A view of the dome from inside the state Capitol in Springfield [Joel Ebert/The Daily Line]

Lawmakers approved a flurry of bills during the final days of the now open-ended spring legislative session. The General Assembly is expected to reconvene at some point in the days or weeks ahead to finish considering several significant measures that have been left unresolved. 

While many of the biggest bills, including the budget and measures on redistricting, elections and ethics have garnered the most attention, a host of other significant proposals were able to cross the finish line in recent days.

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) and House Democrats held a news conference early Tuesday morning, touting their accomplishments this session despite several high profile issues remaining unresolved.

Shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday, House lawmakers held a news conference to declare the legislative session over.

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside), who took over for former Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) in January, reflected on his first full session as the chamber’s leader and lawmakers’ work over the past five months.

Gov. JB Pritzker

Speaking to reporters for the first time since lawmakers approved new redistricting maps, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday chastised Republicans while signaling a potential need for “adjustments” after decennial Census data is released in August.

 

House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago) outlined Democrats’ latest version of the state budget before a House committee on Monday afternoon.

Lawmakers on Monday introduced an approved a $42 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that included notable changes from what Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in February.

When Pritzker outlined his recommended $41.6 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2022, it relied on diverting revenues, closing so-called corporate loopholes and reducing payouts to local governments.

Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights) and several Republican lawmakers outlined a new bill during a Monday news conference that would revamp the state’s ethics laws.

After months of delay, lawmakers on Monday introduced and approved a proposal that will revamp the state’s ethics laws. While Democrats and some Republicans touted the measure as a necessary step to move the state past a recent string of corruption scandals, critics said the provisions included in the bill did not go far enough.

Lawmakers approved an omnibus bill on Monday that would make a host of changes to the state’s election laws, including delaying next year’s primary to June, requiring all Illinois counties to institute “voting centers,” permitting voting in jails and designating the November 2022 general election as a state holiday.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed off on two bills lawmakers approved earlier this year.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed two bills into law over the weekend, including an updated version of a legal measure that he previously vetoed.

Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) defended Democrats’ redistricting effort throughout the day Friday, when lawmakers approved the remap bills along party lines.

Lawmakers approved various measures to redraw the state’s legislative and Supreme Court districts on Friday, less than 24 hours after publishing their final proposals. 

The flurry of action, which came more than two months after lawmakers initiated the redistricting process, once again generated criticism from Republicans and community members, who made their final pleas with Democrats during two final hearings.

Existing boundaries (left) for the Cook County Board of Review’s three districts, and a new map approved by state lawmakers [Cook County; Frank Calabrese]

Illinois Democrats will take advantage of shifting political winds in Chicago’s suburbs to effectively lock Republicans out of power in the three-member Cook County Board of Review under a new map approved by Illinois General Assembly on Friday.

Lawmakers on Thursday held lengthy floor sessions to pass a wide range of bills as just four days remain in this year’s legislative session.

Meeting throughout the day, the Senate approved more than 100 bills. During a six-hour floor session, the House signed off on 54 bills on its regular calendar.