By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers approved the Illinois budget early Monday morning, June 1, after slogging through the night, enacting new taxes on businesses and authorizing less spending than what governor JB Pritzker proposed in February. “It’s allowed us to be prepared for the great reality we face
By Brenden Moore & Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Hours after Illinois lawmakers failed to approve a stadium incentives structure aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois, governor JB Pritzker acknowledged that the “pride and joy of Illinois” may take a deal to build a football palace in Indiana. That
By Jenna Schweikert, Brenden Moore, Ben Szalinski, and Nikoel HytrekCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois House approved legislation April 8 that would prohibit the federal government from operating a new immigration detention center within 1,500 feet of any home, school, day care center, park, forest preserve, cemetery or place of worship.
By Jenna Schweikert, Nikoel Hytrek, Brenden Moore, & Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois House passed 264 bills out of committee this week ahead of Friday’s deadline, kicking the legislative session into high gear with two months to go before adjournment. While the committee passage of bills marks early progress,
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker denied a since-recanted comment by former president Bill Clinton that Clinton thought the pair may have traveled together on a plane owned by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. His denial was in response to a 90-second video clip of Clinton’s closed-door deposition
By Ben Szalinskibszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.comCapital News Illinois Who wants to manage Illinois’ checkbook as the State faces growing financial uncertainty? Three State legislators and the treasurer of one of the State’s largest counties have raised their hand. Incumbent comptroller Susana Mendoza — who has first took office in 2016 in the middle
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker is continuing to push a plan he introduced two years ago to reform Illinois pensions. The governor announced on Monday he is reviving a plan he introduced during his 2024 budget address that calls for fully funding pensions by 2048 and changing
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Recent cuts by president Donald Trump’s administration could reduce the size of Illinois’ economy by nearly $10 billion each year, according to a new report released Monday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. The report offers a detailed looked at the effects of cuts enacted
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Most state agencies were required to submit spending cut plans to Gov. JB Pritzker by Oct. 23, but the governor’s office has declined to release details about those plans. A spokesperson for Pritzker said the governor’s budget office is still reviewing the proposed cuts. “Gov.
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com U.S. senator Dick Durbin is once again at odds with other prominent Illinois Democrats over a vote that set in motion a plan to end the record-long federal government shutdown. Durbin, who is not seeking reelection in 2026, was one of eight members in the
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers are sending a bill to governor JB Pritzker that makes a pair of changes to Illinois’ tax code in response to new federal tax provisions that could reduce state revenue. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget projected last month that Illinois is
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers approved new funding for public transportation agencies without large statewide tax increases previously proposed. Instead, the measure would be fueled by revenue sources that currently feed the state’s Road Fund and an increased sales tax targeted to the Chicago area. The bill frustrated
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois joined 24 other states and the District of Columbia in suing the Donald Trump administration over plans to stop funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Saturday as the federal government shutdown continues. About 1.9 million people in Illinois, and about 42 million people
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers will return to Springfield next week hoping to resolve a major unchecked box from the spring: Keep the trains in Chicago running. As the spring legislative session concluded, lawmakers were anticipating a $771 million shortfall for Chicagoland transit agencies beginning next calendar year.
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker said political leaders — starting with president Donald Trump — need to do more to condemn political violence. “He actively fans the flames of division, as he did on Friday, regularly advocates violence for political retribution, and in more than one case,
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker said Tuesday, Sept. 2 he expects Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to employ the same aggressive strategies they used in Los Angeles earlier this summer after president Donald Trump said he will deploy the National Guard to Chicago. The information, Pritzker said,
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at pushing Illinois to reverse its law that eliminated cash bail. The order calls on the U.S. attorney general to come up with a list of states and other jurisdictions that “substantially” eliminated cash bail and
By Peter Hancock & Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois Democrats brought some of their biggest names to Springfield Tuesday, Aug. 12 to call attention to the massive cuts that will take effect in the coming years for programs that benefit low-income communities. At one event, U.S. senator Dick Durbin and
By Ben Szalinski, Andrew Adams, & Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker, Friday, Aug. 1, signed into law 124 of the 436 bills sent to him by lawmakers in the spring legislative session. The measures signed last week expand what must be covered by state-regulated insurance plans, require libraries
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com A new law signed by governor JB Pritzker Monday will make it easier for police to remove squatters who are illegally staying at a residence. Squatters are people who enter and occupy a place for a long period of time with the intention of staying
