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
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 Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com After the U.S. Treasury paid out $100 billion in tariff refunds to corporations at the end of last month, Illinois governor JB Pritzker wants to know where Illinois’ cut is. In a letter sent to president Donald Trump August 6, Pritzker asked the president to
By Peter Hancock|Capitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com A federal judge ruled late Friday that Illinois is not required to hand over its complete, unredacted voter registration data, including sensitive personal information, to the Donald Trump administration. In a 14-page opinion, Judge Colleen Lawless reached the same conclusion as judges in 18 other
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
