By Earl F. Glynn / Kansas Watchdog

U.S. District Courts in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska are among 14 nationwide in a three-year test program making video recordings available online from certain civil cases.

Kansas could start "within the next few weeks" according to Neely Fedde, the Public Outreach Specialist for the District of Kansas federal courts.

Kansas judges [...]

Just months after a fight to reform state pensions, new data show it was not enough. Public employee union leaders say the solution is to increase taxes.

By Kevin Lee     Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD  –  State lawmakers will tackle a flurry of budget proposals before the scheduled end of the legislative session on Friday.
The Illinois House will consider a tax hike on cigarettes from 98 cents per pack to $1.98 per pack.
The Illinois Senate passed the cigarette tax increase proposal last April by a [...]

SPRINGFIELD – Colleen Lawson has taken her battle for gun rights from Chicago to the U.S. Supreme Court.
But Lawson found herself at the Illinois statehouse in Springfield on Wednesday as part of Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day. The 51-year-old explained how she unexpectedly became a crusader for gun rights.
Lawson said an attempted home invasion convinced [...]

Federal stimulus dollars were used to help laid off congressional districts in Illinois, according to Recovery.gov. In fact, nearly $500,000 was directed towards the 20th District, which lost its job following the 2000 census. That’s not all, $2.4 million was sent to the district’s retired compatriots–the 21st and 22nd–which were done away with after the [...]