By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com The General Assembly’s independent forecasting commission has improved revenue projections for the upcoming fiscal year despite growing economic volatility. That’s good news for state lawmakers who are in the final weeks of crafting the fiscal year 2026 budget set to take effect July 1. But
By Grace FriedmanMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com Health care unions continue to rally for legislation to address understaffing they say strains hospitals and threatens both patient safety and staff well-being. Lawmakers are considering the Hospital Worker Staff and Safety bill, which would establish mandatory nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and increase support for
By Sonya DymovaMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com John Gerend, a Vietnam War veteran from Lake Villa, Ill., was exposed to Agent Orange while on duty. Suffering from diseases associated with exposure to the toxic chemical, he said he still considers himself fortunate. “I’ve had some issues with it — diabetes, some
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillionis.com Standing on his backyard deck Thursday, April 24, the same place where he declared his 1996 candidacy for U.S. Senate, Illinois’ senior senator Dick Durbin reflected on his decision to retire after four decades in Congress. “I’ve done this my way, making decisions based on
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com When governor JB Pritzker tells audiences how he became interested in politics, it often starts with stories about his mother. As a child growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pritzker often shares, he’d attend marches, rallies and protests with his mother in support
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois attorney general, Kwame Raoul, is asking State lawmakers for a $15 million increase in his General Revenue Fund budget for the upcoming year, saying his office needs a more “stable” system of funding as it takes on greater responsibilities, including the growing volume of
By Molly Parker and Beth HundsdorferCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com The Homeschool Act (HB 2827), a bill that would tighten homeschooling regulations in Illinois missed a key deadline Friday, April 11. But its sponsor, representative Terra Costa Howard, said it’s still alive — and she’s working on changes recommended by fellow lawmakers
By Ben Szalinski and Jade AubreyCapitol New Illinois The Illinois House took its first step Monday in passing legislation responding to proposed actions by the Donald Trump administration. The House voted 67-39 to advance House Bill 3637, which would put new protections in State law to safeguard health care licenses
By Sonya DymovaMedill Illinois News Bureaunews@capitolnewsillinois.com Tens of thousands of Illinoisans across the state took to the streets Saturday to protest president Donald Trump’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s government downsizing, foreign policy choices, and actions on the economy, immigration, and human rights. The protests spanned more than 30 cities in
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Nursing home industry officials are urging Illinois lawmakers to increase the rates they receive from the state’s Medicaid system, arguing the current rates are outdated and are forcing many facilities around the state out of business. “We’ve expressed our concerns that closures will happen. We’ve
By Ben Szalinski & Jade AubreyCapitol News IllinoisNews@Capitolnewsillinois.com President Donald Trump’s administration is pulling back $477 million from Illinois that was to be used to prevent infectious disease and treat mental health and substance abuse issues. The Illinois Department of Public Health announced this week the federal Centers for Disease
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul and 20 other State attorneys general are asking a federal judge to immediately halt president Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. In a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, the coalition of Democratic
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com More than 175 years after their reservation in Illinois was illegally sold at auction, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is now in line to get their land back. Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Friday, March 21 authorizing the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Enrollment at Illinois community colleges grew to more than 285,000 in the spring semester this year, an 8.9% increase over a year ago and the largest spring-to-spring enrollment increase since the Illinois Community College Board began collecting systemwide data in the late 1990s. In a
By Ben Szalinski & Bridgette FoxCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com It’s been just four months since the last election concluded, but another election is on the horizon in Illinois: the April 1 elections for school boards and municipal offices. Though municipal and school board races in Illinois are nonpartisan, voters may see
By Beth Hundsdorfer & Molly ParkerCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Hundreds rallied Thursday at the Capitol in Springfield to voice their opposition to a bill that would require oversight of families who homeschool their children, a response to concerns that the state offers no restrictions on homeschooling families. The bill, called the
By Molly Parker & Beth HundsdorferCapitol News Illinois Following a ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois investigation, an Illinois lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require families to tell their public school districts if they are homeschooling. A new Illinois bill aims to add some oversight of families who homeschool their
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com The Donald Trump administration has stopped reimbursing Illinois for a program designed to help farmers and supply fresh food to Illinois food banks. The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that changes to federal funding mean Illinois is missing reimbursements for costs for the Local
By Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com A month into president Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, governor JB Pritzker last week warned that the breakneck pace at which the Donald Trump administration has been remaking federal policy could be a harbinger of something darker. “It took the Nazis one
By Ben Szalinski, Peter Hancock, & Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com An improved revenue forecast is helping ease pressure on state finances as governor JB Pritzker calls for tightened spending to balance the budget without tax increases on everyday Illinoisans. During his annual state of the state and budget address on
