Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Bill would allow Illinois cities to add local tax on top of state’s gas tax
Illinoisans already pay some of the highest gas taxes in the country and an effort that the statehouse could allow local cities to tack on even more.
In 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted a multi-year capital construction plan that doubled the state’s gas tax and pegged annual increases every July 1 to inflation.
Belleville News-Democrat: Illinois drivers license facilities to remain closed due to COVID
Due to the continued high numbers of new COVID-19 cases statewide, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced all Secretary of State departments — including driver services facilities such as the DMV in Belleville — will remain closed another week and not resume in-person transactions until Monday, Jan. 24.
The Secretary of State offices and facilities first closed Jan. 3 due to the surge in COVID-19 cases statewide, with a target date of Jan. 18 to reopen.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois in line for $1.4 billion to fix bridges under Biden infrastructure plan
Illinois is in line to receive nearly $1.4 billion in federal funding over five years to help upgrade the state’s deteriorating bridges, the Biden administration is set to announce Friday.
The funding, which comes from the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan President Joe Biden signed into law in November, is just a portion of the roughly $17 billion the state is expected to receive from the overall package.
The Center Square: Illinois among 39 states involved in student loan settlement
Thousands of student loans in Illinois will be canceled as part of an agreement announced Thursday.
The loan servicing giant Navient has agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in student loan debts by roughly 66,000 borrowers as part of a settlement reached with Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul and 38 other state attorneys general.
FOX Illinois: Lawmakers continue the push to question DCFS leaders
State lawmakers are calling for immediate hearings to question the Department of Children and Family services.
Marc Smith, the agency director, is no longer being held in contempt of court, but representatives say there are still other issues that need to be addressed quickly.
WMBD: Illinois House Republicans demanding public hearings on DCFS issues
Illinois House Republicans are demanding change at the state’s Department of Children and Family Services.
This comes as the department’s director Marc Smith was recently held in contempt of court. Smith was held in contempt for allegedly not meeting the needs of a 9-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy.