State News

Dangerously high heat follows drought conditions earlier this summer By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois [email protected] Illinois is roasting in triple digit temperatures this week, forcing the state and schools to cancel some outdoor activities and modify class schedules. Every county in Illinois was under an excessive heat warning Thursday morning, with some areas expected…

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Wednesday that seeks to effectively end homelessness in Illinois by marshalling the resources of multiple agencies into one effort. House Bill 2831 codifies an executive order Pritzker signed in 2021 that established the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and the…

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Monday that seeks to protect public and school libraries from pressure to ban, remove or restrict access to books based on “partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” Speaking at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago, Pritzker said there were 67 attempts in 2022 to have various books removed…

Plaintiffs had requested injunction pending appeal By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ ban on assault-style weapons and large capacity magazines will remain in force, at least for the time being. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant a temporary injunction to block enforcement of the law, known as the…

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Thousands of elementary and high school students throughout Illinois could lose access to after-school and summer programs in the upcoming fiscal year but advocates are hoping that either the General Assembly or the federal government can keep that from happening. The programs, known as 21st Century…

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The state estimates an expansion of state-sponsored health care to individuals who are ineligible for Medicaid based on their citizenship status is expected to cost $990 million in the upcoming fiscal year, far outpacing the original price tag cited when the measures became law. In 2020,…

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois has recently experienced a prolonged stretch of good financial news, a new state fiscal forecast notes that if spending continues to grow at its recent pace it could lead to future budget deficits. It would mark the reversal of a recent trend during which…

By JERRY NOWICKI & NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – 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…

By ANDREW ADAMS  & NIKA SCHOONOVER    Capitol News Illinois [email protected] A rush of legislation passed before a Friday deadline in the Senate included proposals aimed at protecting those seeking reproductive health care in Illinois. The first of these proposals, Senate Bill 1909, would give the state’s attorney general explicit authority to crack down on…

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate approved a measure on Thursday that would lift a 1980s-era moratorium on nuclear power plant construction. Senate Bill 76, sponsored by Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, was approved on a 39-13 vote. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. “The bill is going to come to the…