By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com An Illinois Senate committee advanced a bill Tuesday, Feb. 18 that would strictly limit police’s ability to search a vehicle after smelling cannabis. The Senate Criminal Law Committee voted 7-3 to advance Senate Bill 42, which would eliminate the requirement that cannabis be transported in
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced this week he has joined yet another multistate lawsuit against the Donald Trump Administration, this time over its decision to slash funding for university research grants through the National Institutes of Health. It was at least the fourth such
By Hannah Meisel & Bridgette FoxCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com President Donald Trump on Monday granted a full pardon to former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on 18 corruption counts, including for his attempt to sell president-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat in 2008 – and who holds the distinction
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Fourth and eighth grade students in Illinois generally scored as well or better than the national average in reading and math, according to results of the latest round of national test results. But their scores remain below pre-pandemic levels and, in the case of reading,
By Ben Szalinski & Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.comphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com State agencies, nonprofit organizations and a host of other entities that rely on federal funding were thrown into chaos Tuesday following the release of a White House memo that froze – at least temporarily – the distribution of all federal grants, loans
By Ben Szalinskibszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.comCapitol News Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Tuesday, Jan. 21 signed a long-awaited bill to stop Illinois organizations from paying less than the minimum wage to workers with disabilities. The bill applies to businesses and other facilities that hold what is known as a 14(c) certificate, named after the
By Ashley Sorianofor Capitol News Illinoisand Medill Illinois News BureauAshleySoriano2025@u.northwestern.edu Older drivers in Illinois could face fewer barriers to renew their driver’s licenses next year as part of a bill that would raise the age for the state-mandated annual driver’s test from 79 to 87. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com It’s been 18 months since Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter Daniela were shot and killed on Fourth of July weekend at their Chicago home, allegedly by her husband. Gonzalez had filed for an order of protection from her husband just two weeks before her
By Atmika IyerFor Capitol News Illinoisand Medill Illinois News Bureauatmikaiyer2025@u.northwestern.edu With homelessness increasing in Illinois, a coalition of shelter providers and advocates is calling for a $100 million increase in state funding to prevent homelessness and provide shelter to people without homes. That would come on top of the $290
By Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinoisans can now vote on whether they want a new state flag. The Illinois Secretary of State’s office officially opened the voting portal on Friday, and votes will be accepted through Feb. 14. Voters can choose from 10 designs for a new flag, the current
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill that would have imposed regulations on new types of intoxicating substances derived from hemp stalled in the Illinois House Tuesday, Jan. 7, dealing a political setback to governor JB Pritzker after he strongly supported the legislation. “I was tremendously disappointed,” Pritzker said at
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com The minimum wage in Illinois was increased to $15 an hour January 1, to complete a six-year transition period since the increase was approved in 2019. As of New Year’s Day, Illinois workers making minimum wage wages rose by $1 and tipped workers will see
By Amalia Huot-MarchandMedill Illinois News Bureaufor Capitol News Illinoisamaliahuor-marchand2025@u.northwestern.edu Illinois lawmakers could soon make it easier for children in foster care to live with their relatives or other people close to them. Child welfare experts have long touted the benefits of foster children staying with kin. Advocates say those arrangements
By Atmika IyerMedill Illinois News Bureaufor Capitol News Illinoisatmikaiyer2025@u.northwestern.edu Illinois lawmakers in early January could consider easing requirements for residents to change their names, a move proponents say will reduce risks for victims of domestic abuse, transgender residents, and others. The measure must clear the full Senate in the first
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Time to study up, Illinois. When the clock hits midnight on New Year’s Day, 293 new state laws will take effect. Those include some of the defining bills of the 2024 legislative session and others that will change how people get IDs, evaluate job postings
By Ben SzalinskiCapitol News Illinoisbszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Changes that would make Illinois pension systems compliant with Social Security by improving benefits for government employees hired since 2011 could be on the table when lawmakers return to Springfield in January. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2010 to create a second tier of
By Andrew AdamsCapitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois utilities are set to invest more than a billion dollars into upgrading the state’s electric distribution grid, resulting in higher rates for customers around the state. The Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday approved scaled-back plans submitted by Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois, the electric
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com More than five years after Illinois began issuing permits for legal production of industrial hemp, governor JB Pritzker said Friday he now favors legislation to bring the industry under tighter regulation. At a news conference in Chicago, Pritzker said in the short time since both
By Andrew AdamsCapitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.com IBM, the tech giant known for revolutionizing computing over the past 70 years, is setting up shop on Chicago’s South Side to develop what could be the field’s next big leap: Quantum technology. It’s part of a multi-year effort from governor JB Pritzker, state officials
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois officially awarded its 19 electoral votes Tuesday to vice president Kamala Harris and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, the unsuccessful Democratic candidates to be the next president and vice president of the United States. During a ceremony at the Statehouse that lasted only about half
