Articles

Illinois House votes to lift smoking ban at casinos

Tom Swoik, executive director of Illinois Casino Gaming Association, said gambling revenue has dropped 32 percent since the state’s smoking ban was approved. He said the ban has cost state government about $800 million in taxes.

Read More

Indiana House faces pressure to finish work on time

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said the five week "vacation" by House Democrats means lawmakers may have to work on Fridays and Saturdays. He said representatives would go with little sleep and eat sandwiches and pizza while working at their desks if necessary to get work done.

Read More

State GOP pushing expansive voucher program

Indiana's Republican leadership is pushing ahead with a proposal that would be the nation's broadest use of school vouchers, allowing even middle-class families to use taxpayer money to send their kids to private schools.

Read More

House Democrats return to Statehouse

Indiana House Democrats have returned to work at the Statehouse for the first time since they fled to Illinois on Feb. 22 in protest of a Republican reform plan they called an assault on labor and public education.

Read More

Indiana seeks to become player in cargo flights

The state nicknamed the "Crossroads of America" wants to become a preferred landing spot for cargo planes, but industry leaders say Indiana could have a tough time attracting flights from neighboring states because many airports are competing for the same business and freight companies are resistant to change.

Read More

As Japan shutdowns drag on, auto crisis worsens

In the weeks ahead, car buyers will have difficulty finding the model they want in certain colors, thousands of auto plant workers will likely be told to stay home, and companies such as Toyota, Honda and others will lose billions of dollars in revenue.

Read More

Prosecutors buck effort to trim state prison costs

Angry prosecutors have derailed a legislative plan to reduce Indiana's corrections costs by shortening some criminal sentences, and now the state seen as a national model for fiscal austerity could be forced to find millions of dollars for new prisons.

Read More

Deputy prosecutor suggested fake attack on Wisconsin gov.

Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said one of his deputies resigned Thursday after admitting he sent an email to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker suggesting the Republican fake an attack on himself to discredit the public employee unions protesting his plan to strip them of nearly all collective bargaining rights.

Read More

Smoking bill needs exemptions to survive Senate

Health advocates will have to live with wide exemptions in a proposed statewide smoking ban because a stricter, more comprehensive ban wouldn't be able to pass the conservative Senate, the head of a Senate committee said.

Read More