Government - State

CARPENTERSVILLE – A state commission’s recent decision to grant individual appeal hearings for all Fox Valley school districts affected by a proposed virtual charter school was in response to a misunderstanding, said the commission’s chairman.

SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois agency manager might have to delay retirement. A former university secretary wonders where she’ll have to cancel vacations. A state office assistant fears he won’t be able to afford the medical care his wife needs.

CHICAGO – Some of Illinois' top Democrats joined parents of Connecticut school shooting victims Sunday to call for a state ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, a push made as lawmakers face a tight deadline on a contentious measure to legalize concealed carry.

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois General Assembly has just two weeks left in Springfield before it adjourns for the summer, leaving lawmakers with a tight deadline for action on issues including tackling the state’s pension crisis, gay marriage and how guns will be allowed to be carried in public.

CHICAGO – Seeking to keep pace with changing technology, Illinois toughened penalties Saturday for those who use social media and text messaging to organize violent “flash mobs” like those that have occurred on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and in other tourist areas.

SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois Senate panel approved a measure Thursday allowing the carrying of concealed weapons, but the committee's move followed sharp questioning from Republicans concerning whether packing a gun in Chicago should require special permission and how authorities would determine who is fit to carry.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois concealed carry legislation that requires special permission to have a gun in Chicago is scheduled for a Senate committee vote.

A bill stripping pension and insurance benefits from future appointees to Chicago-area mass-transit boards is on its way to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk.

SPRINGFIELD – Politics has long been a family business in Illinois, a place where who you know – and who you’re related to – matters more than most. But the family drama shaping up around the next governor’s race adds a new layer of intrigue in a Capitol already grappling with huge financial problems.

CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed state budget is a baby step in the right direction, a watchdog group’s analysis said Monday, but the governor may be overstating savings from a recent union contract negotiation and not putting enough toward roughly $9 billion unpaid bills.

SPRINGFIELD – New estimates show the state of Illinois will lose $212 million in unpaid sales taxes from online purchases during 2013.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn says House Speaker Michael Madigan's pension-reform plan deserves a Senate vote.

CHICAGO – Illinois was able to pay some overdue bills this spring because of an unexpected influx in tax revenues as businesses and individuals rushed to sell assets before federal taxes increased, Gov. Pat Quinn said Tuesday.

CHICAGO – The Illinois Gaming Board’s chairman said changes made to a proposed gambling expansion bill are merely cosmetic.

CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday vetoed a plan to increase electricity rates by up to $70 million — a proposal that Commonwealth Edison Co. had pitched as a way to get electrical grid modernization back on track.