Illinois
Illinois State Medical Society welcomes health insurance reform
We applaud Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s commitment to tackle health insurance reform as outlined in his recent State of the State address. The governor has vowed to tighten up how payers conduct “utilization reviews,” which is the process insurers use to determine whether a medical service will be covered under the health plan. The governor is also promising to prohibit step therapy, another impediment that patients must endure while the insurance companies decide whether to grant permission for treatments recommended by their physician. As the governor said, doctors and patients should be making decisions about medical care, not insurance companies.
It’s time to hold these payers accountable. No more ghost networks that are misleading patients on available physicians within their insurance network and no more making patients and physicians jump through hoops so bureaucrats can make medical decisions or delay care.
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It’s welcome news that these efforts that the physicians of the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) have been fighting for years now have the full backing of the governor’s office. Both the Prior Authorization Reform Act (2021) and the Network Adequacy and Transparency Act (2017) were ISMS-backed legislative initiatives to improve patient care and access to the physicians Illinoisans need and deserve in their communities.
We look forward to working with the governor and members of the Illinois General Assembly to make sure the people of Illinois have access to quality healthcare and that the administrative burdens on physicians are lessened so that more of their time can be spent on delivering patient care.
Rodney S. Alford, president, Illinois State Medical Society
City, state should get ownership stake for new facilities
If the mega-wealthy owners of the Bears, White Sox or any other team want taxpayer dollars via government funding for new facilities (or related infrastructure), then the city or state should receive a commensurate ownership stake in the team in return. There have been more than enough no-strings handouts to millionaires and billionaires over the years, thanks. Typically, these trips to the public trough are premised on fantastical projections of economic activity and tax revenue, which never materialize at the promised levels.
The federal government insisted on receiving ownership stakes in auto companies when they were bailed out by the billions during the Great Recession, and taxpayers made a profit when those shares were eventually sold. This practice should be the rule, not the exception, when eye-popping sums of public money flow to private interests.
Jason Liechty, Lincoln Square
Unhoused Chicagoans shouldn’t be an afterthought
A report from The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless found that people living in Chicago without a permanent address, living on the streets, or in shelters exceeded 68,000 prior to the surge of migrants into the city beginning in 2022.
I commend the City of Chicago for rolling out the carpet and helping these immigrants by providing the basic necessities of life.
My only complaint is why we did not afford our own citizens, more than 68,000 of them, the same?
The level of help that we are providing now to the thousands of people without homes coming from across the boarder.
If Chicago truly is a sanctuary city, our homeless citizens should have been afforded the same necessities of life.
John Livaich, Oak Lawn
Article Summary
- In an annual May ceremony, friends, family and supporters of law enforcement honored two Illinois police officers who died in the line of duty in 2025.
- The event included a squad car processional and interfaith church service, ending in a ceremony at the Illinois Police Officers Memorial outside the state capitol.
- Seven historic honorees and one K-9 historic honoree were also included.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
In a ceremony at the state Capitol, family, friends and supporters honored the lives of two law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2025.
The ceremony honored Officer Krystal Rivera of the Chicago Police Department and Detective Tim Jones of the Park Forest Police Department. Held annually on the first Thursday in May, the event is a tradition to honor law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty the previous calendar year.
“Today, as we remember your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, coworkers and friends who lost their lives in the line of duty, let us not remember them as indestructible superheroes that we may envision as children,” state Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. “Let’s remember them as human beings, in all their vulnerabilities and susceptibilities, who chose to take on the risk of the ultimate sacrifice to make others’ lives safer.”
This year’s memorial also included seven historic honorees who died from 1852 to 1936 and one K-9 honoree, Bear, who died in 1987.
“These officers represent the very best of what it means to be a public servant,” said Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. “They came from different communities, different departments and different backgrounds, but they were united by a common goal: to protect people they may never meet, to run toward danger while others run away and to always put service above themselves.”
In an emotional address, Giannoulias also spoke of “fellow Greek American” CPD Officer John Bartholomew, who was shot and killed while on duty in April. Bartholomew’s visitation and funeral services are set to take place this weekend.
State Treasurer Michael Frerichs also gave a short speech, speaking on his family history with law enforcement and loss: “I’m invited here today because it’s my title. I come here today because of family.”
Frerichs encouraged families of fallen officers to apply to the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to children who lost a parent in the line of duty.
The event included a squad car procession at the state fairgrounds and an interfaith church service at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, ending in the ceremony at the Illinois Police Officers Memorial on the grounds of the state Capitol.
The mayor of Springfield, Misty Buscher, and the families of two 2025 honorees — Illinois State Police trooper Corey Thompsen and Chicago Police officer James Crowley — also spoke. Gov. JB Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Comptroller Susana Mendoza were unable to attend.
Crowley’s sister Beth Carter gave a critical address, calling for reforms to the beneficiary system that she said left her with legal issues when her brother, a former police officer who was permanently injured while on duty, and her mother died within a month of each other.
Thompsen’s parents and brother also called for legislative reform. Thompsen was hit and killed by a driver who was later issued two tickets for an expired license and failure to yield. His family asked lawmakers to enact stricter consequences for crashes resulting in death and to communicate with other states about such events.
“If someone causes a crash that kills another person, there needs to be more of a consequence than two paid tickets for $500 each. We feel that the state of Illinois should notify the other state where the original license was issued, reporting that a fatality is caused by this person with an expired driver’s license,” Thompsen’s brother Ryan said. “As the state’s attorney told us, you won’t find any satisfaction here in the courthouse. How true that was.”
The Illinois Police Officers Memorial Committee, formed in 1987, organizes and maintains the monument located on the grounds of the Capitol. The memorial is self-funded and underwent a renovation and re-dedication in 2021.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
DELAVAN, Wis. — A Delavan police officer has resigned immediately following his arrest on stalking charges in Illinois.
Joshua Bittner faces charges stemming from contacting a woman against the orders of the Winnebago County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office. The woman detailed a long pattern of harassment in court documents obtained by TMJ4.
Before being hired by the Delavan Police Department in 2023, Bittner was an officer in Beloit. He resigned from that position while the police department investigated his behavior.
Bittner’s resignation takes effect immediately.
Watch: Delavan police officer resigns after arrest on stalking charges in Illinois
Delavan police officer resigns following arrest
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