By Bernarda MalevskaCapitol News Illinoisbmalevska@capitolnewsillinois.com In his suggested 200-point national agenda for the new incoming Democratic Congress, Illinois governor JB Pritzker called for a comprehensive federal digital protection framework that addresses privacy, Artificial Intelligence safety and data centers. Pritzker’s plan includes three action points: Strengthening digital privacy through durable federal
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com A Sangamon County judge held the State’s child protective agency in contempt of court October 29 for the department’s ongoing mishandling of a records request by Capitol News Illinois. “I understand this is not a department with 10 employees. It’s a department with thousands of
By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com Data centers have been the focus of growing debate across the U.S., facing a push for regulation that would require operators to pay for the energy and water resources they use, among other proposals. But beyond paying to generate new energy, consumer advocates warn that
By Bernarda MalevskaCapitol News Illinoisbmalevska@capitolnewsillinois.com The state of Illinois has erased more than $1.4 billion in medical debt for almost 700,000 Illinoisans for pennies on the dollar, two years after launching a new relief program. At its launch, the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program aimed to eliminate $1 billion in
By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Commerce Commission approved an $82 million rate hike. The amount was negotiated between Nicor Gas and the attorney general’s office as part of a settlement that reduced the company’s original request by nearly two-thirds. The rate increase is expected to add around $2
By Ben Szalinski & Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com When the retrospective analyses of his tenure in office are written, governor JB Pritzker says he hopes his legacy will rest on the same argument he’s making to Illinois voters in seeking a rare third term. “I would like people to remember
By Ben Szalinski & Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Last summer, Republican Darren Bailey had no plans to make a second run for governor after a 12-point loss to Democratic governor JB Pritzker in 2022. But Bailey said he changed his mind when he saw the Republican field developing slowly and
By Ben Szalinski & Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com A new study predicts data centers expected to be built in Illinois over the next decade would create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in new property tax revenue. But many are skeptical the touted benefits will live up to their
By Bernarda MalevskaCapitol News Illinoisbmalevska@capitolnewsillinois.com Homelessness in Illinois decreased overall by 6% between 2025 and 2026, but chronic homelessness, where people have been homeless more than once in the last year and have a disabling condition, rose by 28%, according to a new state report. Five years after governor JB
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com With early in-person and mail-in voting now underway in Illinois, state and local election officials insisted Friday that the state’s voting system is being run fairly and accurately. Sangamon County clerk Don Gray and Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich told a Springfield
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois has made substantial progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, but it is not yet on track to meet its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. That’s the conclusion of a new Comprehensive Climate Action Plan released this month by the
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker is setting up a new group within State government to explore more regulations for artificial intelligence as calls grow across the country for new restrictions. Pritzker signed an executive order September 22 to establish an AI Cabinet made up of experts and
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The state of Illinois and city of Chicago, along with a coalition of other states and cities controlled by Democrats, are suing the Trump administration to block a new federal rule that would give immigration officials broader authority to deny green cards to those who
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order September 14 blocking the Donald Trump administration from implementing new rules that would have allowed the Postal Service to block certain people from casting mail-in ballots in the upcoming midterm elections. In a 7-2 ruling, the justices let
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois is set to become the first Midwestern state to allow terminally ill adults to take life-ending medication prescribed by physicians when the law goes into effect late this week. But a federal judge is weighing whether to block the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill
By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois tourism reached new peaks last year, breaking records on visitor spending and generating over $88 billion in total economic impact, governor JB Pritzker’s office announced. The growth was driven by around 115 million domestic and international tourists, who spent $50.2 billion while traveling in
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois will receive up to $768 million from a multi-state $17.1 billion settlement with social media giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — the culmination of a three-year legal battle brought by state attorneys general. Nearly three dozen AGs, including Illinois attorney
By Maggie Dougherty & Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com When governor JB Pritzker signed tax incentives for data centers into law in his first year as governor in 2019, Republicans and Democrats celebrated the plan as an economic driver. “In today’s world, data centers are as critical a part of our
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 Peter Hancock, Brenden Moore &, Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Rideshare drivers can unionize in Illinois, a new law seeks to regulate and classify plastic pellets as a pollutant, and the State will exercise greater oversight of a federal prescription drug discount program. Those are a few of the 75
