(Springfield) The State of Illinois is a step closer to squashing challenges to its gun ban and ammunition magazine ban as the seventh Circuit U.S. court of Appeals released its ruling this past Friday. While judges Frank Easterbrook and Diane Wood issued the prevailing decision in support of the gun ban legality, the third judge, Michael Brennan, dissented from the majority decision. The ruling comes as plaintiffs challenging Illinois’ gun ban are back in the southern district Federal Court with an amended complaint to block the January 1st, 2024 gun registry deadline as public comments about the rules continue. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals originally heard the case back in late June.
( Springfield) An Illinois county wanting to leave the state and join Missouri has been denied. Jersey County along with others in downstate Illinois, have been investigating ways to break the state into two pieces since the 2020 general election. Jersey County issued a letter to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to seek a formal opinion on whether a county could secede from the state and join another state. Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the state’s constitution does not provide a statutory procedure to do so.
(Springfield) The Illinois EPA has announced the funding opportunities for the purchase and installation of light-duty electric vehicle charging stations at publicly accessible sites. This round of money is expected to fund at least 675 fast charging ports statewide. Each application must include a minimum of two charging station locations, with at least two standalone chargers at each site, all available through the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act.
(Springfield) The Illinois Department of Insurance has announced fines totaling nearly $232,000 for Health Care Service Corporation, the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. It is for violations of the Network Adequacy & Transparency Act, which requires health insurers to post up-to-date, accurate, and complete provider directory information. A company statement says the information noted in the order was corrected back in May.