Free Talk Live

Amazon is no fan of collecting state sales taxes, and it's ready to play hardball once again in its attempt to avoid the levy. An e-mail sent from the company to all of its Illinois affiliates this morning warns that, should Illinois Governor Pat Quinn sign a just-passed tax bill, Amazon is cutting off every affiliate in Illinois.

Memos distributed to state employees Tuesday say Gov. Pat Quinn has made a “final decision” to close prisons in Dwight and Tamms, a youth facility in Murphysboro and inmate transition centers in Carbondale and Decatur. The one-page letter distributed to workers at the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice say the facilities will be shuttered by Aug. 31. Speaking Tuesday night, Dwight Mayor Bill Wilkey said the closures appear to target downstate facilities. “As you can see, there’s no Chicago facilities that are in that (announcement),” Wilkey said.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn defended a massive increase in state income taxes passed by lawmakers Wednesday and promised to quickly sign the measure to help heal the state's ailing finances.

A bill giving the government the power to shut down Web sites that host materials that infringe copyright is making its way quietly through the lame-duck session of Congress, raising the ire of free-speech groups and prompting a group of academics to lobby against the effort.

McLEAN COUNTY -- The state's attorneys office is going public with a bold, new policy. It's no longer prosecuting offenders of some gun laws in Illinois.

The interim state's attorney says he's tired of Illinois not having "concealed-carry." So, now, prosecutors are considering several questions when deciding if they'll press charges.

They consider a person's intent, criminal history and whether the weapon was used recklessly. It only applies to those with a valid FOID card.

The state's attorney hopes his actions send a message to the state. The policy could be reversed this fall.

Illinois charges you with a Class I felony for recording cops; it's punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

A bill in the Utah state legislature that has passed both the House and Senate this week now awaits Governor Gary Herbert's signature- and will make it a crime for a woman to have a miscarriage, as well as make induced abortions a crime in some instances.

On Thursday, Governor Quinn signed a measure he called the "Mainstreet Fairness Act," levying a new set of taxes on online retailers. Depending on who you ask, the law, known colloquially as the "Amazon Tax," will be a massive windfall in state revenues, or a set of empty promises that will cause companies to flee the state and revenues to drop.

Not to be outdone by their Missouri comrades, the Democrats in Minnesota have introduced their own gun confiscation bill, HF 241 (Minnesota was actually first I believe). This bill would basically outlaw anything other than a revolver, bolt action rifle, or musket with its all inclusive list of what constitutes an "assault weapon". Is the Federal government watching this closely to see how it pans out? Click on the link to the official MN bill in the article and read what is going to be banned.