In the News

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed a proposal meant to put the government more squarely in the digital identity space out of committee on Wednesday. The next stop for the legislation is the Senate floor.

The proposal was originally introduced in 2020 by Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and reintroduced by Foster along with Reps. John Katko (R-N.Y.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Barry Loudermilk, (R-Ga.) in 2021.

A little more than two months before Election Day, several local congressional Democrats joined the U.S. secretary of labor in Chicago on Thursday to tout the Biden administration's efforts to help blue-collar workers and retirees while rallying union support as Illinois prepares to vote on a referendum that would guarantee employees the right to organize and bargain collectively.

The newly-named Grand Prairie Water Commission was announce Aug.18. It consists of six municipalities: Channahon, Crest Hill, Joliet, Minooka, Romeoville and Shorewood.

In the age of increasing government digital services, Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) is zeroing in on the question of digital identity – how do you know that someone is who they say they are online.

Foster is the lead sponsor of the Improving Digital Identity Act, introduced in 2020 and again in 2021. Earlier this summer, it got a Senate companion from Sens. Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) and advanced out of a House committee.

Carlos Avila is the owner of Day and Night Childcare in Aurora and is concerned about attracting good teachers to work at his facility and being able to pay them adequately.

"I want to see Latinos grow and see my community grow and see how we can get better as a business and what we can do in the community," Avila said while waiting for a meeting to begin Thursday in Aurora centering on Hispanic-owned small businesses in the city. "The pressure to have qualified teachers is getting tough and the kids deserve well-paid teachers."

During a ceremony Tuesday celebrating the life of his father, Brian Dolan summed everything up succinctly.

Standing in front of the Dolan extended family, Brian wore a red East Aurora High School Tomcats shirt, and extended forward a blue hat proclaiming the ship Dan Dolan Sr. served on while in the Navy.

The sweeping spending bill passed by Congress this month includes nearly $370 billion for energy and climate reform, making it the largest federal clean energy investment in the nation's history. Local environmental advocates and representatives say Illinois is uniquely positioned to take advantage of it.

Fox Valley United Way kicked off its 100th anniversary celebration with an open house and ribbon cutting on Friday, Aug. 5, at the office in downtown Aurora.

They wish to thank the many board members, staff, volunteers and supporters that joined the celebration. Special thanks for Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, Aurora Alderman Shweta Baid, Edward Bugg, Carl Franco and Ron Woerman, and U.S. Representatives Bill Foster and Lauren Underwood for attending.