The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on Aug. 12 published a five-year plan outlining how it hopes to attract and retain businesses in the state. At the plan’s center is a strategy to invest in six industries that will receive “prioritized support,” capital investment and job training. They are life science, quantum computing, […]
Hannah Meisel
Hannah has been covering Illinois government and politics since 2014, and since then has worked for a variety of outlets from NPR affiliate stations to a startup newsletter. She’s a graduate of both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the U of I’s Springfield campus, where she received an M.A. through the Public Affairs Reporting program and got her start reporting in the Capitol. Hannah is often seen and heard on TV and radio analysis programs that air across Illinois, and in 2021 she was awarded “best reporter” among downstate radio stations by the Illinois News Broadcasters Association
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Changes proposed to state’s biometric privacy law
It’s been more than a year since the Illinois Supreme Court “respectfully suggest(ed)” state lawmakers clarify a law that’s led to several multi-million-dollar settlements with tech companies over the collection of Illinoisans’ biometric data. On April 11, a bipartisan majority in the Illinois Senate did just that, approving the first major change to Illinois’ Biometric […]
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Lawmakers pass bill aimed at modernizing professional licensing in Illinois
As Illinois faces shortages of health care practitioners and mental health professionals, the state agency in charge of licensing for those and more than 100 other industries has struggled to keep up. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has failed to meet its goals to speed up both initial licensing and renewals in […]