While legislation aimed at amending the state’s pension law to “fix” tier 2 pensions to quell any issues with federal “safe harbor” laws didn’t advance, a provision did make it into the Budget Implementation, or BIMP, bill in the final hours of the legislative session.
Read MoreDuPage County Sheriff Jim Mendrick has had the GOP race for Governor in 2026 to himself since March, but he may be getting company soon.
Read MoreHow are Chicago area mass transit agencies preparing for the future after the legislature failed to pass governance reform and a plan to help close a $770 million “fiscal cliff” for 2026?
Read MoreDemocrats admitted the challenges in passing a budget was a challenge and clearly attempted to make President Donald Trump the “bad guy” in the state’s financial situation.
Read MoreAfter the Senate passed a controversial Chicago-area mass transit funding bill late Saturday night, one House source texted “it’s doomed over here, not sure why they would even send it.”
Read MoreAround 10pm Friday night, Democrats were brewing with confidence about the chances of passing a state budget without the overnight drama that nearly derailed their budget plan a year ago.
Read MoreNotes from Friday night’s House budget hearing and Saturday morning’s Senate budget hearing.
Read MoreThe House and Senate have each dropped a budget as the two chambers work toward final passage Saturday.
Read MoreHouse Democratic caucus is massively in favor of a budget deal presented to them in caucus Friday afternoon, multiple sources said.
Read More“Crash and burn,” is the way one top insider described Thursday’s flameout of a Senate plan to restructure and fund mass transit in the Chicago region.
Read MoreWith time running out on the General Assembly to pass a budget before Saturday’s scheduled adjournment, Governor JB Pritzker drew a line in the sand on tax increases Wednesday.
Read More“I don’t know anything, do you know anything?” came the response from a well-connected House Democrat Tuesday.
Read MoreAfter a weekend of late night budget talks, sources say there are still significant differences among Democrats in trying to balance Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed $55 billion budget.
Read MoreWhile top Democrats insisting this year that there is no appetite for tax increases as a part of the new state budget, House Democrats were apparently asked their opinion on a package of tax hikes Thursday.
Read MoreAbout a year after the General Assembly passed legislation to allow businesses to store carbon dioxide deep underground in Central Illinois, lawmakers followed up Tuesday sending a bill banning the storage under a main source of drinking water for millions in central Illinois.
Read MoreThe Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) Tuesday blasted out an e-mail to members accusing the Illinois State Police were violating gun owner rights over a pending outage in the system that allows gun shops to check the validity of Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) cards.
Read MoreAs lawmakers returned to the Capitol Tuesday for the final two-week run of the spring legislative session, sources say negotiations on most major issues continue, but few agreements have been reached.
Read MoreCongresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville), a fourth-term rising star in Democratic politics, announced Monday she will forego a race for United States Senate and will seek re-election to the House in 2026.
Read MoreWhile Underwood announced Monday she would seek re-election to the House, she may have picked up a new Republican challenger.
Read MoreRep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates) says he “is trying to understand” House Speaker Chris Welch’s rationale for removing him from his committee chair position, removing his staff support, and disinviting him from House Democratic Caucus meetings.
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