The Latest Breaking News from JB Pritzker

CHICAGO — An Illinois judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday that prevents Chicago Public Schools from taking employment action against six teachers for refusing to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly testing.

Josephine’s Cooking in Chatham hasn’t paid its property taxes in 12 years. Thanks to the actions of the Cook County Land Bank Authority, it’s avoided losing the property through a tax sale.

In their 16-minute news conference, Pritzker and the Democratic leaders never mentioned the amount of overall spending called for in the budget plan, which had not yet been filed. Late Thursday, the governor’s office said they expected it to fall between $46 billion and $47 billion.

The tax relief in the plan announced by Illinois House Majority Leader Greg Harris falls squarely in the middle of the $1 billion in cuts Gov. J.B. Pritzker highlighted in his February budget proposal and the $1.8 billion that state Senate Democrats pitched last week.

Fully vaccinated teachers and school staff are guaranteed pandemic-related paid leave under a bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Tuesday.

Cases have been on an incline since March 21, but it’s still “nothing alarming at this point,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said of the mini-spike that’s being driven by the BA.2 subvariant.

Ken Griffin is still No. 1 in the local standings, while insurance investor Patrick Ryan moves to No. 2, and new names join the list.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed a similar version of the bill after a January standoff between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools. But the revised version adds the vaccinated provision as another way to incentivize teachers and school employees to get immunized.

The compromise bill that passed the Legislature last week will also return COVID-19 related sick days to vaccinated employees who had to use them earlier in the school year.

Since taking office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been gradually and quietly transforming the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, which is responsible for deciding whether to release some of the state’s most violent criminals from prison early, to fit his “weak on crime” agenda. That is, until now. Senate Democrats who covered…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker had proposed $1 billion in tax relief when he outlined his ambitious $45.4 billion budget proposal in February. Citing unspecified “additional resources,” state Senate Democrats want to increase the election year largesse.