By Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois’ electric grids may soon face power shortages and further price increases as fossil fuel plants go offline and data centers fueling the rise of artificial intelligence demand ever-increasing amounts of power. That’s the conclusion of a new report by three state agencies that foreshadows
By Jerry Nowicki & Hannah MeiselCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois cannot yet file suit against the federal government for an apparent plan to send federal troops to Chicago, Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul said, but if boots hit the ground, president Donald Trump “should expect a legal challenge here.” It would
By Hannah Meisel& Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Jim Edgar, Illinois’ 38th governor who served from 1991 to 1999, died Sunday after disclosing an aggressive cancer diagnosis earlier this year. He was 79. Though he’d been out of power for 26 years — more time than the two decades he spent
By Ben Szalinski, Andrew Adams, & Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Governor JB Pritzker, Friday, Aug. 1, signed into law 124 of the 436 bills sent to him by lawmakers in the spring legislative session. The measures signed last week expand what must be covered by state-regulated insurance plans, require libraries
By Ben Szalinski & Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Giving almost no time for public review, Illinois Democrats pushed through a $55.2 billion budget for next fiscal year late Saturday, bolstering coffers with new taxes on sports bets, nicotine products and businesses. The $55.2 billion spending plan is supported by $55.3
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 Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com The first extensive public look at next year’s State finances contains a warning to lawmakers from the governor’s office: “The ability to fund new programs will be severely limited” next fiscal year. That comes from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, which projected a
By Jerry NowickiCapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois entered a new fiscal year Monday, July 1, with a bit of a financial cushion when the prior year’s revenues exceeded final projections by approximately $123 million. The state ended fiscal year 2024 with approximately $4.7 billion cash on hand, or approximately nine percent
By Jerry Nowicki Illinois’ two main fiscal forecasting agencies agree: Illinois’ finances will see a strong close in the final 3½ months of the fiscal year before things tighten a bit next year. It’s a picture laid out in governor JB Pritzker’s budget proposal last month, and it got a
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois was set give his sixth State budget address this week, Wednesday, Feb. 19 to lay out his plan for a fiscal year that government forecasters in November 2023 predicted was on pace for a near-$900 million deficit unless corrective action was taken.
By Jerry Nowicki The Illinois Supreme Court has again denied a request from a Republican lawmaker seeking to repeal the state’s assault weapons ban. Governor JB Pritzker signed the ban on the sale, possession and manufacture of a long list of firearms, high-capacity magazines and certain accessories in January 2023.
By Jerry Nowicki & Andrew Adams Governor JB Pritzker on Friday signed into law a measure that will allow for the limited development of new nuclear power generation technology in the state. The measure, House Bill 2473, does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that
By Jerry Nowicki Illinois received another credit upgrade Tuesday, the same day a legislative committee once again scrutinized governor JB Pritzker’s administration for its handling of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The upgrade came from Fitch Ratings, the last remaining holdout of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies
By Jerry Nowicki Six interagency law enforcement task forces received grant funding this Spring to combat car thefts through an initiative of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office. Giannoulias was in Belleville Tuesday to promote the initiative and highlight a $2.5 million grant to the Metro East Auto Theft Task
By Jerry Nowicki A landmark criminal justice reform that eliminates cash bail in Illinois is constitutional, the State’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, July 18 to pave the way for the change to take effect September 18. The 5-2 decision, handed down on partisan lines, means that individuals’ wealth no longer
By Jerry Nowicki & Nika Schoonover Lawmakers went on a two-week Spring break last week with more than 700 bills already passed in at least one chamber of the General Assembly. They will return to Springfield on April 18 for a final one-month stretch in which the measures can be
By Jerry Nowicki With two months to go before the adjournment of Illinois’ Spring legislative session, governor JB Pritzker’s State budgeting task may have gotten easier Tuesday, March 7. The Commission on Government Forecasting Accountability increased its revenue estimate for the current fiscal year by $575 million, yet another positive
By Jerry Nowicki Governor JB Pritzker’s second-term legislative agenda will begin in earnest next week when he proposes his fifth annual State budget to lawmakers in the General Assembly. Although a governor’s proposal usually provides framework for the State’s annual spending plan, it rarely makes it through the General Assembly
By Jerry Nowicki The Satanic Temple of Illinois debuted a new display in the Illinois Capitol rotunda Tuesday, Dec. 6 and took its place next to the annual Christmas and Hanukkah displays. For Christmas, that means the Springfield Nativity Committee again has placed a manger scene featuring Mary, Joseph, and
By Jerry Nowicki The Illinois State Board of Elections certified its election results Monday, Dec. 5 and put the final stamp on another Democratic Party sweep of statewide offices. The Board reported that 4,142,642 out of 8,115,751 registered voters cast ballots in the election, a turnout of roughly 51%. That’s
