By Ben Szalinski & Associated PressCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Department of Public Health is not adopting new federal child vaccine guidelines and will continue following recommendations by a leading pediatric medical group. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that calls for giving the measles, mumps and
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois farmers heard pitches from incumbent governor JB Pritzker and downstate Republican farmer Darren Bailey, Monday as each argued they’re best positioned to address agricultural issues. Bailey, a former State lawmaker who was also his party’s nominee for governor in 2022, told the crowd at
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed sweeping regulations August 1 aimed at social media companies and cracking down on “addictive algorithms” that keep kids glued to their screens. House Bill 5511, known as the Children’s Social Media Safety Act, imposes a series of requirements on social
By Brenden Moore, Ben Szalinski, & Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Disgraced ex-Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, violated state law by committing two acts of sexual harassment, according to a summary legislative inspector general report made public Friday afternoon. LIG Mike McCuskey said the instances were “part of a pattern and practice
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com A new Illinois state program took effect Saturday to provide food benefits to people who have recently become ineligible because of federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger, or FRESH, program started August 1 after state lawmakers
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker signed 31 new laws on Friday as he continues evaluating measures passed in the spring session, including bills banning certain ingredients from cosmetics and correcting the State’s property tax laws. Access to birth control Senate Bill 3341 allows minors to receive birth
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com An Illinois House committee will investigate actions by Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, following her indictment on 10 federal charges this week. A group of 11 House Republicans filed a petition on Friday to create a special investigating committee, a sparingly used process laid out in
By Ben Szalinski & Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker signed more than 60 bills since June 26, including new laws to increase transparency around rental fees and give some drivers an alternative to having their license suspended. Rental transparency House Bill 3564 bans so-called “junk fees” charged by
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker signed the eighth budget of his tenure June 16 as he and Illinois Democrats gear up for an election-year battle centered around affordability — though he had to issue a clean-up veto aimed at addressing late-night drafting errors. The fiscal year 2027
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
