It’s T minus 15 days for Illinois state lawmakers to get everything they need done this legislative session.
As always, the budget is priority one.
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Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan held a tight grip on the gavel for 36 years – a term only interrupted by a two-year blip in the ‘90s.
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The site of the former Hobo store, 7630 Roosevelt Rd., will be turned into the one of the biggest COVID-19 vaccination sites in the state on March 26, offering 1,000 shots per day to start, Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Governor JB Pritzker joined state and Cook County leaders Monday morning to announce a new mass vaccination site in Forest Park set to open Friday.
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In his first appearance before the City Club of Chicago since becoming speaker, Welch laid out his top four legislative priorities, a list that he said “kind of set” itself.
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The omnibus legislation, which was drafted by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, addresses early childhood, primary, secondary and higher education.
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OK, so new Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch still is in the early days of his first big turn on the public stage.
He told the Economic Club of Chicago last week that Gov. J.B. Pritzker should try a do-over on the graduated income tax — and then, in a forum the very next day, said he was just “spitballing” those remarks.
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The Honorable Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Speaker of the House, Illinois House or Representatives, addressed the Club as part of its Chicago Conversations series on Feb. 24, 2021. The conversation was moderated by WTTW's Amanda Vinicky.
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Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch sits down with WGN-TV Political Reporter Tahman Bradley to talk about the state budget, redistricting, and ushering in a new era at the statehouse.
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Over the eventful past year, the Chicagoans in this ranking have stepped up in a big way, wielding newfound clout and making change happen.
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Westchester, is ready to turn a new leaf in the Illinois House of Representatives.
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The new rules establish a new term limit of roughly 10 years on the speaker and House minority leader, allow for remote legislating, and ensure bills that are submitted to the Rules Committee in odd-numbered years are sent to a substantive committee or the appropriations committee for consideration.
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Newly-elected Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch talks with WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore about the challenges that await him as he takes the gavel from Michael Madigan. He discusses setting a more bi-partisan tone in the House, and dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery, the budget, ethics, redistricting and more.
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SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch was walking through security at the Bank of Springfield Center on his way to the makeshift Illinois House floor the morning of Jan. 11 when he received a call that would change his life.
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When Emanuel "Chris" Welch was a student at Proviso West High School in the late 1980s his classmates liked him and were impressed by him. He was known as a good athlete, a smooth talker, and was class president all four years in high school. Classmates expected him to go far.
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- One day after making history by being the first Black person elected as Speaker of the Illinois House, Emanuel "Chris" Welch sat down for a one-on-one interview with ABC 7.
While the Hillside Democrat said he may be ready to work with Republicans, he said he is also putting them on notice about who is in charge.
It’s been quite a whirlwind for the new Illinois Speaker of the House Chris Welch, as he’s received more than one thousand text messages from all over the country as well-wishers congratulate the state legislature’s first-ever Black Speaker.
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Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch hasn’t had much time to digest the new position he’s in — or had much sleep over the last few days while trying to win that position — but he said Thursday he’s charting a path forward, one that will be shaped by input from the House Democratic Caucus.
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The Illinois House of Representatives on Wednesday elected Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch as the first Black speaker in the state's history and the chamber's first new leader in decades, marking a seismic shift of power in Springfield, bringing the reign of longtime Speaker Michael Madigan to an end.
"I am grateful and humbled by your friendship, your guidance and your trust," Welch, 49, told colleagues immediately after taking his oath of office.
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