Friday, May 17, 2013
Passed by a 35-21 vote, the bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn, who has not yet said whether he intends to sign it.
By a vote of 35-21, the Illinois Senate approved legislation on Friday that would allow doctors in the state to prescribe marijuana as pain relief for severe medical conditions. The bill now goes to Gov. Pat Quinn for his signature. According to the Chicago Tribune, the bill covers 33 specific conditions—including multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV infection—and includes several controls, with a four-year trial program, dosage limits, fingerprinting, background checks and licensed dispensing centers. “This bill is filled with walls to keep this limited,” the paper quoted sponsoring Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton), who urged lawmakers to pass the legislation as a compassionate measure for those suffering with extreme pain. In opposition, Sen. …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
A bill that has already passed the Illinois House could pave the way for limited prescriptions of pot.
Illinois lawmakers may be poised to enact one of the toughest medical marijuana laws in the nation after a Senate Committee moved a bill Wednesday allowing those with a limited list of illness to obtain a prescription for the drug. The bill has passed the Illinois House and Gov. Pat Quinn has said he is open to the proposal, reported the Chicago Tribune. The Senate Committee voted 10-5 even after law enforcement officials objected on the grounds that the bill does not include provisions for driving under the influence of marijuana, the Trib reported. The law would allow patients to obtain 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks. Sixty pot dispensaries would be set up throughout the state. The bill is sponsored by former State’s Attorney …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Gov. Quinn has declared a state of emergency in the wake of flooding throughout the Chicago area.
Governor Pat Quinn declared a state of emergency as state agencies prepared to provide assistance to local governments throughout northern Illinois dealing with severe river and flash flooding. The state of emergency ensures that state resources are activated and that the federal government is aware that a disaster declaration is likely. It also allows the state to request resources as needed, such as personnel and equipment. State and local emergency personnel have been on the ground in hardest hit areas since early this morning. "Heavy rainfall over the past few days has created dangerous flooding in areas across the state," Governor Quinn stated in a press release. "Everyone should stay home and off the roads if possible. To ensure …
Rivers continue to rise across the area. Find out the latest details in your area by clicking on the map.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
-
Thursday, April 18
The map above, from Google, uses real-time data from the National Weather Service to forecast river floods.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Residents of our state will soon have the right to carry concealed weapons in public, but that doesn't mean safety is guaranteed.
Monday, April 1, 2013
The governor signed 87 orders of pardon and expungement on Friday, freeing and/or granting clemency to six persons convicted in DuPage courts.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn handled 222 clemency petitions on Friday that go back to 2005, granting 87 and denying 135, in the process clearing six persons convicted in DuPage courts as long ago as 1988. According to the Peoria Journal-Star, Quinn’s office says he is committed to working through a backlog of over 2,500 cases accumulated during the tenure of the now-jailed ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich; he has granted 929 and denied 1,530 since taking office, his staff told the paper. The pardons for convictions in DuPage County went to: One of the most significant pardons, the Journal-Star reported, was of Peggy Jo Jackson, 57, who was convicted of murdering her husband in 1986 despite attorneys saying that she suffered horrible domestic abuse from…
Thursday, March 21, 2013
But moderate rankings in two other categories mean that the county ranks only sixth healthiest overall in the state, a new report shows.
DuPage County is the sixth healthiest of Illinois’ 102 counties and ranks first in three categories, according to a national study released on Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). The study found that DuPage has the lowest rate of premature death, the best heath behaviors and the best clinical care of any county in Illinois. However, the rankings for morbidity (25th of 102) and physical environment (64th of 102) brought the county’s overall rank down to sixth, behind Douglas, Jo Daviess, Woodford, Mercer and Henry. “The County Health Rankings shows that how long and how well people live depends on multiple factors beyond just their access to medical care…
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Illinois House of Human Services Committee approved a measure to legalize the use of medical marijuana on Wednesday. The bill's sponsor, Lou Lang (D-Skokie) told Patch the measure would be the strictest in the nation
The Illinois House of Human Services Committee approved a measure to legalize the use of medical marijuana on Wednesday, the Huffington Post reports. The final vote came in at 11-4. The measure now moves to the Illinois House for deliberation. House member Lou Lang (D-Skokie) has been pushing the legalization of medical marijuana for years. Whenever asked about the possibility of Illinois becoming the nineteenth state to legalize the green leafy substance, Lang is always optimistic. "Nobody should fear the bill," Lang told Skokie Patch. "This is about quality of life for people. While the House of Human Services approved the measure, nothing is set in stone. “As the State Journal-Register notes, similar legislation failed in the General …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
No determination of when the 10-judge panel will decide whether to look at last year's decision.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, January 9
Illinois' attorney general Lisa Madigan has asked the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a December ruling that overturned the state's ban on the concealed carry of handguns in public. The Chicago Tribune reports that the move is aimed at challenging the decision by a three-judge panel of the court, which ruled 2-1 that the state's longtime ban violated the Second Amendment. If the court accepts the petition, the case would be reviewed by all 10 appellate judges. If the court rejects the petition, Madigan would have to decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "In ruling that Illinois must allow individuals to carry ready-to-use firearms in public, the 7th Circuit Court’s decision goes beyond what the U.S. Supreme …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Cardinal Francis George releases a strongly worded letter as the State Legislature moves closer to a vote on gay marriage.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Thursday, January 3
As gay marriage moves closer to a vote in the Illinois General Assembly, Cardinal Francis George has released a letter attacking the notion of same-sex marriage and urging Catholics to voice their objections. A vote could happen in the Senate as soon as today as lawmakers look to pass the legislation during the lame duck session. Illinois would become the 10th state in the country to allow same-sex marriages. In his letter, George argued that because same-sex marriages cannot be consummated and are not undertaken for the purpose of conceiving children that government, "has no power to create something that nature itself tells us is impossible." He also writes that the Catholic church offers support for the gay community through various …
Dan Arenov
8:58 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Sounds like a blast. more ›