TheRepublic.com - Illinois State General Assembly News

Ill. House speaker to Quinn: Sign concealed carry

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:49:05 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is urging Gov. Pat Quinn to sign legislation allowing the carrying of concealed guns.

Illinois Senate debates university pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:27:10 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - A pension reform proposal developed by a group of education experts has been debated in an Illinois senate committee.

Legislature's special session to cost $40K a day

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:05:12 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Legislature's special session will cost about $40,000 a day, which includes a $111 daily payment to lawmakers to defray the cost of food and lodging while they work in the state capitol.

Bill Daley hits Quinn, Madigan on pension deadlock

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:28:28 -0400

CHICAGO - In his first public appearance since stepping into the race for Illinois governor, former White House chief of staff Bill Daley on Monday criticized both Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan for not doing more to break a logjam over fixing the state's nearly $100 billion pension crisis.

Medical marijuana raises questions for businesses

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:54:06 -0400

CHICAGO - If Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signs recently passed legislation legalizing medical marijuana, some say it will raise serious questions on everything from the hiring and firing of job applicants to the use of a federally controlled and illegal substance in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.

Quinn calls special session, leaders not clear why

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:27:48 -0400

CHICAGO - Gov. Pat Quinn has called a special session for lawmakers this month, but some leaders aren't clear for what.

Illinois insurance marketplace stalls again

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:51:57 -0400

CHICAGO - The Illinois Legislature adjourned Friday without sending a bill on a state-run health insurance marketplace to Gov. Pat Quinn's desk as he's requested for years.

Brady, 2010 GOP nominee for gov, to announce soon

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:46:17 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois state senator Bill Brady plans to announce within the month that he's seeking his second Republican nomination for governor.

Doctors block bids to expand nurse, dentist roles

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:44:33 -0400

CHICAGO - Nurses, dentists and psychologists asked the Illinois Legislature this spring for more authority to make medical decisions with demand expected to surge under the federal health care law, but each time lawmakers sided with doctors and turned them down.

Illinois lawmakers still have big issues ahead

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 17:31:10 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois lawmakers are leaving Springfield with major issues outstanding.

Path to Illinois pension reform now even trickier

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 04:05:14 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn had claimed he was "put on earth" to solve the nation's worst pension crisis, but the goal eluded him once again as lawmakers adjourned their session without addressing the $100 billion burden on the state's struggling economy.

Ill. passes nation's toughest fracking regulations

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:07:14 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois came a giant step closer to approving the nation's strictest regulations for high-volume oil and gas drilling on Friday, as lawmakers approved a measure they hoped would create thousands of jobs in economically depressed areas of southern Illinois.

Ill. House adjourns without vote on gay marriage

Fri, 31 May 2013 23:55:18 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - After months of fierce on-the-ground campaigning and a last-minute urging from President Barack Obama, a measure that would have made Illinois the 13th state to allow same-sex couples to marry fell short Friday when the sponsor failed to rally enough support to call it for a vote before the Legislature adjourned.

Senate rejects cost-shift plan for higher ed

Fri, 31 May 2013 22:38:38 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Senate has rejected a proposal requiring state universities and community colleges to gradually pick up pension costs.

Quinn says he'll call leaders together on pensions

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:59:17 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Gov. Pat Quinn says he will call legislative leaders together in the next week to come up with a fix for the state's $97 billion pension crisis.

Gambling expansion won't be called for vote

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:33:24 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - A plan to establish five new casinos in Illinois, including in Chicago, was killed Friday as the bill's sponsor decided not to call it for a House vote with just hours left in the legislative session.

Madigan: 'Huge problems remain' for Legislature

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:32:48 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says lawmakers didn't have much success this session, but that's not a reason to give up.

Legislature sends new state budget to governor

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:25:44 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Senate has approved the final piece of a new state budget.

Quinn disappointed gay marriage bill not called

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:23:55 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Gov. Pat Quinn says the fight for same-sex marriage in Illinois is not over.

Holdout on concealed carry, Ill. gov gets gun bill

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:22:22 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois would join the rest of the nation in allowing the carrying of concealed weapons under legislation approved by the General Assembly on Friday - hours before lawmakers were scheduled to adjourn for the summer and days before a federal court's deadline.

Advocates, proponents react to gay marriage

Fri, 31 May 2013 21:16:54 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Proponents for gay marriage are decrying the lack of a vote on the issue in the Illinois House. Meanwhile those against same-sex marriage say they're happy marriage will remain between a man and woman.

Spokeswoman: Pension reform in House's court

Fri, 31 May 2013 20:19:36 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - A spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton says it's now up to the Illinois House to address the state's pension crisis before the legislative session ends.

Illinois Senate defeats ammunition limit

Fri, 31 May 2013 19:00:11 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - A plan to limit high-capacity ammunition magazines in Illinois has failed in the Senate.

Senate panel gives boost to Chicago-area airport

Fri, 31 May 2013 18:26:41 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Senate has passed an initiative allowing for the construction and operation of the long-awaited third Chicago area airport, along with two other major projects.

Private gun sales regulated in Ill. Senate measure

Fri, 31 May 2013 16:53:16 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Senate has OK'd legislation regulating the private sales of guns and requiring the reporting of lost or stolen guns to authorities.