Sangamon Sun

Rep. Murphy calls on Pritzker administration to remember LaSalle COVID outbreak: 'We must ensure that we are not here again in another year'

By Savannah Howe | May 25, 2021

Something needs to be done about the LaSalle COVID-19 outbreak last fall that claimed the lives of 36 veterans, and state Rep. Mike Murphy feels the reform should start in the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

Butler on redistricting: People do no want to see 'politicians picking the people they represent'

By Savannah Howe | May 25, 2021

Another legislative session has came to a close, and Illinois is no closer to an independent redistricting commission.

Butler slams Pritzker on redistricting: Republicans 'get no answers' from Democrats

By Savannah Howe | May 21, 2021

House Republicans are frustrated with Gov. J.B. Pritzker's broken campaign promise to veto partisan map put on his desk this year.

Butler frustrated with political redistricting: 'This is absolutely what people don't want to see'

By Savannah Howe | May 11, 2021

Nonpartisan map advocates have lost another battle in Springfield where Democratic lawmakers are moving forward with politically-driven legislative maps despite the state's long history of gerrymandering.

Butler: 'It's really important' that new legislative districts are mapped in a nonpartisan manner

By Savannah Howe | May 10, 2021

Once every ten years after the U.S. Census, Illinois lawmakers must redraw the state's legislative districts to accommodate for population changes.

Butler stresses importance of redistricting: 'It's how you're represented'

By Savannah Howe | May 7, 2021

House Republicans want the decades of gerrymandering in Illinois to end.

Butler calls loss of congressional seat 'a really sad day in Illinois history'

By Savannah Howe | May 7, 2021

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) was one of several Republican lawmakers to comment on the staggering drop in Illinois population that revoked one of the state's U.S. Congress seats and has many debating why Illinoisans are departing from their home states by the tens of thousands each year.

Butler on Illinois pension debt: 'It's going to continue to be an issue when we craft the budget'

By Savannah Howe | May 6, 2021

Illinois was not in the best of financial shape going into the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state's cash crisis has only gotten worse, alarming many lawmakers.

Butler on new statue removal task force: A 'sober process' is needed to evaluate historical figures' character

By Savannah Howe | May 4, 2021

A new task force was recently created to help determine which statues should be added and removed from Springfield.

Butler criticizes disregard of US Census data for remapping: 'ACS data undercounts minority populations'

By Savannah Howe | Apr 29, 2021

The state's new legislative districts must be on the governor's desk in a little over two months, but the remapping process has been anything but smooth this decade around.

Butler says lost congressional seat is 'a sad day in Illinois history'

By Savannah Howe | Apr 28, 2021

The partial 2020 U.S. Census data released this week was bad news to many Illinois lawmakers who fear that the lost congressional seat as a result of the state's population decline will cost the Prairie State bargaining power in Washington.

Springfield man who participated in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot says rioters shouldn't face consequences

By Savannah Howe | Apr 27, 2021

A Springfield man who was arrested and charged with storming the U.S. Capitol in the January insurrection has a history of criminal activity.

Illinois professor emeritus doesn't see Republicans as 'knights on white horses' when it comes to redistricting

By Savannah Howe | Apr 21, 2021

Illinois lawmakers are at war over the responsibility of redistricting the state's legislative districts, a task that must be done every 10 years and believed by state Republicans to be best handled by an independent committee of Illinois residents and not politicians.

Illinois GOP releases new visitors guide video for touring Illinois Capitol

By Savannah Howe | Apr 20, 2021

Politics, government, history and architecture enthusiasts are encouraged to pay a visit to the Illinois Capitol this year while the general assembly is in session to check out the historical Statehouse and see Illinois legislators in action.

From Prairie State Wire

Illinois voters shoot down Fair Tax proposal

By Savannah Howe | 3 years ago

Illinois voters rejected a progressive income tax amendment that was criticized for having potentially devastating impacts on the state's taxpayers by removing the flat tax rate, skyrocket small business taxes by 47% and allow the possibility of taxing retirees.