Peter Hancock
Reporter | Capitol News IllinoisPeter Hancock joined the Capitol News Illinois team as a reporter in January 2019.
Before that, Hancock covered Kansas state government for much of the past two decades. For the previous 4 years, Hancock had been the statehouse reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World. He provided year-round daily coverage of the Kansas Statehouse, state government, appellate courts, elections and Kansas’ congressional delegation. He previously worked for 8 years as a statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, and with the Kansas Health Policy Authority and the Kansas Education Policy Report.
“As a longtime veteran of statehouse reporting in Kansas, I know how challenging it is for individual newspapers to make that kind of commitment,” Hancock said. “Capitol News Illinois offers a unique opportunity for newspapers throughout the state to pool their resources and enable a small team of reporters to deliver critical news and information about state government to communities throughout the state.
“ I covered state politics and government in Kansas for the better part of the past 20 years, working in both print and broadcast journalism. I graduated from the University of Kansas with bachelor’s degrees in political science and secondary education. Although I was born and raised in the Kansas City area, I have deep family roots in central and southern Illinois, and so coming to Springfield is a bit like coming back home.”
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Illinois' Department of Early Childhood will administer programs currently spread across 3 agencies — the State Board of Education, Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Family Services. -
Advocates for after-school programs say an estimated 40,000 Illinois students could lose access to services starting this summer unless lawmakers act to fill a $50 million funding shortfall. -
The State-level Community Reinvestment Act was finally mired in the rulemaking process. -
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker celebrated a partial legislative victory late last week when the House passed his initiative to end some practices health insurance companies use to control the amount and cost of health care services individual patients receive. -
The Illinois State Board of Education is seeking an additional $35 million in this year's budget to support an influx of immigrant children in public schools, but advocates now say the price tag is closer to $180 million — and climbing. -
In a unanimous ruling, Illinois' highest court found the residency restriction “does not infringe upon a child sex offender’s fundamental rights” and that there was a “rational basis” for restrictions where a person convicted of such a crime can live.
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Illinois school leaders reported the biggest obstacle to pursuing a teaching career was the cost of a college degree, followed by low pay and benefits. -
A new Illinois law states constitutional challenges to state laws and actions can only be filed in Cook or Sangamon counties. -
While Republicans hold a minority in Illinois, the party has a stronghold in the southern part of the state. -
The proposed change would expand the scope of citizen-initiated amendments to allow for changes to a requirement that candidates for state offices must file statements of economic interest. -
The Illinois State Board of Elections voted 8-0 on Tuesday to dismiss an objection to his candidacy based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. -
Request includes $35M for ‘newcomers,’ comes amid projected state budget deficit.
