A measure to prohibit law enforcement from detaining someone based solely on the smell of cannabis passed the House Judiciary Criminal Committee Friday [Chmee2, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

The Illinois House Judiciary Criminal Committee passed bills to add a veterinary drug to the controlled substance list and prohibit law enforcement from stopping or detaining someone based solely on the smell of cannabis in their car. 

Ahead of a Friday deadline, the Illinois Senate voted Thursday to pass measures to streamline road construction land acquisition and ban “junk” fees. 

The Illinois House Gun Violence Prevention Committee met Wednesday to hear subject matter on a bill to expand gun storage requirements. 

The Illinois House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday approved an initiative of the governor to ban cell phones in Illinois classrooms.  

The Illinois House Judiciary Criminal Committee meets Tuesday in Springfield. 

The Illinois House Judiciary Criminal Committee met Tuesday to discuss a proposal to remove mandatory minimum sentencing for some crimes. 

The Illinois House is discussing a bill to find incentives to help young farmers. [Jonathan Babb, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

The Illinois House Agriculture and Conservation Committee approved measures Tuesday to improve the number of young farmers in the state, clarify state grant programs and create an exception to the rabies vaccine for pets. 

Gov. JB Pritzker delivers the annual state of the state and budget address at the State Capitol in February. [BlueRoomStream]

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) increased their revenue estimates for Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026, but FY26 forecast remains below the governor’s budget office’s prediction. 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 19 other attorneys general are suing the Trump administration to stop what they say is the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

As tariffs and other federal policies cause confusion for travelers, the Illinois hotel and hospitality industry is warning of a possible downturn in business. 

Stefan Kühn, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Nearly two years after state lawmakers passed a bill lifting a moratorium on small nuclear reactors, the Illinois Senate is now discussing removing the ban completely.  

The Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee met Friday to hear subject matter on three measures related to nuclear energy and broadband.