State legislators would need to vote by May 5 to place a question on the November ballot, and key players indicate there’s no effort to do so despite earlier talk at state government’s highest levels after Roe v. Wade was dismantled by the U.S. Supreme Court almost two years ago.
General Assembly
Backers of the MMA plan say siloed agencies have long competed for funding, failed to integrate fares for passengers and aren’t delivering the service riders should be able to depend on.
Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status.
Mayor Brandon Johnson enthusiastically endorsed the plans for a new stadium, calling the renderings of the futuristic oval-shaped stadium with a translucent roof “miraculous.”
New bill would give Illinois EPA greater oversight
Black and Brown communities in Illinois are up to 200% more likely to live near a distribution warehouse than the overall statewide population, according to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund on the state’s “warehouse boom.”
The bill comes on the heels of recent pro-Palestinian protests that blocked traffic on I-190 near Chicago O’Hare International Airport, causing many travelers to pull their luggage along the freeway to catch their flights.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initiative targets many of the “utilization management” practices insurance companies use to hold down costs by either denying claims or steering patients toward lower-cost options.
With a month and a half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system.
An increased moratorium on closing Chicago Public Schools – including charters – easily passed the state House heads to the Senate over the objections of the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointees to the city’s school board.
The Illinois Food Safety Act passed on a 37-15 bipartisan vote and will head to the state House for consideration. The banned chemicals are used in a wide variety of food products.
The recent surge of migrants arriving in Illinois has brought with it a host of new challenges for state and local officials. Advocates say the state has not done enough to address educating the children of those coming across the border.
“These policies support those communities most impacted by the gun violence crisis,” Yolanda Androzzo, One Aim Illinois program director, said at a rally. “It’s an opportunity to ensure protection and justice for survivors of gun violence.”
The measure would put a moratorium on the closure of selective enrollment schools and prevent CPS from altering its standards for admission to those schools until 2027 when a fully elected school board in Chicago is in place.
Illinois Lawmakers, Cannabis Industry Call for Ban on ‘Delta-8’ and Other Psychoactive Hemp Products
New legislation filed in Springfield revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other hemp-derived products, which are totally unregulated in Illinois even as the state approaches the five-year anniversary of legalizing cannabis.
A bill moving through the Illinois legislature to allow certain terminally ill patients to end their own lives with a doctor’s help had made progress. Vermont and Oregon permit any qualifying American to travel to their state for the practice.
Illinois is the only state that grants residents the right to sue over businesses’ improper collection and mishandling of biometric data — whether they are an employee or a customer. Business groups have been clamoring for changes as upwards of 2,000 lawsuits have been filed under the law since roughly 2018.