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The Latest Breaking News from Don Harmon

Who will fill Brandon Johnson’s Cook County Board seat?

The application process for those interested in serving the rest of Brandon Johnson’s term on the county board was announced Wednesday. Those already vying for the spot include three members of the Leaders Network, a West Side faith-based group.

Chicago Sun-Times

ComEd verdicts jolt Illinois political world — sparking strong reactions from Republicans (and a few Democrats)

“This guilty on all charges verdict has proven what Republicans have already known. We need real ethics reform,” Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie said at a news conference in Springfield after the verdict.

Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor-elect Johnson pitches unity to state legislators in Springfield: ‘Our challenges are not that unique’

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson said he didn’t come to Springfield to “dictate” what Chicago needs when it comes to public safety dollars. “How do I call myself a collaborator and then I’m dictating?” Johnson asked reporters. “These are ongoing conversations.”

Chicago Sun-Times

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Let the jockeying begin for Brandon Johnson’s Cook County Board seat

A replacement for the mayor-elect’s seat on the board will be chosen by a group of elected Democratic committeemen. The new commissioner would serve a little over two years.

Chicago Sun-Times

New Illinois law gives additional hope to youngest felons facing life in prison

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Nelson Morris was only 17 when he was arrested for a double murder that eventually doomed him to spend the rest of his life in prison, with no chance of parole.

Chicago Tribune

Boeing’s misconduct hasn’t stopped Illinois politicians from taking campaign cash from the company

Based in Chicago until last year, the aerospace giant has given $50,000 to legislative leaders and other politicians since it admitted in 2021 it deceived regulators about a new aircraft that crashed twice overseas.

Chicago Sun-Times

Downstate judge temporarily holsters assault weapons ban — for 865 gun owners and one gun shop

Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the decision in downstate Effingham County “disappointing,” but said he remains confident the courts will uphold the law he signed Jan. 10 banning the sale of assault weapons in Illinois and capping the size of magazines that could be sold.

Chicago Sun-Times

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Illinois’ sweeping firearms ban certain to end up in court, and some experts doubt it will stand

CHICAGO — In his closing remarks before a vote on a sweeping firearms ban, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon pushed back at critics who contended the prohibitions would violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Chicago Tribune

Illinois Just Banned 'Assault Weapons' Because Their 'Only Intent' Is Mass Murder

The law is hard to defend on logical, practical, or constitutional grounds.

Reason

Welcome warning? Illinois Senate president’s message to newly sworn senators: Fly right or get lost

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon quoted both his late mother, who worried “that Springfield will change your notion of what the right thing is,” and former Chicago Police Supt. James Rochford, who once warned officers “If you lack integrity, get out — get out now.”

Chicago Sun-Times

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sets out 2nd-term agenda as weapons ban bill heads for final vote

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Seeking to build on the successes of his four years in office, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker offered a second-term agenda Monday that called for a state constitutional right to abortion, making preschool available to every family and making public college free for children in working-class families.

Chicago Tribune

Ill. Senate OKs gun ban, House Democrats agree with changes

The Illinois Senate has approved a ban on semiautomatic weapons

The Independent UK

State assault weapons ban moves ahead after Democratic deal and echoes of a child’s screams

The Illinois Senate voted 34-20 to approve the measure, which now must go back to the Illinois House for concurrence. Earlier, lawmakers heard audio that began with a high-pitched cry from a child at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade. “What is happening?” the child screams. “What is…

Chicago Sun-Times

Illinois House passes bills banning certain semi-automatic weapons, expanding abortion protections

With Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker seated in the front row of the chamber, the Illinois House early Friday approved a sweeping ban on high-powered firearms about two hours after voting to shore up the state’s already expansive protections for abortion rights.

Chicago Tribune

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Chicago Tribune

Illinois Gov. Pritzker ran a cautious reelection campaign. Will he play it safe in 2nd term?

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker begins his second term Jan. 9 emboldened by a decisive reelection victory, a slew of wins in November by Democratic candidates he helped fund and a series of legislative successes that formed the foundation of his bid for another four years in Springfield.

Chicago Tribune

Influx of migrants to Chicago places a strain on city resources; city moving forward with temporary shelter

CHICAGO — The strain on Chicago’s resources from a continued influx of migrants was underscored this week when Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked the state for $54 million in emergency funding and her administration confirmed it will open a shelter at a former school in Woodlawn to temporarily house asylum-seekers.

Chicago Sun-Times

State Sen. Scott Bennett, 45, dies unexpectedly of brain tumor

The Democrat from Champaign was one of three key sponsors of an amendment to the SAFE-T Act, which cleared the Illinois General Assembly last week.

Chicago Tribune

Illinois governor aims to get assault weapon ban proposal ‘done in the first half of the year’

CHICAGO — Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who made banning the sale of assault weapons a key component of his successful reelection campaign this fall, for the first time voiced support for the recently unveiled proposal by Illinois House Democrats that includes outlawing the sale of certain assault-style guns, barring most people…

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Chicago Tribune

Illinois commemorates Barack Obama’s 2007 presidential announcement with marker at Old State Capitol

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The weather turned frigid in the state capital on Wednesday, just in time for the dedication of a marker commemorating the day nearly 16 years ago when thousands braved single-digit temperatures to see then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama announce his 2008 presidential bid from the steps of the…

Chicago Sun-Times

Abortion’s influence on Illinois politics

Most every pre-election poll claimed that voters ranked abortion low on their priority lists. Yet, the abortion issue seemed to drive voters to the polls this year. What happened?

The Independent UK

Illinois governor eyes legislative allies after reelection

Newly reelected Gov_ J_B_ Pritzker says his victory indicates that Illinois voters want the state to be a “beacon of hope and opportunity.”

Chicago Sun-Times

Pritzker gives shoe leather and big bucks to Democrats running for state’s top court — but GOP says he’s skirting the law

Pritzker gave $500,000 each to the candidates from his campaign fund — and another $500,000 to each from a personal trust fund. Republicans accuse him of skirting limits he himself signed into law. But the Illinois State Board of Elections says the contributions are allowed.

Chicago Sun-Times

After successful fundraising, Democrats have zero excuses for failure

Republican fundraising could not even come close to keeping pace with the Democrats.

Chicago Sun-Times

Quitting time? Pritzker says embattled state Sens. Emil Jones III, Michael Hastings ‘must resign from their offices’

Jones, who is facing federal bribery charges, and Hastings, accused of abuse by his estranged wife, have stepped down from Senate leadership posts, but Pritzker said that’s not enough: “Resigning only their leadership roles falls short of what the public should expect.”

Chicago Sun-Times

State Sen. Emil Jones III gives up leadership posts after federal bribery charges — but not his Senate seat

As Republicans called for the Far South Side legislator to resign altogether, Jones III has yet to publicly address the charges against him.

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