THE DAILY LINE - Key Persons
Alex Nitkin is The Daily Line's editor and reporter covering Cook County and Chicago's City Council. He came to TDL from The Real Deal Chicago, where he covered Chicago real estate news. He previously worked at DNAinfo, first as a breaking news reporter, and then as a neighborhood reporter covering the city's Far Northwest Side. He grew up in Connecticut and spent one year as an exchange student in Venezuela before studying at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, during which time he interned at the Chicago Reporter. When he's not reporting on Chicago government and politics, Alex enjoys camping, baking bread and riding Divvy bikes as far as they'll go.
Erin Hegarty has covered City Hall for The Daily Line since September 2020. She previously covered the City of Naperville for the Naperville Sun/Chicago Tribune for four years, and prior to that covered the northwest suburbs for the Daily Herald. Erin enjoys biking around the city and eating her way through different neighborhoods.
Job Titles:
- Governor Has No Public Events Scheduled
Pritzker vetoes ‘burdensome' prejudgment interest bill as updated version heads to his desk
Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday vetoed his ninth bill since taking office. Gov. JB Pritzker on Thur...
As Gov. JB Pritzker prepares to release his latest annual budget proposal to lawmakers on Wednesday, Illinois Republicans are proactively rebuking the governor, calling for the legislature to "reassert" itself as an equal branch of government, as yet another Republican announced a bid to unseat the governor.
Reflecting the unusual circumstances facing the state and the nation as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Gov. JB Pritzker delivered a virtual State of the State address Wednesday, calling for lawmakers to approve his $41.6 billion budget and pass laws to expand renewable energy, tighten ethics rules and close corporate loopholes.
Speaking from the Illinois State Fairgounds in Springfield, Pritzker began his speech by reflecting on the 1918 Spanish Flu, which led to the creation of a 100-bed makeshift hospital on the spot where he was standing. Noting a recent memorial he participated in to honor those who died during the current pandemic, Pritzker shared a story about an intensive care nurse who died earlier this year.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday proposed a $41.6 billion budget that maintains current spending levels and is less reliant on anticipated revenue from the federal government than last year, instead depending on diverting certain revenues and closing corporate loopholes.
The host of financial maneuvers and higher-than-anticipated revenue collections are among the main drivers leading the Pritzker administration to boast about having a balanced budget with no tax increases, all while Illinois continues to face the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. JB Pritzker released his proposed FY 2022 budget on Wednesday. Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesda...
House Majority Leader Greg Harris introduced an 87-page amendment on the final night of the lame duck session that provides insights of the direction lawmakers might go in terms of ethics reform.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Springfield Reporter
Joel Ebert is The Daily Line's reporter covering the Illinois state government. He covered politics in Illinois, South Dakota and West Virginia before joining The Tennessean in 2016 to report on the Tennessee General Assembly and state government. In West Virginia, he worked as a daily statehouse reporter before transitioning to provide daily coverage of the trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who became the first chief executive of a major corporation convicted of a workplace safety crime. A native of Illinois and graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ebert is a student of Chicago politics whose work has been cited by national media. He's received awards from the press associations in South Dakota, West Virginia and Tennessee, including the Malcolm Law Award for investigative reporting. In 2019, he was a National Press Foundation fellow.
Initially introduced by Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) in January, SB 4 was amended by the committee on Wednesday to adopt changes proposed by Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights).
Kelly bested Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris (8) during a nearly two-hour virtual committee meeting Wednesday, as Kelly secured 51 percent of the weighted votes from the 36-member State Central Committee.
Introduced by Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), HB 116 was approved by the House Housing Committee last month. The bill initially sought to repeal the 1997 Rent Control Preemption Act, which prohibits municipalities across the state from enacting any ordinance or resolution that would place rent controls on residential or commercial properties.