on the backs of students, faculty and the community” through...
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Chicago recently hosted the first of three public hearings required by last year’s legislative bill HB3767, which created the Obesity Prevention Initiative Act. This calls for the Illinois Department of Public Health to find solutions to the state’s obesity epidemic. The next two public hearings take place in Springfield on March 8 and Carbondale on March...
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When federal regulators seized Park National Bank and its parent company last October and turned operations over to US Bank, it caused outcry through Chicago’s West Side and into Oak Park. And the fight is not over. On Saturday, March 13 at 10 a.m., the Coalition to Save Community Banking will meet at the Light of...
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