Illinois State Senate
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Recent News About Illinois State Senate
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Unger sues Cole to stop state Senate from meeting Sunday
CHARLESTON – A state Senator wants a judge to prevent the state Senate from meeting on Sundays. Sen. John Unger (D-Berkeley) filed petition Feb. 24 in Kanawha Circuit Court against state Senate President Bill Cole, a Republican who also is running for governor. A hearing is set for Friday morning before Judge Jim Stucky. -
Groups praise passage of legal reform bill aiding drug companies
WASHINGTON — A national group and a state group both are praising a recently passed piece of legislation that would bring West Virginia in line with other states regarding the legal responsibility of drug manufacturers. Senate Bill 15 would adopt the intermediary doctrine as a defense to civil action due to lack of warnings or instructions. The bill now awaits Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's signature. -
Capito, Manchin urge court to halt EPA Clean Power Plan
WASHINGTON – West Virginia's U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin filed an amicus brief supporting the state's effort to stop the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Capito, a Republican, and Manchin, a Democrat, signed the amicus brief spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.,) Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whi -
A new plan to get West Virginia moving
CHARLESTON – There is no doubt that West Virginia is facing an economic and a fiscal crisis. We are reminded constantly of our troubled times. Miners being laid off because of President Obama’s War on Coal. A majority of our adults not working. High unemployment. Dead last in job growth because we are the most over-regulated state in the nation. A $353 million state budget deficit that is only going to grow in the short term because of the dramatic decline of severance taxes and the ripple effec -
Justice company held in contempt of court for unpaid debt
CHARLESTON – Justice Energy, which is owned by gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice, was held in contempt Monday by District Judge Irene C. Berger for not paying a nearly $150,000 debt. Berger fined the company $30,000 per day, beginning Jan. 5., until the company is in full compliance and has paid off the two-year-old debt. -
Tomblin vetoes AG outside counsel hiring bill
CHARLESTON – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed a bill creating bidding and qualification procedures for the Attorney General’s office’s hiring of outside counsel. While Tomblin praised the goal of House Bill 4007, his veto message said his office believes it is too broad and gives the Attorney General too much power. -
Teamsters file lawsuits over WVU study for right-to-work legislation
MORGANTOWN – The Teamsters have filed two FOIA lawsuits over a West Virginia University study about the state Legislature’s right-to-work bill. -
Analyst says McGraw makes SC race 'more intriguing'
CHARLESTON – A former state legislator says Darrell McGraw’s entry into the state Supreme Court race makes that election even more intriguing than it was before. -
CALA continues to push intermediate court of appeals
CHARLESTON – As the state legislative session enters its second half, a legal reform group is making another push for lawmakers to consider creating an intermediate court of appeals. -
U.S. Chamber urges Tomblin to sign AG 'sunshine bill'
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform is pushing Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to sign legislation providing transparency to how the state Attorney General's office operates. ILR President Lisa A. Rickard applauded the state Legislature for passing House Bill 4007, which promotes transparency and limits contingency fees when the AG's office hires outside private plaintiffs’ lawyers. -
U.S. SC sides with states, halts EPA’s Clean Power Plan
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed the high court’s decision to stay the agency’s new rule, calling it a “major victory” for Americans. The White House disagreed with the court’s order, but said it is confident the agency will prevail in the court challenge. -
Darrell McGraw files to run for state Supreme Court
CHARLESTON – Former state Attorney General Darrell McGraw is running for state Supreme Court. McGraw, who also served on the Court from 1976 to 1988 before a 20-year stint as AG, threw his hat into the ring for the one seat up for grabs on Jan. 30, the final day to file for office. -
Ketchum ready to tackle second time as Chief Justice
CHARLESTON – It’s just a few weeks into his second stint as chief justice, but Menis Ketchum already has had a busy year. The justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals already have ruled in a case that determined the balance of the state Senate. He’s had to watch the weather to decide whether to keep the court offices open through winter storm Jonas. He’s had to prepare a budget report for both houses of the state Legislature. And that’s on top of the day-to-day functioning of the s -
W.Va. BIC rallies behind FACT Act
WASHINGTON D.C. -- A federal act promoting transparency and access to information relating to asbestos claims recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and has now been introduced in the Senate. -
Davis chastises lawyers, other Justices in state Senate case
CHARLESTON – State Supreme Court Justice Robin Jean Davis says the majority was wrong in interpreting a state law that allowed a Republican to fill a vacant state Senate seat. In her dissent filed Jan. 27, Davis said last week’s 3-1 ruling that gave former state Sen. Daniel Hall’s seat to the GOP was unconstitutional. -
AG outside counsel bill passes House, heads to Senate
CHARLESTON – A House bill to codify Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s outside counsel policy is headed to the state Senate. House Bill 4007 passed the House of Delegates on Jan. 25 on a 96-1 vote. It would restrict fees to outside counsel hired by the state Attorney General’s office and prevent those attorneys from contributing to that attorney general’s re-election campaign while working for the state. -
Court denies states' request for stay of Clean Power Plan
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is leading a coalition of states against the federal agency’s new rule, says he is considering an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Justices: Vacant state Senate seat will go to a Republican
CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court has ruled that the vacant state Senate seat in the headlines for the last two weeks should be filled by a Republican. The Justices issued their opinion Jan. 22, rejecting the writ filed by Democrats who argued it should be filled by a member of their party because former state Senator Daniel Hall was a Democrat when he was elected in 2012. -
Legal reform groups plan 2016 legislative agendas
CHARLESTON – As the 2016 legislative session gets into a routine, two organizations that watch legal reforms know what they want to happen this term. -
U.S. Senate fails to override Obama veto of resolution nullifying EPA ‘Waters’ rule
Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin both voted Thursday to override Obama’s veto. The Senate fell 15 votes short.