(SPRINGFIELD) Governor J.B. Pritzker wants $40 million in taxpayer funds over four years to pick up the medical debt tab for hundreds of thousands of statewide individuals. During a news conference this past Monday, the Governor said 14% of the state’s population has medical debt in collections with minority communities disproportionately impacted. The plan would would have one penny of taxpayer money buy back and eliminate every one dollar of medical debt. That means $10 million from taxpayers could eliminate up to $1 billion of medical debt for some 340,000 low-income citizens in Illinois in the first year.
(SPRINGFIELD) The State House yesterday passed House Bill 2601 to bring uniformity to meat inspections in Illinois. Sponsored by State Representative Adam Niemerg, the bill would also change the law to help cut back on government regulations, allowing the State Director of Agriculture to exempt from inspection animals slaughtered or any meat or meat food products marked as NOT FOR SALE. The bill now moves to the Senate for a vote there.
(EAST ST. LOUIS) The Illinois State Police conducted Operation Green Jacket on three days and nights last week in St. Clair and Madison Counties, focusing its efforts on East St. Louis and neighboring Metro East communities. The operation involved more than 40 officers from at least five Troops, along with other special law enforcement agencies, utilizing technology and intelligence to target high crime areas, violent offenders, and structured criminal groups. The Operation Green Jacket three-day enforcement results included 42 criminal charges, 24 felony charges, 19 firearm related charges, 16 total arrests, 9 firearms seized, and 474 grams of controlled substance seized, all in the Metro East area.
(SPRINGFIELD) Youth hunters in Illinois harvested more turkeys in the most recent season than the previous harvest record set four years ago. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reports a preliminary total of 2,006 birds taken by youth turkey hunters from the two hunting periods last month and earlier this month. The state’s previous record harvest for turkeys throughout Illinois was 1,733 birds in 2020. The IDNR’s turkey hunting seasons for adults are running now thru May 9th in the south and May 16th in the north.