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
By Molly A. WallaceMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” severely impacted two of Illinois’ most economically vulnerable groups: The hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans set to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance this year and the small farmers who are losing them as
By Nikoel HytrekCapitol News Illinoisnhytrek@capitolnewsillinois.com The overturn of Roe v. Wade four years ago has wrought numerous changes for Illinois’ abortion ecosystem, turning the state into a destination for tens of thousands of people across the United States who need abortion services. Rising costs and a growing number of abortion
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 Brenden MooreCapitol News Illinoisbmoore@capitolnewsillinois.com Over his 7½ years in office, governor JB Pritzker has largely gotten his way in the Democratic-supermajority Illinois General Assembly. As he campaigns for a third term as Illinois’ chief executive and weighs a possible 2028 Democratic presidential bid, Pritzker emerged from the spring legislative
By Jenna SchweikertCapitol News Illinoisjschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Department of Corrections is officially planning to rebuild both Logan and Stateville correctional centers in Crest Hill, dashing locals’ hopes that the State would rebuild Logan at its current Lincoln location. The Friday, June 5, announcement comes two years after government JB Pritzker
By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com In a surprise move, governor JB Pritzker announced Friday that he is putting a pause on all new state tax incentives for data centers and calling on lawmakers to pass new data center reforms during the fall veto session. The governor has directed the Illinois
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 Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker says he intends to sign legislation imposing a statewide ban on cell phones and other wireless communication devices during instructional time in public schools and charter schools. Although many districts in Illinois have already adopted more stringent bans of their own, Senate
