CCI issues statement on final passage of SB 1947, education funding legislation
The Illinois Senate today passed Senate Bill 1947, following up on the House's approval yesterday of the landmark legislation that overhauls the state's education funding formula and introduces a five-year Scholarship Tax Credit program. The governor is...
CCI Radio Hour: Aug. 28, 2017
Aug. 28, 2017 show Mary Massingale, CCI's director of communications, fills in as host since Bob Gilligan was in Springfield lobbying for the Scholarship Tax Credit. Sarah Brune, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, joins Mary to talk...
Scholarship tax credit in the mix as lawmakers, governor grapple with education funding formula
UPDATE: Read our statement on final passage of education funding legislation, which includes the Scholarship Tax Credit. An initiative that would give low- and middle-income students expanded opportunities in the school they attend is in the mix as Illinois lawmakers...
CCI Radio Hour: July 17, 2017
July 17, 2017 show After two years of gridlock, Illinois finally has a fully-funded budget -- and an income tax increase. Jack Tichenor, interim director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University and longtime statehouse journalist,...
Illinois gets a budget - and an income tax increase - as lawmakers override governor's vetoes
Illinois lawmakers today ended a record-setting, two-year budget impasse by overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vetoes of a spending plan and an income tax increase. Today’s action eases some of the tension spawned by a highly acrimonious stalemate between the...
U.S. bishops chairman: Supreme Court ruling a 'victory for religious freedom'
The head of the U.S. bishops' committee on religious liberty today hailed the U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 decision in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer as a "landmark victory for religious freedom." The case stems from a simple...
CCI Radio Hour: June 19, 2017
June 19, 2017 show Dr. Brian Callister, an internal medicine specialist located in Reno, Nevada, joins Bob to tell the story of how an insurance company told him it would pay for assisted suicide rather than an expensive medical treatment for two of his patients. He...
Bishop Paprocki celebrates Red Mass; Gov. Rauner, Speaker Madigan attend
Bishop Paprocki of Springfield tonight celebrated a Red Mass for those working in public service, drawing Gov. Bruce Rauner, House Speaker Michael Madigan, several Illinois Supreme Court justices and state lawmakers. The bishop annually celebrates the Mass honoring...
CCI Radio Hour: May 15, 2017
May 15, 2017 show State Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, joins Bob to talk about last week's Senate passage of House Bill 40, which allows taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants and state employees. Gov. Bruce Rauner has promised to veto...
CCI issues statement on Illinois Senate passage of House Bill 40, taxpayer funding of abortion
The Illinois Senate today approved House Bill 40 on a vote of 33-22. You can view the vote count here. This legislation allows public money to be used to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants and state employees. CCI issued the following statement after...