(SPRINGFIELD) State offiicials are speaking out in support of Health Alliance employees & customers after the health insurer based in Champaign announced this week that all of their plans will be discontinued at the end of the year, with the exception of Medicare Advantage. State Senator Chapin Rose of Mahomet says he is “shocked and stunned” by the news and he said his office will stand by to try and help in any way he can, whether it’s job training opportunities and/or recruitment efforts for the impacted employees.
(SPRINGFIELD) The Illinois Attorney General’s office is urging action from Congress to combat organized retail crime. In fact, the Illinois office is co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general of nationwide states who sent a letter to Congress asking that it pass legislation to help the states fight back. The letter say that organized retail crime has contributed to financial losses of over $121 billion in the United States.
(SPRINGFIELD) As officials with the Illinois State Board of Education propose their budget request, they say they will not be complying with President Donald Trump’s order to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Despite the total number of students in Illinois going down over several years, the ISBE is still asking for more tax dollars. ISBE officials told a State House committee this week that the $11.4 billion request is an increase of nearly a half billion dollars from the current fiscal year budget.
(SPRINGFIELD) The criminal trial in the Sonya Massey murder case could be moved outside of Sangamon County. An attorney for former Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson files a motion to have the trial moved, arguing that Sangamon County is too close-knit and there has been too much media coverage, which could influence local jurors. Body camera footage from last July shows Grayson shooting Massey in her house after she moved a pot of boiling water from her stove after she called police to report a prowler.