State News

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Thursday that would allow businesses, universities and other building owners to designate multi-occupancy all-gender bathrooms if they choose to do so. The bill passed on a vote of 60-40, the bare minimum number of “yes” votes needed for passage…

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure, prompting strong opposition from Republicans who called it an assault on local control. House Bill 2789 is an initiative of Democratic Secretary of…

By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers advanced a bill last week that would effectively abolish life sentences for any incarcerated individual who was under the age of 21 when they received their sentence. In January, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that makes any individual who was under the age…

By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 208 into law Monday, ensuring at least 40 hours of paid leave for Illinois workers. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, workers will begin to earn paid leave on their first day at a rate of one hour of leave for every…

By Jerry Nowicki Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Officials at the highest levels of state government will receive substantial pay raises this month after the House and Senate passed a budget bill that also advances a $400 million business incentive fund proposal pushed by Gov. JB Pritzker. Under the bill, lawmaker salaries will increase to…

Constitutional amendment guarantees right to bargain for Illinois workers Chicago—On Decermber 15, Governor JB Pritzker celebrated the passage of the Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois Constitution. Governor Pritzker issued a proclamation announcing passage of the amendment and joined labor leaders and legislators in celebrating the achievement. “Illinois holds a rich union history; from the…

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois [email protected] SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Elections certified its election results Monday, putting the final stamp on another Democratic 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 percent. That’s down from…

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the federal REAL ID deadline an additional two years, from May 3, 2023, to May 7, 2025. With this extension, current standard Illinois driver’s licenses or ID cards will continue to be accepted at airports for domestic air…

By DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek The traffic jam on the Mississippi River caused by some of the lowest water levels in a decade will likely continue near term. About 200 boats and 3,000 barges on the lower Mississippi River were delayed at different points of the waterway mid-October, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. What does…