The measure, which takes effect immediately, passed both chambers of the General Assembly last month.
In addition to drop boxes, the new law also makes permanent the requirement that election authorities accept mail-in ballots regardless of whether they are returned with sufficient postage.
Proponents of drop boxes say they are a convenient option for voters who have concerns about trusting their ballots to the Postal Service. Curbside voting, meanwhile, makes it easier for people with disabilities or health issues to cast ballots, supporters say.
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It would remain up to each of the stateâs 108 election jurisdictions to decide whether to permit those forms of voting.
Businessman Gary Rabine on Tuesday announced he will seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2022, becoming the third candidate to officially enter the field.
Pritzker s political war chest dwarfs Illinois Republicans vying to challenge him by Greg Bishop, The Center Square | April 01, 2021 10:00 AM Print this article
A third candidate has jumped into the race for the Illinois Republican gubernatorial nomination, but Illinois’ billionaire Democratic governor’s political war chest far surpasses what Republicans have on hand.
Illinois businessman Gary Rabine announced his bid Tuesday. He focused on reversing population decline by creating jobs, lowering property taxes and “serving families.”
“J.B. Pritzker is a California trust fund billionaire who came here and bought our governorship. It’s time to turn things around,” Rabine said. “Together we’re going to beat J.B. Pritzker.”
Gov. JB Pritzker plans to work on strengthening Illinois public health system as that system strains to deal with what may be the waning months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the first-term Democratic governor, in a brief interview with The State Journal-Register this week, had no specifics on what needs to be done going forward other than continuing to stress mask-wearing, social distancing and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. The time to write the playbook for the next pandemic is when we get to the end of this pandemic, when we re right at the end, and we ve just been through all of the challenges, Pritzker said. I m taking notes all the way along, and I know the people who work with me are, to make sure that we re doing the things after this pandemic that will prepare the state for the next one.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday heâs working with business interests and health professionals in developing an incremental reopening plan for Illinois that is expected to be released later this week.
âWeâre working with industry leaders, (and) weâre working with our doctors at (the Illinois Department of Public Health) as well as other experts in the state to make sure that the phased reopening is not only healthy for everybody but also good for the economy as we move it forward,â Pritzker said outside Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in downstate Lincoln.
At a stop later in Decatur, Pritzker said the new reopening plan would balance economic interests with the need to stay ahead of new variants of the virus that spread more quickly than the strains that drove the spring and fall surges.