Ethics reforms, revenue savings among proposals likely to be reconsidered when lawmakers return  

Although Illinois lawmakers approved 23 bills during lame duck session that led to the adjournment of the 101st General Assembly on Wednesday, a host of other proposals failed to make it across the finish line. With much of the discussion focused on the approved comprehensive agenda pushed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus last week, bills ranging from ethics and lobbying reform to launching an elected board to oversee the Chicago Public Schools were left unfinished before the new General Assembly was sworn in. As a result, lawmakers are likely to reconsider many of the failed proposals as the regular legislative session gets underway in the coming weeks.  

The following is an overview of some of the most significant pieces of legislation that failed to advance during the lame duck session, and whose advocates are regrouping for another push.  

Union wins, pension tweaks and booze on trains: a look at the 23 bills approved during the lame duck session 

When the dust finally settled on the 101st General Assembly’s whirlwind six-day lame duck session, which included an all-night flurry of activity Tuesday night and early Wednesday, several consequential bills were passed, including a sweeping criminal justice overhaul and a power boost for the Chicago Teachers Union.   

The following is an overview of the most significant pieces of legislation that were passed during the lame duck session. In total, lawmakers approved just 23 bills during the truncated session, most of which passed in the final hours.  They now await Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature or veto. 

Welch elected speaker as Illinois enters new era of government 

Illinois lawmakers thrust the state into a new era Wednesday, passing a comprehensive agenda aimed at rooting out systemic racism and swearing in a new House speaker for the first time in decades.  

Days after Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) scuttled his bid to seek a 19th term, the House elected Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) to be the chamber’s 70th leader. Welch, who is the first Black House speaker in Illinois history, takes over for the longest serving leader of a legislative body in U.S. history.  

Black Caucus notches wins on education, criminal justice as health care proposals fall short in lame duck session 

Leaders of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus declared victory Wednesday after lawmakers approved most planks of their sweeping legislative package aimed at stamping out systemic racism during the final hours of the General Assembly’s lame duck session. 

The General Assembly approved bills overhauling state laws on education, criminal justice and economic development, but a companion suite of proposals aimed at closing racial disparities in health care failed to reach the finish line.

A flurry of last-minute moves on Tuesday upended the race for the next speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, less than a day before the chamber was set to begin voting.

The lengthy battle officially began on the second Wednesday of 1975. At the time, no one could have known it would take nearly two weeks and 93 ballots to select the 64^th speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. The drawn-out process, which pitted a “wheeler-dealer” backed by then-Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley against Democrats calling for a new era, ended with the selection of a consensus candidate that resulted in the state’s major political power brokers “taking a beating,” in the words of one reporter.

News in brief: Madigan suspends campaign for speaker; lawmakers approve first pillar of Black caucus agenda; Giannoulias launches listening tour, IL GOP outlines process to pick new chair

Linda Chapa LaVia resigned Monday after facing scrutiny during a legislative hearing regarding the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.

Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) director Linda Chapa LaVia resigned Monday, mere hours after facing intense scrutiny from members of the Illinois General Assembly over her handling of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home that has so far killed at least 36 residents.

Chapa LaVia’s resignation, which  Gov. JB Pritzker announced in a press release Monday afternoon, came less than two hours after the director signaled she had no plans to resign.

House lawmakers mill about as medical experts assist Rep. Darren Bailey after he collapsed on the floor of the Bank of Springfield convention center.

With less than a week until the adjournment of the 101^st General Assembly, lawmakers convened in Springfield over the weekend for a lame duck session that will decide the fate of a comprehensive agenda from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and set the stage for the upcoming wide-open speaker’s race.

The condensed schedule and thousands of pages of legislation at the center of the Black Caucus agenda led Republicans and members of the law enforcement community to call for lawmakers to delay action — a point Democrats widely rejected, despite outstanding concerns expressed by labor unions.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst introduced an omnibus ethics and lobbying reform bill this week

A newly filed bill from a House Republican seeks to implement ethics reform proposals previously discussed by a bipartisan special commission that was created in response to federal investigations into lawmakers.

Introduced Tuesday by Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), HB 5872 seeks, among many ideas, to implement a one-year ban on lobbying for former lawmakers and would require legislators to provide more financial disclosure information.