Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and other House members pressed ComEd officials on Tuesday about various legislative proposals under consideration.

Significant fissures have opened this week between Illinois lawmakers and Commonwealth Edison executives over potential changes the state’s utility regulations in the wake of federal legal scrutiny the company faced last year.

When members of the House Energy and Environment Committee held a hearing early Tuesday evening, the stated purpose of the meeting was “utility accountability and ratepayer restitution.”

Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders gathered on Wednesday for a leadership meeting. The House approved a resolution to order an audit to examine the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. Seven higher education institutions are set to receive additional funding for projects. And Comptroller Susana Mendoza touted the state’s dwindling bill backlog.

Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) and other Illinois Republicans pushed back on Gov. JB Pritkzer’s latest comments about redistricting on Tuesday.

Illinois Republicans on Tuesday criticized Gov. JB Pritzker for throwing cold water on proposals for an independent redistricting commission, which the GOP said they had expected him to support.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning after a bill signing event in Springfield, the governor criticized Republican lawmakers for their conduct during the ongoing redistricting hearings. Pritzker, who said he had “listened in” on the redistricting hearings, said Republicans were “not really engaging” during the meetings. “All they’re doing is fighting,” he said.

Gov. JB Pritzker signs the health care bill that was the final pillar of Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda. The governor also said Monday’s Census data “exceeded” expectations. And Ngozi Ezike provides lawmakers an update on the state’s efforts to equitably allocated COVID-19 vaccines.

Illinois, Mississippi and West Virginia were the only states in the nation to see population declines in the last decade according to new apportionment data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Monday released federal apportionment data indicating Illinois will lose one of its 18 congressional seats, prompting relief among state leaders who feared a second seat could be in the offing.

The announcement, which had been expected for months given steady declines in the state’s population, adds yet another factor for state lawmakers to consider as they hold their final legislative hearings in the leadup to the remap.

Illinois lawmakers approved hundreds of bills last week covering a variety of subjects ahead of a deadline requiring legislation to move out of each chamber.

The flurry of action, which took place during lengthy floor sessions held throughout the week, made it one of the busiest weeks of the ongoing legislative session, which is scheduled to conclude at the end of May.

Sen. Linda Holmes, Sen. Chapin Rose and Sen. Robert Martwick all expressed concern about some of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed tax changes during a recent Senate hearing.

A bipartisan group of senators on Friday pushed back against portions of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate so-called “corporate loopholes,” signaling a potential uphill battle for the governor’s spending plan before lawmakers leave Springfield next month.

Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, released in February, called to close $932 million in what the administration called “corporate loopholes.” The proposed tax changes included implementing new caps on corporate net operating, reversing the 2019 repeal of a corporate “franchise tax” and removing a tax exemption for manufacturers.

Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell faced questions from Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) and Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) on Thursday about a heavily redacted audit of Exelon.

Lawmakers pushed back Thursday against Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and an outside firm over their recently released independent audit into energy mega-firm Exelon that called for providing additional subsidies to Illinois’ nuclear power plants.

Last week, the administration released the findings of an audit by Synapse Energy Economics, a Massachusetts-based firm, which reviewed Exelon’s nuclear fleet in Illinois.

The Senate passed a bill designed to make legislative appointments more transparent. A bill placing term limits on legislative leaders cleared the House. And Gov. JB Pritzker commemorated Earth Day by signing two energy-related executive orders.

House Majority Leader Greg Harris introduced an 87-page amendment on the final night of the lame duck session that provides insights of the direction lawmakers might go in terms of ethics reform.

When a late-night effort to revamp Illinois’ ethics and lobbying laws was among the many bills that failed to reach a vote during the waning hours of the 101^st General Assembly, advocacy groups, which have long pushed for change, had a surprising reaction.

They welcomed the bill’s failure.