The state of Illinois and the Federal Rail Administration have agreed to extend funding for the passenger rail project linking the Quad Cities to Chicago.
Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, marking how far into 2016 women must work in order to earn what men made in 2015.
Women today still earn just 79 cents on average for every dollar paid to men. For African-American women and Latinas, the wage gap widens to 60 cents and 55 cents, respectively, according to an analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Equal pay advocates say it's time to end the gender wage gap, which could be closed in part by passage of the long-proposed federal Paycheck Fairness Act. Under the bill, employees could share salary information between co-workers without retaliation, among other provisions.
U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL,8) is among the Democratic cosponsors of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Duckworth, who is running for incumbent Mark Kirk's (R-IL) Senate seat, is seeking to draw a contrast with her opponent on equal pay issues.
Democratic congressmen from Illinois wrote to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday, urging him to take action on the higher education funding crisis in the state.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. House Democrats from Illinois are concerned over the proposed merger of two rail operators in the state, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS).
Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, marking how far into 2016 women must work in order to earn what men made in 2015.