Mawa Iqbal
Statehouse ReporterMawa is a statehouse reporter, covering the Illinois legislature for the Illinois Public Broadcasters collaborative.
Before coming to Springfield, Mawa worked as a general assignment reporter at WYSO, the NPR-affiliate station for Southwest Ohio. There, she covered policing and local government. Mawa earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
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Democrats and Republicans held their annual rallies at the fairgrounds in Springfield. -
The macabre discovery of dozens of unrefrigerated, decomposing bodies at a South Side funeral home is prompting legislative calls for tighter government regulation of an industry that has operated largely free of state controls. -
The state Prisoner Review Board took 10 minutes before unanimously rejecting Sean Grayson’s request to be released seven months into his 20-year prison term. The white former downstate sheriff’s deputy was convicted of murdering Sonya Massey in her home. -
Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan would have allowed multi-unit housing, such as duplexes and triplexes, and “granny flats” on nearly all properties zoned for residential use. But he was unable to overcome local government leaders’ opposition to the proposal. -
The legislature is scheduled to adjourn the spring session at the end of May.
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In a police brutality case that drew national attention, Sean Grayson fatally shot the Black Springfield area woman in her home in 2024 after she had called 911 to investigate a possible prowler. His second-degree murder conviction carried a maximum sentence of 20 years. -
IDPH will now be able to form guidelines using a combination of the CDC’s guidance, recommendations from the World Health Organization and other medical and scientific disease prevention experts — and require that immunizations recommended by the state be covered by state-regulated insurance plans. -
When Gov. JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker visited the pope in Rome on Nov. 19, they gave the pontiff a gift: a hand-drawn self-portrait by Yesenia Diaz, who’s incarcerated downstate. -
In Democratic-led Springfield, a willingness to build coalitions and reach across the political aisle are the marks of a productive lawmaker, a new report finds. -
Lawmakers stayed busy until the end of the fall session, passing several key pieces of legislation.
