Gov. JB Pritzker marked the beginning of Pride Month with visits to Chicago small businesses with LGBTQ owners. And Pritzker signed a bill that requires life rings to be placed at all access points Lake Michigan to reduce drownings.

Arin Thrower, right, and Connie Cain, middle, speak during a League of Women Voters forum in Carpentersville Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

Two Kane County women are hoping to flip Rep. Suzanne Ness’s (D-Crystal Lake) seat back into Republican hands after the first-term lawmaker turned the seat blue in 2020 by unseating former Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee).

Dundee Township Supervisor Arin Thrower of West Dundee and Gilberts accountant Connie Cain both hope to challenge Ness in November and have shown they share many political views. The two candidates running in the June 28 primary are hoping to represent the 66th House District, which includes parts of Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, West Dundee and Elgin.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin speaks at a news conference in Chicago Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

As Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin tries to keep his campaign focused on public safety and supporting police in the final month before the June 28 primary, he used Chicago’s violent Memorial Day weekend to call for a leadership change to make Illinois safer.

Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) presents the Future of Work Task Force at mHub in Chicago Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]  

The COVID-19 pandemic permanently changed how and where people work. Against that backdrop, state lawmakers are now looking to a new report from a task force they created to understand what labor issues they should be focused on after the meaning of work was redefined by the pandemic.

This article first published Health News Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed off Tuesday on a plan to reform how nursing homes are funded in Illinois.

The law phases in a patient-driven payment model and allocates dedicated funding for staffing increases and workforce transformation. It also rewards providers for achieving higher levels of care, and boosts wages for certified nursing assistants.

Chelsea Laliberte Barnes of Palatine, left, and Nabeela Syed of Inverness, right, are running in the Democratic primary for the 51st House District. [Campaign websites] 

The Democratic primary in the 51st House District is getting attention from Illinois Democrats with Chelsea Laliberte Barnes and Nabeela Syed bringing in endorsements from high-profile voices in the party as the two candidates fight for a chance to flip a seat and bring their passions to the Illinois House.

Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) speaks Thursday during the House Public Utilities and Energy and Environment Committees join hearing. [Blue Room Steam]

Ameren customers are facing a price hike of more than $600 on their electric bills during the next year, but there’s little lawmakers can do to help bring costs down as they debate the role that a 2021 clean energy law plays into the reasons for the price hike.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, top left, Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), top right, Jesse Sullivan of Petersburg, bottom left, and former Sen. Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo), bottom right during Tuesday’s debates on NBC Chicago and WGN. [NBC-5 & WGN-TV]

The six Republican candidates for governor took questions on live TV Tuesday night for the first time this year to share their vision for Illinois. As the candidates pushed policy positions or defended their records, some statements require a deeper explanation of the issue and what candidates are pledging to address.

From left to right, Jesse Sullivan (R-Petersburg), Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and Gary Rabine (R-Bull Valley) appear at a forum on WGN Tuesday. [WGN-TV] 

Illinois’ Republican candidates for governor covered a wide range of issues in a pair of fast-paced forums Tuesdays night as issues of gun violence, inflation and taxes hang over the state.

Gov. JB Pritzker sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the federal government to consider Illinois’ population undercount in the 2020 Census when aid is distributed to states. And House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) visited the New York State Assembly in Albany Tuesday.