Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) speaks to the nomination of former U.S. District Judge Michael McCuskey as the state’s new legislative inspector general.

The Senate took a party-line vote Wednesday afternoon to nominate former U.S. District Judge Michael McCuskey as the new legislative inspector general after President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) forced a vote on his nomination.

Lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday to compel the Department of Public Health to establish a licensing process for private COVID-19 testing facilities and laboratories. A House committee also advanced legislation to work toward creating common reading standards for Illinois students.

Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield), center, speaks during a news conference Tuesday with Rep. Sandy Hamilton (R-Springfield), right, and Sen. Sally Turner (R-Beason), left.

Lawmakers in Springfield took several more steps Tuesday to address issues at the Department of Children and Family Services, (DCFS,) as state leaders clamor for tighter employee safety rules after a case worker was murdered on the job last month.  

The House moved a bill out of committee that makes additions to the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights, and Republicans introduced new legislation to give DCFS employees protection in the field.

Lawmakers advanced a bill to create a grant for communities to provide filters to residents with lead water pipes. And Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) plans to present a bill Wednesday to make changes to how schools create contracts for school lunch providers.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is a Republican candidate for Illinois governor. [YouTube/Richard Irvin]

With Chicago billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s money officially in the Illinois race for governor, the financial status of the field varies widely even as no clear frontrunner has emerged for the Republican nomination.

Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville), center, speaks with Jim Bell from the National Storm Shelter Association, left, and Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, right, during a House hearing Monday.

About two months after an EF-3 tornado killed six people at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, lawmakers held a hearing Monday to learn about severe weather safety in the workplace and probe experts and labor leaders about what can be done to keep employees at similar warehouses safe during a tornado warning. Some encouraged the General Assembly to toughen the state’s legal standards for tornado preparedness, opening up the possibility of changes coming to state law.

The Cook County Jail is pictured in 2021.

In the wake of recent deaths of first responders in the line of duty, Illinois Republicans are pushing to reinstate the death penalty as a way to toughen punishment for people who intentionally kill police officers, firefighters or other public workers. 

Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn), Wheaten North High School student Henry Lytle and Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) speak during the House Transportation Committee Thursday.

When Henry Lytle and his twin brother became old enough to drive, Lytle realized his brother might encounter a common situation on the road that might be difficult for him to handle: getting pulled over by the police.  

Lytle’s brother has autism, and Lytle said unfamiliar situations or moments that make him nervous can cause his brother to have difficulty communicating or react in unconventional ways that might also make police officers on a traffic stop nervous.

Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago), left, and Kazeem Sanuth from Indiana University speak in support of requiring schools to offer African language as a class Thursday.

African American students deserve to have the same opportunities to learn about their heritage in school as their peers, Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago) said while advocating for a bill to require schools offer African language studies. 

Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a motion asking the Illinois Supreme Court reinstate an Adams County sexual assault conviction a judge dropped. The House Revenue Committee could take action on a bill designed to help small businesses by creating a tax credit for those that raise the wages of their employees. And Rep. Cyril Nichols (D-Chicago) is hoping to make a change at emission testing facilities to expedite service for some drivers.  

Bills to cap increasing property value assessments in Cook County, make Illinois drivers licenses valid for six years instead of four and add new judges to Illinois’ Fifth District Appellate Court

Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago) speaks about his experience with cancer during the House Human Services Committee Wednesday.

After a traumatic experience battling cancer, Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago) is hoping to create another resource for men to consulate for their own health needs. 

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) speaks to reporters over Zoom Wednesday.

After a grand jury declined to indict a man on first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of a Chicago woman, Republicans pounced to argue it was more proof the SAFE-T Act was not working to improve public safety. Defenders of the law hit back, saying Republicans are trying to “mislead the public.”

Illinois Municipal League Executive Director Brad Cole explains the League’s 2022 legislative agenda to during a news conference at the State Capitol in Springfield Tuesday.

Local government leaders are renewing their call on state lawmakers to restore funding to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) after a decade of decreases.  

Leaders with the Illinois Municipal League and 12 other local government organizations included in the Restore LGDF coalition are asking lawmakers to boost funding for the Local Government Distributive Fund back toward its original level of 10 percent of the total amount of income taxes collected by the state prior to decreases since 2011. 

Bills to create a Department of Children and Family Services security force to keep employees safe, pause license fees for short-term substitute teachers during the pandemic and begin discussions about creating a more comprehensive state reading curriculum advanced through Senate committees Tuesday. Gov. JB Pritzker also advocated for provisions in his budget proposal that would devote more resources toward higher education.

Gov. JB Pritzker criticized to a Sangamon County court ruling pausing his order requiring masks in schools as an “out of step” decision. Speaker of the House Chris Welch (D-Hillside) is asking House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) to help bring more civility to politics after recent attacks toward House Democrats. And Pritzker bolstered his pitch for freezing the state’s gas tax.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul, left, speaks during a news conference Monday about legislation he is proposing to crack down on retail theft. Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, right, spoke at a separate news conference about additional action State Police would be taking to step shootings on area expressways. [State of Illinois/Gov. JB Pritzker Facebook]

State leaders are announcing new measures to crack down on Chicago-area crimes that threaten businesses and travelers in an effort they hope will keep people from engaging in expressway shootings and organized retail theft.

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks about his proposal to pause the grocery tax at a Jewel-Osco in Chicago on Friday. [Blue Room Stream]

On the heels of Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget address in which he touted an expected $1.7 billion surplus for the current fiscal year, the Committee on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA, released a new report Friday detailing the additional revenue that is coming into the state compared to one year ago.

New members may be added to the state’s Local Journalism Task Force. Lawmakers are interested in making a change to the state’s Property Tax Extension Limitation Law to give more options to taxing districts. And the House Mental Health and Addiction Committee advanced a bill aimed at providing more mental health services to children in care of the Department of Children and Family Services.  

Rep. Dave Vella (D-Rockford) explains House bill 4214 during a House Revenue Committee meeting Thursday.

Restaurant and bar owners could get some temporary tax relief this year under a bill that would create a tax credit for hospitality employers who provide benefits to their employees.