Facing dire economic times and dwindling resources, more people are not only becoming homeless – they’re then at risk of facing physical assault.
State Rep. Thomas Holbrook (D-Bellville) introduced a bill, HB5114, that would create stiffer penalties for offenders who target the homeless, veterans, active duty members and reservists of the Armed Forces. Instead of...
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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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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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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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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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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 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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ChicagoTalks reporter Devin Katayama reports on a new bill that would require Illinois motorcyclists to wear a helmet. Listen to the story here.
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