(SPRINGFIELD) The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday lit up the Gold Star Families Christmas Tree in Springfield. The lighting ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum & Library included a program featuring agency Director Terry Prince, Illinois National Guard Adjutant General Rodney Boyd, and many others. The special Christmas Tree is decorated by families of soldiers who lost their lives in combat.
(CHICAGO) The state’s largest private water utility, Illinois American Water, will increase customer bills in the new year. The move comes after state regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission approved the requested price hike late last week. In fact, the $110 million increase for the upstate company is a 30% reduction from its original request that was made earlier this year. Illinois American Water serves over one million customers in roughly 150 communities around the state, ranging from South Beloit all the way south to Cairo, with major operations in the Chicago suburbs, Campaign, Peoria, & the Metro East.
(CHICAGO) The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee plans a hearing today with the title “how mass deportations will separate American families, harm our armed forces, and devastate our economy.” The Committee, chaired by Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, will look at the incoming Trump administration’s plans for deportation of illegal immigrants and how it may impact non-violent, non-citizens in the United States. Many in downstate Illinois are wondering why the concern is focused on illegal immigrants and not on American citizens.