State Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, is pictured on the floor of the Illinois Senate last year. He advanced a measure through the Senate on bipartisan lines that would ban four widely used food additives. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)
,

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.

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

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.

State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, is pictured on the floor of the Illinois Senate in 2023. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)

One bill would require facilities that store electric vehicle batteries to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency by 2026. The state’s Pollution Control Board would set the regulations for the proper storage of EV batteries.

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

Members of the Illinois legislature will reunite on Tuesday to take care of any unfinished business before the year’s end, including deciding the ultimate fate of measures rejected in whole or in part by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

State Sen. Natalie Toro, in pink, takes the oath of office as the representative of the 20th District as Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez, in orange, looks on. (Credit: Illinois Senate Democrats)

The appointment of Natalie Toro to represent a wide swath of Chicago’s Northwest Side in the Illinois Senate sets up a fierce battle next spring as the progressive political organizations and labor unions that helped elect Mayor Brandon Johnson push to consolidate their power.

(WTTW News)

The law expands the number of health practitioners who can provide certain types of abortions; requires Illinois public entities to cover abortion, gender-affirming and HIV-prevention drugs as part of health insurance; and establishes legal criteria for ensuring parental autonomy in reproductive technology.

(WTTW News)

Illinois’ leadership has shifted, with a fresh group of 177 lawmakers sworn in to office on Wednesday.

(WTTW News)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law Tuesday night , hours after it passed the legislature on the final day of the General Assembly’s session, and roughly six months since the July 4 mass shooting at the Highland Park Independence Day parade.

(WTTW News)

The Illinois legislature was busy in 2022, enacting hundreds of new laws, many of which will take effect on Sunday.

Illinois state Sen. Scott Bennett is pictured in April 2022. (Amanda Vinicky / WTTW News)

Illinois state Sen. Scott Bennett, a Democrat who represented Champaign and surrounding areas in central Illinois, died Friday from complications of a brain tumor. 

Illinois is about to enter a staggering second year without an agreed-upon state budget. We talk with lawmakers about what happens next.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner blasts Democrats for failing to pass a budget before the end of the spring legislative session. Where does Illinois go from here?

Are lawmakers any closer to a budget agreement? We speak with two legislators about the progress in Springfield.

Gov. Bruce Rauner is coming up empty in his bid to influence several General Assembly primary races, despite he and allies spending millions of dollars. If tonight’s races are indicative of a wider proxy war with House Speaker Mike Madigan, Madigan appears to be the runaway winner. 

The Illinois General Assembly returned to work in Springfield on Tuesday for the first time in three weeks. Amanda Vinicky joins us with the latest.

Change in Corporate Income Tax Floated

There’s a potential third way out of the deadlock over how to close a $6 billion state budget gap. Gov. Bruce Rauner is refusing to sign off on a budget without changes to collective bargaining and public employee unions. And the Democrats are refusing to go along with that. So, what are the alternatives? Paris Schutz has the details.