BUSTOS’ EXIT AND THE REMAP DUCKWORTH’S DUCKS IN A ROW SCHOOL BOARD HEAD-TURNER
Presented by Illini for Affordable Rx
Happy Monday, Illinois. That Food and Wine magazine would rank New Jersey s pizza No. 1 is a complete abomination.
TOP TALKER
Rep. Cheri Bustos’
surprise announcement Friday that she won’t seek re-election in 2022 further endangers Democrats’ chances of holding on to the House, and it creates new intrigue into how Illinois lawmakers will redraw congressional maps.
Now in her fifth term in Congress, Bustos is a close friend and ally of House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi. The two are known to talk almost every day. So that, coupled with news that Illinois will lose one of its 18 seats in the House, chips away at Illinois clout.
The governor’s office unveiled a 900-page energy overhaul bill Wednesday, accelerating a yearslong process which advocates hope will end in a comprehensive clean energy platform as the session nears its final month.
The stated goal of the bill is to drive Illinois to 100 percent “clean” energy by 2050. That, Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell said in an interview Wednesday, would include nuclear power as a major contributor. Another goal is to bring Illinois to 40 percent of its utility scale energy produced by renewables, such as wind and solar, by 2030. Right now, that number is around 8 percent.
The bill contains some of the provisions put forth in other legislation, raising the rate cap on ratepayer bills for renewable projects from about 2 percent to 3.75 percent; ending formulaic rate increases for utilities immediately; and prohibiting natural gas companies from assessing a surcharge on bills starting January 2022.
Mattoon, IL, USA / MyRadioLink.com
For Immediate Release – April 27, 2021
Gov. Pritzker Signs Equity Driven Healthcare Reform Legislation
SPRINGFIELD – In a major step forward in the work to expand health equity across Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker today signed the Health Care and Human Services Reform Act into law.
The legislation, which represents the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ healthcare pillar, takes sweeping action to address health inequities and obstacles while establishing new programs, increasing oversight and trainings, building out a Community Health Worker certification and training program and improving transparency.
“Today, it’s my privilege to sign the fourth and final pillar from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus into law, the Illinois Health Care and Human Services Reform Act,”
SPRINGFIELD Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed into law a bill promoting health care equity for Black, Hispanic and low-income patients through wide-ranging provisions to enhance mental health services, require bias training for doctors and create a community health worker program.
“This legislation advances a key belief of mine that I know is shared by everyone standing with me and millions of residents across Illinois health care is a right, not a privilege,” Pritzker said during a bill-signing ceremony for House Bill 158 at the Springfield Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation.
The Democratic governor was surrounded by the bill’s main sponsors, state Sen. Mattie Hunter and Rep. Camille Lilly, both Chicago Democrats, as well as about a dozen other supporters, including Memorial Health System chief executive officer Ed Curtis, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Chicago, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park.
Photo by Peter Hancock Gov. JB Pritzker, accompanied by members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and the health care community April 27 at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, signs a health care reform bill backed by the Black Caucus. Capitol News Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker declared health care a right, not a privilege Tuesday, April 27, as he signed a massive reform bill backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, the last of four policy pillars introduced as part of an anti-racism agenda last year. The Illinois Health Care and Human Services Reform Act, contained in House Bill 158, is a 224-page bill made up of over a dozen provisions meant to end inequities in the Illinois health care system on the basis of race, income and other socioeconomic factors.