Get the latest news headlines from around Illinois.
WGN: Pritzker declares Juneteenth an official Illinois state holiday
Juneteenth will now be an Illinois state holiday.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed a bill that made Illinois the 47th state to recognize the day. The governor signed the bill at a press conference in Springfield Wednesday. For the first time, June 19 will also be a paid Cook County holiday.
Newsweek: New Study Shows an Illinois Resident Was Infected With Coronavirus as Early as Christmas Eve 2019
new study published Tuesday by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found that an Illinois resident was infected with the coronavirus as early as Christmas Eve 2019, the Associated Press reported.
Nine other study participants—five from Illinois and one each from Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—were infected earlier than any of the cases first reported in those states.
FOX 32 Chicago: Exelon threatens to close 2 Illinois power plants after state lawmakers fail to pass energy bill
On Wednesday, Pritzker threw down a political marker after state lawmakers failed to approve a 900-page energy proposal that has electric utility giant Exelon renewing its threat to shut down two nuclear power plants in Illinois.
CNN: On Wednesday, Pritzker threw down a political marker after state lawmakers failed to approve a 900-page energy proposal that has electric utility giant Exelon renewing its threat to shut down two nuclear power plants in Illinois.
The fire at the Chemtool Inc. plant in Rockton, Illinois, has been contained, the Rockton fire chief announced Wednesday morning in a news conference.
Oak Leaves: Oak Park Dist. 97 considering wage increases for certain staff as $15 minimum wage requirement looms
With the state of Illinois heading toward a $15 minimum wage by 2025, Oak Park District 97 is planning for gradual wage increases for some of its temporary, at-will staff.
In early 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill approving a minimum wage of $15 per hour. The law increased the minimum wage to $10 per hour on July 1, 2020, and calls for the wage to increase $1 per hour each year on Jan. 1 until hitting $15 per hour in 2025.
Belleville News-Democrat: Southern Illinois lawmakers helped kill energy bill that would force coal plant closure
The forced closure of a southwestern Illinois coal plant is off the table for now after lawmakers, including metro-east Republicans and Democrats, united in opposition to energy legislation this week.
The state Senate adjourned from a special session Tuesday after negotiators failed to make a deal that would satisfy environmentalists, unions, utilities and pro-coal legislators. One sticking point was how to eventually decommission the coal-fired Prairie State Energy Campus in Marissa and the City, Water, Light, and Power plant in Springfield.