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
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 Marisa Guerra EcheverriaMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com Diverse interest groups — from public school activists and downstate voters to state officials and school boards — have pushed governor JB Pritzker to finally make a decision about the Donald Trump administration’s Education Freedom Tax Credit. Yet, there has been mostly silence
By Maggie DoughertyCapitol News Illinoismdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com Watchdog groups are calling on regulators to reject $178 million, or 80%, of a $220.8 million rate hike requested by Nicor Gas earlier this year, citing wasteful capital spending, excessive shareholder profits and “lavish” executive bonuses. Consumer advocate groups including the Citizens Utility Board, the
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinois Over hundreds of pages in legal filings this week, a group of well-known Chicago-based journalists, podcasters and voice actors accused tech giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and others of “stealing” their voices to train Artificial intelligence. The nine class action lawsuits, filed in Chicago’s
By Jenna SchweikertCapitol News Illinoisjschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com As households across Illinois brace to lose their federal food assistance this month, grocery stores, especially independent grocers across the state, are preparing for the devastating effects of decreased spending. For some independent grocers, whose profit margins average 2%, a decrease in consumer spending associated
By Nikoel HytrekCapitol News Illinoisnhytrek@captiolnewsillinois.com The Illinois General Assembly continues to debate what to do about data centers as the artificial intelligence business keeps booming, and communities complain about their energy bills, noise and environmental impacts. Data centers are warehouse-like buildings that house computer servers and other infrastructure that power
