Barbara Flynn Currie, the unabashed progressive who represented the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago in the Illinois House for 40 years and served as Majority Leader for 22 years died Friday at the age of 85.

If lawmakers are going to put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment to increase taxes, either through a graduated income tax or through a “surcharge” on incomes over $1 million, they’ll have to get it done by May 3.

Senate President Don Harmon made some of the least optimistic comments from a top Democratic official yet this spring about passing property tax legislation to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois and prevent the franchise from moving to Indiana.

House Speaker Chris Welch has been publicly silent since a move in February to remove Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield) from the House Democratic Caucus, including stripping him of all of his committee assignments.

Senate President Don Harmon continues to rake in campaign dollars, dwarfing his Republican competition and even many statewide campaigns.

Tom DeVore, the southern Illinois attorney and 2022 GOP candidate for Attorney General who has emerged as an online agitator against the Republican “establishment” lost a race for the Republican State Central Committee Wednesday.