Author: Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – Beginning Jan. 1, a new Illinois law cracks down on predatory towing by letting the Illinois Commerce Commission impound unregistered trucks and suspend plates tied to unpaid fines.  Senate Bill 2040 passed…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – A Chinese battery plant in Manteno, Illinois that is getting state taxpayer support, isn’t producing electric vehicle batteries, according to a village trustee. Instead, photos from local critics and a Wirepoints report…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Energy has canceled $4.9 billion in federal loans for the Grain Belt Express, a proposed multistate transmission line that faced pushback from Illinois landowners over concerns about…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a new law empowering police to swiftly remove squatters from private property. A statehouse Republican says it reverses years of Democrat-backed policies that emboldened squatters.…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – Illinois taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of millions in food subsidies if the state’s error rate isn’t cleaned up. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program error rate measures how…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – An Illinois taxpayer watchdog is calling for a formal investigation into the Rochester Public Library, alleging staff and board members used public resources to campaign for a 169% property tax increase. Americans…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – State Farm’s plan to raise homeowners insurance rates by more than half a billion dollars in Illinois has reignited calls from consumer advocates to overhaul how the state oversees insurance rates.…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – Amid staffing shortages and public concern over natural disasters, the National Weather Service is defending its ability to fulfill its core mission—even as it operates under the strain of past budget…

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save (The Center Square) – State Farm’s plan to raise homeowners insurance rates by more than half a billion dollars in Illinois has reignited calls from consumer advocates to overhaul how the state oversees insurance rates.…

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently slashed over $1 billion in federal funding for schools and food banks. Pritzker addressed concerns Wednesday about how Illinois will handle food insecurity in light of these cuts. “We don’t have what right now looks like about $11 billion that we will lose to the…