Meetings & Agendas
- Chicago
- Springfield
“Public funding of healthcare coverage for the uninsured pays for itself in a panoply of benefits that reach well beyond the individuals who receive such assistance.”
So says the “The Benefits of Health Coverage for Immigrants in Illinois” report conducted by the Great Cities Institute (CGI) at the University of Illinois Chicago, commissioned by the Healthy Illinois Campaign and released Friday at a symposium at the North Lawndale Employment Network offices.
A Northwest Side alderperson is asking the city to take advantage of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) advancements to improve departmental productivity and make services more efficient but also to adopt AI systems in a thoughtful and responsible manner.
A Lincoln Park alderperson is pushing legislation that would impose fines for those who print and distribute hateful and bigoted literature in response to what he said is “an alarming increase” of hate flyering instances in his ward.
The City Council gathered for the second time in a week on Friday to approve funding requests deferred at Wednesday’s meeting, including new spending for migrant care and the mayor’s $1.25 billion bond authorization to fund housing, economic and cultural development programs citywide.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a measure Thursday repurposing funds in the county’s recently created Disaster Response and Recovery Fund to help Chicago feed and care for migrants.
The Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to limit single-use plastics in the district on Tuesday.
The resolution (24-0209) declares a climate emergency within the county and directs the district to “limit the procurement of single-use plastics” except in health emergencies or for disability needs and include new “green purchasing guidelines” in the district’s procurement manual. The resolution also declares an intention to formally limit single-use plastics via ordinance by the end of the year.
The Cook County Finance Committee unanimously approved a proposed resolution modifying the allocation of the county’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund on Wednesday. The resolution (24-2103) authorizes $70 million to be repurposed for food service and other costs for new migrant arrivals throughout the year, fulfilling the county’s share of a three-government deal to close a gap in funding.
In February, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Gov. JB Pritzker announced joint funding plans to assist the ongoing influx of thousands of migrants including asylum seekers arriving from Texas and close a $321 million gap in funding. The governor is seeking $182 million in funding for fiscal year 2025, and the county board president requested the board of commissioners reallocate previously approved funding for migrants.
The State Board of Education is pushing for Illinois legislators to pass legislation to boost training materials for Illinois teachers to learn more about climate change to teach the subject to their students.
The Chicago Bears want $2.4 billion from the state of Illinois to build a new stadium and reimagine the current Chicago museum campus and Soldier Field property. But the plan was immediately met with little interest from Springfield’s top policy makers.
The Illinois Senate approved a bill last week that is designed to spark interest from the next group of young journalists and keep newsroom ownership local, though the bill was watered down from a more aggressive version that would have created tax credits for newsrooms.
Small extra fees are everywhere — from credit card processing fees to surcharges on a restaurant check to the various fees that appear when buying airline or event tickets. It’s time to bring those out into the open, Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) said.
Health insurance reform has been the dominant issue in Springfield this session and lawmakers are toying with more changes to further regulate pharmacy benefits managers (PBM).
Members of the House are slowing down the process on legislation that had been moving forward from Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D-Calumet City) and spent Monday trying to learn what PBMs do. But the hearing often left more questions than answers about the complex branch of the health insurance industry and was largely missing a key voice on the topic — the PBMs.
The House concluded their deadline week to pass bills to the Senate on Friday after passing 324 bills during the week. Measures advanced toward the end of the week included a bill to criminalize AI-generated child pornography, criminalizing sexual acts with an 18-year-old student and a ban on certain large cats and Australian animals as pets.