News Progress

Pritzker signs measures ahead of second-term budget address

•February 22, 2023•
By Nika Schoonover
Capitol News Illinois
nschoonover @ capitolnewsillinois.com

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed 15 bills into law, tackling policy areas from tourism to prison reform and making it easier for people previously convicted of felonies to legally change their name.
The laws passed the General Assembly in their recently concluded lame duck legislative session in January, and Pritzker’s signature came less than a week before his budget address, scheduled for Wednesday at the Capitol. Read More

•February 22, 2023•
In recognition of February being National Canned Food Month, HSHS Home Care Illinois is holding their annual “Cram the Car” food drive this month for the Catholic Charities food pantry to help those struggling with food insecurity. Read More

•February 22, 2023•
The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is reminding senior citizens about the availability of the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program which allows qualified seniors to defer all or part of their property taxes and special assessment payments on their principal residences. Seniors needing assistance paying their property taxes have until March 1, 2023 to apply for the program.
The program, which works like a loan, allows qualified seniors to defer a maximum of $7,500 per tax year (including both first and second installment payments), increased from $5,000 last year. Deferred amounts are borrowed from the state, who pays the tax bill to the County Collector’s Office. The program was also expanded this year to increase the household income threshold qualification from $55,000 to $65,000. Read More

•February 22, 2023•
By Cheri Burcham
Family Life Educator

When someone asks you to think about health, wellness or fitness, you usually think about physical health, exercise or nutrition. As people age, they often concentrate on improving and maintaining their physical health, when they should also be working on their cognitive or brain health. Since March 13-19 is Brain Awareness Week, I would like to share a few things you can do to maintain a healthy brain. Getting enough good, quality sleep is important along with eating a heart healthy diet and exercising regularly. I have heard the phrase “what’s good for the heart is good for the brain” more than once while working with this topic. Lowering your stress levels and keeping solid social connections and support also contribute to achieving good brain health. Researchers agree that challenging your brain daily is also beneficial and necessary to maintain brain health and delay cognitive decline as we get older. Read More

•February 22, 2023•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

It’s not every day I get an avalanche of mail from readers of this column.
But then it’s not every day I get my dander up and essentially call something stupid.
Last Sunday I wrote about a silly attempt to draw attention to a website that purports to help improve your writing.
The PR person who took that job is probably rueing the day it landed on his desk.
Writing Tips Institute says it polled 3,000 Americans on whether they would support a law protecting their states’ individual dialects.
My point: Illinois doesn’t have one dialect. Nor does it have two or three. And besides, how does one enforce a law that so clearly, as reader Dennis Nowicki pointed out, is an affront to the First Amendment of the Constitution?
“Right on,” he wrote, clearly putting himself in my age group. “There is no need for more laws that are near impossible to enforce and that further negatively impact free speech.” Read More