Today the House of Representatives honored the memory of three Illinois heroes who died within the last 12 month while in service to our country.

Petty Officer 2nd Class 
Logan S. Palmer 
United States Navy
Logan Stephen Palmer, Petty Officer 2nd Class, 23, of Harristown, IL, passed away on August 21, 2017 while serving his country aboard the USS John S. McCain in the South China Sea.

Illinois transportation, safety and government leaders are at the state Capitol today to honor the life of Illinois Tollway roadway maintenance worker David Schwarz and are calling on Illinois drivers to take the Give Them Distance pledge.

The Give Them Distance pledge launched as part of a statewide effort to emphasize the importance of the Illinois Move Over Law, which was expanded by Governor Bruce Rauner in 2017 and requires drivers to slow down and change lanes safely when approaching any vehicle stopped on the side of the road with lights flashing.

33,703.

That’s how many residents left Illinois last year.

People leave the state for a variety of reasons from weather to career opportunities.

But experts say Illinois’ population loss bucks national trends and is the opposite of what surrounding states are seeing. Here's the story.

CRIMINAL LAW

Governor Rauner proposes major public safety package to reinstate death penalty and extend 72-hour wait to all guns. Gov. Bruce Rauner has asked the Illinois General Assembly to reinstate the death penalty for mass murderers and those who kill law enforcement officers.

The proposal is part of a precedent-setting public safety initiative that the Governor unveiled in an amendatory veto (AV) of House Bill 1468 which also urges legislators to:

Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced that 327 Opportunity Zone census tract recommendations submitted by the State of Illinois have been approved by the U.S. Treasury Department. These zones cover more than 85 counties throughout the state and aim to support the future of Illinois through economic growth and investment.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for communities throughout Illinois,” Rauner said. “These zones include some of the most underserved areas of the state that have the greatest potential for improvement. They represent a broad cross-section of Illinois that includes rural, urban and suburban in-need communities that are ripe for investment and job creation.”

Governor Bruce Rauner today issued a disaster proclamation for nine counties impacted by the Rend Lake Conservancy District water main break. The governor announced the proclamation during a visit to the Williamson County Emergency Operations Center in Marion. He also visited the Rend Lake Conservancy District, where district officials updated him on water restoration.

The proclamation ensures state support for affected communities will continue until all water supply issues are resolved. Counties in the proclamation include: Franklin, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Saline, Washington, White and Williamson.

State Representative Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) once again rose to speak on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives on Thursday to address issues related to Southern Illinois University. This time though, Bryant had a much different message.

“Last week, I spoke against a package of bills that attack SIU Carbondale’s campus,” Bryant said. “I didn’t think that this week I would be defending SIU-C against yet another attack, but that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

Bryant went on to say that evidence revealed in an op-ed in today’s Southern Illinoisan make it quite clear that President Dunn is not working for the Carbondale campus, and that he is in fact colluding with officials at SIU Edwardsville to work against it....

...After offering a strong defense of her constituents and the Carbondale campus, Bryant called on Dunn to resign his post as SIU President. Read the rest of the story and watch video of Rep. Bryant's remarks..