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Missourians vote to increase minimum wage, require paid sick leave

2 months 1 week ago
An effort to hike the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and guarantee paid sick leave won the support of Missouri voters Tuesday night.  With 81% of precincts reporting, Proposition A was winning with Missouri voters 59% to 41%. The approval follows a trend of Missourians using the initiative petition process to increase the minimum wage — and more broadly, of Missourians using that process to advance policies at odds with the beliefs of the state’s Republican dominated legislature. Proposition…
Clara Bates

Missouri voters overturn state’s near-total abortion ban

2 months 1 week ago
Abortions rights will be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution, after voters on Tuesday overturned the state’s near-total abortion ban 54% to 46%. The Associated Press called the race at 10:30 p.m. “We did not accept this nightmare thrust upon us,” said Tori Schafer, deputy director for policy and campaigns of the ACLU of Missouri.  When the amendment goes into effect in 30 days, abortion will be legal up until the point of fetal viability — generally seen as the point at which a fetus…
Anna Spoerre

Ann Wagner defeats Ray Hartmann in congressional race

2 months 1 week ago
U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner on Tuesday defeated journalist Ray Hartmann in the race to represent Missouri's Second Congressional District. Wagner, a Republican, had 55.1% of the vote with 79% counted. Hartmann had 42%. The Associated Press called the race. Wagner has been in Congress since 2013, and was previously U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. Hartmann, founder of the Riverfront Times newspaper, this year left Nine PBS' "Donnybrook" show to run for the seat. In an October interview with the Business…
Jacob Kirn

Josh Hawley defeats Lucas Kunce in Missouri's US Senate race

2 months 1 week ago
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley won a second term on Tuesday, overcoming a well-financed rival in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2018.  Hawley led Marine veteran Lucas Kunce 51% to 47% when the Associated Press called the race at 9:30 p.m. “They said they were going to turn Missouri blue,” Hawley told supporters Tuesday night. “They said they would invest whatever it took to beat us. They said they were going to make an example of the State of Missouri. Well, tonight…
Jason Hancock and Clara Bates

Republican Mike Kehoe is elected Missouri governor

2 months 1 week ago
Missouri’s next governor will be Mike Kehoe, a Republican who cruised to victory Tuesday night over Democrat Crystal Quade. The Associated Press called the race at 8:30 p.m. with 22% of precincts reporting and Kehoe leading Quade 52% to 46%  Kehoe has served six years as lieutenant governor after being appointed to the job by Gov. Mike Parson in 2018.  Kehoe’s true battle for governor came during the contentious primary in August, when he beat out two fellow Republicans who boasted being…
Rebecca Rivas

Wesley Bell cruises to victory in congressional race

2 months 1 week ago
Democratic St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell on Tuesday defeated Republican Andrew Jones to represent Missouri's First Congressional District in Congress. The Associated Press called the race around 8:20 p.m. The result was expected in the heavily Democratic district. Bell won a hotly contested August Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Cori Bush.

Pritzker’s budget office projects $3.2B deficit in early look at upcoming fiscal year

2 months 1 week ago
The first extensive public look at next year’s state finances contains a warning to lawmakers from the governor’s office: “The ability to fund new programs will be severely limited” next fiscal year. That comes from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, which projected a potential budget shortfall of $3.2 billion for fiscal year 2026, which doesn’t begin until July 1. The Illinois Economic and Fiscal Policy Report published each November is often seen as a table-setter for…
Jerry Nowicki

Judge mulls whether to dismiss Dean Plocher from Missouri House whistleblower lawsuit

2 months 1 week ago
Attorneys for House Speaker Dean Plocher argued Monday that a whistleblower lawsuit filed against him by the chamber’s chief clerk should be dismissed because he had no power to retaliate against her. In a hearing before Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, attorneys for the House and Plocher said because Chief Clerk Dana Miller is elected by a majority vote of the 163-member House she is out of reach for Plocher — even if he wanted her fired. The only way she could have been fired…
Rudi Keller