Gov. JB Pritzker delivers the 2023 state of the state and budget address. [Blue Room Stream] 

Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver his annual budget address Wednesday under the shadow of a looming deficit, spending mandates and the Trump administration. 

Amidst numerous legal challenges to Trump administration policies, the State of Illinois, City of Chicago and Cook County Government are facing a challenge of their own.  

A suit filed in federal court by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week challenges sanctuary laws in the state, specifically naming the Illinois Way Forward Act, the Illinois TRUST Act, Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance and Cook County’s “Policy for Responding to ICE Detainers.”  

Some of these policies have been on the book for more than a decade and have even received Republican support in the past. The Illinois TRUST Act notably was signed in 2017 by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. 

Former House Speaker Mike Madigan leaves federal court in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2024 after opening arguments in his corruption trial. Madigan was found guilty on 10 counts Wednesday [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

After former Speaker of the Illinois House Michael J. Madigan was found guilty of bribery conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud Wednesday, some Illinois lawmakers are again calling for ethics reform at the statehouse. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC. [G. Edward Johnson/CC by 4.0]

A push by the Trump administration to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has left advocacy groups scrambling and could have long term impacts in states across the country, including Illinois. 

Manny Alvarez, who was wounded in the fatal shooting of his mom, Karina Gonzalez, and sister, Daniella Alvarez, speaks at the signing of Karina's Bill Monday in Chicago. 

In July 2023, Karina Gonzalez and her teen daughter Daniella Alvarez were shot and killed. Her husband, Jose Alvarez, was later arrested for allegedly fatally shooting the mother and daughter, as well as injuring their son, Manny Alvarez.  

Gonzalez had been granted an order of protection against Jose, which led to his firearm owner’s identification (FOID) card being revoked. But his guns were never taken by law enforcement.  

Rep. Maura Hirschauer (D-West Chicago) was already working on legislation to require law enforcement to seize guns when an order of protection had been granted when Gonzalez was killed. That measure was later named Karina’s Bill, and on Monday Gonzalez’s son Manny watched it become law. 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 21 other state attorneys general in suing to stop a National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy he says could cost Illinois universities millions, and on Monday a judge granted the group a temporary restraining order. 

Gov. JB Pritzker at the Pace South Campus Acceptance Facility in Markham [BlueRoomStream]

Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will purchase new electric buses with funding Illinois received through a multi-billion-dollar federal settlement with Volkswagen. 

Pictured, top to bottom: The METX 196 Metra train in Aurora, Illinois, taken December 2024. [Guo Rui Pei / Public Domain] / The 26 Pace bus in Oak Park, Illinois, taken in August 2019. [David Wilson / CC BY 2.0] / Chicago "L". [Rene Schwietzke / CC BY 2.0]

Days after an Illinois lawmaker filed a bill that would combine the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace mass transit systems into one under a newly formed Metropolitan Mobility Authority, current Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) officials announced a proposed $1.5 billion plan to create more synergy with Illinois’s existing three public transit systems while still keeping those systems siloed. 

Kirk Dillard, former Illinois state senator and current chairman for the RTA, said during a Jan. 15 City Club of Chicago public affairs forum the current Illinois General Assembly needs to figure out a legislative solution by the end of spring session in May to help fund public transit in the northern part of the state especially. He said the three mass transit systems under the RTA umbrella are facing a fiscal cliff with the state no longer receiving COVID-19 pandemic relief funding starting next year. 

“We are at a critical moment where we must think big to fix the chronic underfunding and disjointed governments that have plagued our transit system for too long,” Dillard said during his Jan. 15 prepared comments. “There is no time to delay because the consequences of inaction are dire.”

Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) speaks at a press conference Tuesday in Springfield. 

A measure in the Illinois General Assembly looks to end the practice of issuing municipal tickets to public school students. 

Gov. JB Pritzker signs the Kinship in Demand (KIND) Act Wednesday at the Illinois State Capitol Building. [BlueRoomStream]

Grandparents and other relative caregivers can now receive full financial support from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Illinois.