Thursday, April 18, 2013
The state Senate will now review a bill that would legalize medical marijuana for qualified patients in Illinois.
Medical marijuana is closer to becoming a reality in Illinois than ever before after the bill squeezed by the House of Representatives in a 61-57 vote on Wednesday. Both Homewood Rep. Will Davis and Flossmoor Rep. Anthony DeLuca voted yes on the bill. Check out how the rest of the House voted The Senate, which already approved a less restrictive marijuana bill in 2009, will now consider the bill. Should it pass, Governor Pat Quinn has already indicated his support of the bill, telling the Chicago Tribune he is “open-minded” about it. Get in on the conversation. Join H-F Patch today.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The bill to legalize same sex marriage has stirred a debate among legislators on both sides of the aisle.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The bill to legalize same sex marriage has stirred a debate among legislators on both sides of the aisle.
While only one Senate Republican voted in favor of the same sex marriage bill that gained approval of the Illinois Senate, Rep. Renée Kosel, R-New Lenox, foresees significant debate in the House of Representatives. "It's a bipartisan issue. I'm not supporting it," she said, but the bill has advocates on both sides of the aisle. "I haven't done a head count, but it's close," said Kosel, who represents the 37th District, serving all or portions of New Lenox, Mokena, Frankfort, Tinley Park and Orland Park. Personally, Kosel said the bill runs counter to her faith. At the same time, what concerns her is how the bill would affect religious organizations. The legislation becomes problematic in regard to the religious liberty of church …
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The utility wants lawmakers to amend a 2011 rate-hike law to allow the utility to retroactively collect money for electricity already used.
The Illinois Senate Executive Committee unanimously approved a request by ComEd and Ameren to "clarify" a 2011 law that allowed the utilities to raise electricity rates, Illinois Public Radio reports. The clarification would allow the power companies to retroactively charge higher rates for the electricity you've already used, potentially raising up to $70 million for ComEd, according to Sun-Times Media. The 2011 law changed the formula used to determine charges. But the utilities say it didn't work as intended. They say regulators aren't letting them charge what they need. Now the companies are back, asking the legislature to pass another law, clarifying the old one. (Says) ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore: "Without it we are stalled in these…
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The llinois Senate passed a ban on executions with a 32-25 vote.
The Illinois State Senate voted to ban the death penalty in a 32-25 vote Tuesday afternoon. The ban passed the House last week and now heads to Gov. Pat Quinn for approval. Illinois has not carried out an execution since former Gov. George Ryan placed a moratorium on the death penalty 10 years ago. That decision came after several Death Row inmates were found to be innocent. According to the Chicago Tribune, Quinn has yet to make a public statement on if he will sign the bill into law. See the table below for the votes of your local representatives:
Monday, January 3, 2011
From drug bans to pension reforms to tougher penalties for motor vehicle offenses, here’s a look at some of the new legislation taking effect in the new year.
As the clock struck midnight Jan. 1, a new year began — and with it came new legislation, including a ban on a "fake marijuana" drug, regulations aimed at stopping kids and teens from "sexting" and a law reducing fees on license plates that pay tribute to Illinois veterans. Here's a rundown of some of the legal highlights. Click the links to read the text of each bill or to see how your local legislators voted. Right now, it's legal to sell the drugs, available online and at shops that sell herbal medicines, according to Will County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Kaupas. "From what I understand, it is a substance that gives the user a high, like any hallucinogen would," Kaupas said. Popular among teens, the drug typically comes packaged in…
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Updated to include final results.
It was a staggering loss, with state Sen. M. Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest) nearly doubling the vote tally of challenger Kirby School Board member Adam Wojcik. And Wojcik said he couldn't be prouder. "I couldn't be more proud of the fact that we ran and we ran a very honest and fiscally responsible campaign," Wojcik said Wednesday morning. Crotty will stay in the 19th District seat after beating Wojcik 45,751-23,137 in Tuesday's election, according to unofficial results from Cook and Will counties' clerk's offices. As of Wednesday morning, all of the Will County precincts in the district and 180 of the 182 Cook County precincts in the district had reported. EDITOR'S NOTE: When the last two precincts reported Wednesday afternoon, the …
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Patch checks the facts on state Sen. Maggie Crotty's newsletter touting her record during the 2009-2010 legislative session.
Hi, folks. Welcome to The Fact Check. As this is the first one, a bit of introduction. The Fact Check will, once a week, go line-by-line through a local political or corporate release, verifying each claim, identifying omissions and, more importantly, giving every statement context. As the old joke goes, 73 percent of all statistics are made up. We're here to sniff those out. So here is our take on the 2010 newsletter mailed to 19th District voters by the office of state Sen. Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest). All the category headlines are mine, but otherwise not a word has been changed or omitted from the text. Sponsoring House Bills OK, this is true, but it doesn't mean what you think. To "sponsor" something in a legislative sense doesn't …
Squiggey
10:43 pm on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Blah Blah Blah.they delete these anyway. more ›