For the third time in as many days, Senate Democrats leading the state’s redistricting process faced questions and criticism on Friday from residents and Republicans who pushed for greater transparency and public involvement, with one witness calling the latest meeting a “travesty.”

During a one-hour virtual hearing, Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford), chair of the Senate Redistricting Northern Illinois subcommittee, said the purpose of Friday afternoon’s meeting was to “gather input” from as many people and community interest groups as possible.

News in brief: House approves voting expansion bill; Pritzker extends income tax filing deadline

DuPage County Redistricting Committee chair James Zay testified before the Senate Redistricting DuPage County subcommittee on Thursday.

Illinois lawmakers should consider passing a law to let counties delay drawing new boundaries and potentially even move back the state’s March primary election, a DuPage County official said Thursday.

James Zay, chair of the DuPage County Redistricting Committee, made those recommendations Thursday, during what was the first of several Senate subcommittee hearings aimed at allowing communities throughout the state to offer input as lawmakers embark on the months-long redistricting process.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced a new reopening plan and expanded eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.

Calling it “an exciting day,” Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday outlined a phased plan to relax COVID-19 mitigations in Illinois and announced that all adults will be eligible for a vaccine as early as April 12.

The phased reopening plan includes a “bridge” period during which capacity limits will greatly expand from the current maximum of 50 people before the state fully reopens, Pritzker said.

News in brief: House approves voting expansion bill; Pritzker extends income tax filing deadline 

Madeleine Doubek and Jay Young testified before the Senate Redistricting Committee on Wednesday during a meeting that featured partisan squabbling between Sen. Omar Aquino and Sen. Jason Barickman.

Illinois lawmakers formally kicked off a months-long redistricting process Thursday as a Senate committee received a primer on the basics of remapping, witnesses called for increased transparency and public involvement and lawmakers engaged in partisan squabbling over the type of data that will be used.

During a more than two-and-a-half hour meeting, Democrats on the Senate Redistricting Committee offered assurances to their Republican colleagues and several concerned witnesses that the remapping process, still in its early stages, would be transparent and ultimately lead to a “fair” map that reflects the diversity of Illinois.

News in brief: Pritzker elaborates on forthcoming reopening plan; House Republicans launch new platform

News in brief: Pritzker elaborates on forthcoming reopening plan; House Republicans launch new platform 

News in brief: Energy bills headed to House floor; Pritzker announces funding for park renovation projects 

COVID-19 outbreaks subside at veterans’ homes as investigations continue 

No staff or residents are currently positive for COVID-19 at any state-run veterans’ facilities, officials told lawmakers Tuesday. 

Meeting for the first time since former Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs director Linda Chapa LaVia resigned, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee convened for an update on the aftermath of the deadly COVID-19 outbreak that hit the LaSalle Veterans’ Home last year.