Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to reporters Thursday after lawmakers passed a bill paying several of the state’s debts.

Democrats are claiming victory and touting fiscal progress in Illinois after lawmakers sent Gov. JB Pritzker a bill on Thursday partially paying debt in the unemployment insurance trust fund and paying other debts in full.

A bill that will bring vehicle emissions testing sites back to Chicago advanced to the governor’s desk on Wednesday. And volunteer firefighters are pushing lawmakers to a create a tax credit for them to help recruit more people to the profession.

House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago) debates funding for the unemployment insurance trust fund on the House floor Wednesday night. [Blue Room Stream] 

The House approved a measure Wednesday night to provide $2.7 billion from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to its unemployment insurance trust fund despite severe blowback from Republicans. The bill also made several appropriations changes to pay down debt and fund pension accounts.

Democratic leaders said they hope to get the bill past the Senate on Thursday so Gov. JB Pritzker can meet a federal regulatory deadline by signing it into law by the end of the month.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) speaks during a news conference Wednesday.

House Republicans on Wednesday made another pitch for lawmakers to pass public safety legislation before session ends and continued to argue that legislation passed by the General Assembly last year is causing crime rates to rise in Illinois.

Nora Collins-Manderville from the American Civil Liberties Union, left, and Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) speak during the House Human Services Committee Wednesday.

After sailing through the Senate with unanimous support, a bill that would codify rules allowing Department of Children and Family Service (DCFS) investigators to carry pepper spray on home visits was met with opposition by advocates as the House took up the bill.

Senators advanced a series of bills designed to make it easier for retired teachers and student teachers to join the workforce. And a bill that would expand access to HIV care in the Black community advanced to the Senate floor for a final vote.

Kenneth Tupy, left, Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville), center, and Oreal James, right, speak during the Senate Executive Appointments Committee Tuesday.

The Senate Executive Appointments Committee recommended four of Gov. JB Pritzker’s six nominees to the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) to the full Senate Tuesday about a year after they were first nominated by Pritzker. In a floor vote Tuesday afternoon, the Senate voted against one of the four members the committee recommended.

Lawmakers are scheduled to be in session for all but two days through April 8.

Lawmaker are returning to Springfield Tuesday for the final three weeks of spring session and are looking to wrap up legislation in four key areas before they head home to begin their reelection campaigns.

This year’s session will end on April 8 , more than a month ahead of the traditional May 31 final day of session. After taking this coming weekend off, lawmakers will return on March 28 for 12 consecutive days of session.

A map shows the new Illinois House districts across Chicago and much of northern Illinois. The 2022 Election is the first election using the new maps lawmakers passed in 2021. [Illinois House Democrats]  

Election Day is still more than seven months away, but the contest is already virtually over for nearly half the Illinois legislators up for reelection this year as 75 candidates — 74 of whom are incumbents — were the only person in either major political party to file to run for office.

Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) introduces legislation to prevent state investment accounts from holding assets based in Russia or Belarus.

The Illinois House is preparing to take up legislation that will allow the state to impose its own financial penalties on Russia and Belarus and to prepare for a potential influx of refugees from Ukraine.

Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) gives an update to reports Thursday about budget negotiations. [Blue Room]   

House Democrats are ready to begin crafting the state’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget, and their lead budget negotiator Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) said there are a lot of things Democrats like about Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal.

Rep. Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa), center, speaks during a news conference Thursday with Reps. David Welter (R-Morris), far left, Steve Recik (R-Woodstock) second left, and Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst), right.   

It’s a problem that goes back years and multiple governor administrations, but House Republicans are unhappy Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration has not been able to significantly approve the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) — and the agency seems to face more problems.

Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island), left, and Illinois Manufactures’ Association CEO Mark Denzler, right, speak during the House Revenue and Finance Committee Thursday.

Lawmakers are considering a proposal to create an incentive package for microchip manufacturers in an attempt to attract the businesses to Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker is pictured in September 2021.

Gov. JB Pritzker is calling on the Senate to hold confirmation hearings on his nominations to the Prisoner Review Board after some nominees have waited nearly three years for a hearing.

Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich), left, and Libertyville resident Kellie Sheridan, right, speak to the House Human Services Committee Wednesday.

A bill that would require hospitals and nursing homes to let patients and residents receive visitors even during a pandemic was moved to the House floor Wednesday.

The House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety Committee advanced a bill to the floor that aims to resolve Chicago’s lack of vehicle emissions testing sites. New Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey said his office is almost ready to start tackling investigations. And a bill to limit standardized testing in elementary school met more opposition.

Denise Avant from the National Federation of the Blind for Illinois, left, and Ray Campbell from the Illinois Council of the Blind, right, speak to the House Ethics and Elections Committee Tuesday.

Illinois is not doing enough to make voting accessible to people with print visibility difficulties, advocates say, arguing an amendment to a bill expanding accessibility to voting by mail is necessary to ensure voting is also more accessible to blind people.

Acting Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Kristin Richards speaks to the Senate Appropriations- Business Regulations and Labor Committee Tuesday.

After a tumultuous two years that saw people wait months for unemployment assistance and others become victims of fraud, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) is seeing the state’s job market recover from the pandemic and boosting the department’s services, acting Director Kristin Richards told lawmakers Tuesday.

The Illinois State Board of Elections website shows daily totals for the number of candidates who have filed to run in the June primary. (Mauricio Peña/ Block Club Chicago)

While much of the attention will focus on statewide primary races for secretary of state and governor, 41 primaries were set in the Illinois House following the deadline for petition submissions as some candidates work to unseat incumbents from their own party while others hope to help their party flip seats in November.

The Illinois State Board of Elections website shows daily totals for the number of candidates who have filed to run in the June primary.

Seventeen of Illinois’ 59 Senate districts will have a primary matchup when voters go to the polls in June.