News in brief: Welch announces House committee appointments; federal health care marketplace to reopen; expressway license plate readers to be installed in Cook County 

News in brief: Pritzker expands vaccine eligibility; Senate committee search for answers on unemployment issues 

News in brief: Chicago, suburban Cook chart out ‘roadmap’ to restaurant expansions; aldermen approve aviation security labor agreement  

News in brief: Pritzker previews budget proposal; Durbin, Duckworth back Lausch; Senate committee to examine Business Interruption Grant program; Clean Energy Jobs Act reintroduced  

News in brief: Senate to hold hearings on vaccine rollout, unemployment insurance; Rabine to run for governor; Super Bowl bets soar 

News in brief: Doris Turner picked to replace Manar; Don Tracy named IL GOP chair 

News in brief: Englewood aldermen blast feds, @USPS over mail delays; Aldermen, @chipublib employees want library workers moved up in vaccination plan

News in brief: IDPH redirecting nursing home vaccines; Senate Democrats launch podcast; former Sen. Sam McCann indicted 

News in brief: Vote on civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department could come this month, alderman says; Obama Presidential Center gets green light, construction could begin this summer 

News in brief: Senate set for virtual return; Pritzker announces central Illinois youth facility  

Chicago briefs: Suburban Cook County moves to Phase 4, keeps dining restrictions; City partners with Zocdoc for an online COVID-19 vaccination booking platform 

News in brief: First Subcommittee on Reparations meeting canceled; Lightfoot, city file lawsuit against companies for selling and marketing flavored vape products 

News in brief: @chipubschools standoff intensifies as talks with @CTULocal1 grind to a halt; Chicago moves to Phase Four of reopening but indoor dining restrictions remain 

State tax collections surpassed expectations during pandemic, report shows 

The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Illinois’ revenue was not as bad as once anticipated, according to new report from the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs.  

While the state saw significant losses in revenue last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents “began to adapt their behavior,” which generated higher-than-anticipated spending, according to the report, which was released Tuesday. As a result, Illinois’ finances were more stable during the second half of 2020 than in the early months of the year.  

Cook County redistricting gets underway as commissioners stare down ‘tight period’ before reelection season 

County commissioners on Thursday formally kicked the tires on their once-in-a-decade effort to redraw their own district boundaries, vowing to lead a fair and collaborative process before their reelection campaigns get underway in the fall.  

The county Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a measure (21-1196) by board President Toni Preckwinkle charting out rules for the redrawing process, and another ordinance (21-1195) creating a new committee to develop and approve a new map. The 2020 Census Redistricting Committee will comprise all 17 commissioners and will be chaired by Comm. Deborah Sims (D-5). 

New Committee on Litigation and Risk Management, downtown dispensary push among new ordinances introduced to City Council 

Leaders of the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus proposed creating a new committee to focus on litigation and risk management to rein in police abuses, and a downtown alderman rolled out a push to allow marijuana dispensaries to operate downtown among dozens of new measures introduced to the City Council this week. 

Other proposals introduced Wednesday also seek to create a “Clean Water For All program” and clarify functions of the Chicago Board of Health. 

News in brief: State buys West Loop property; House lawmakers urge Pritzker to veto criminal justice bill; Illinois Gaming Board lobs warning on illegal Super Bowl bets 

Welch announces House committee chairs, new committees tackling ethics, restorative justice 

Making one of his first major decisions since being voted into leadership, House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) named the chairs of 43 committees Thursday while creating a few new ones aimed at reflecting his priorities.  

In an interview with The Daily Line, Welch said the committee assignments highlighted the “talented bench” of the House Democratic Caucus.   

Pappas, commissioners roll out TIF transparency ordinance to expose ‘unmined frontier’ of government finance 

Chicago and more than 500 other taxing bodies across Cook County would be required to publish detailed information about how they use a controversial but widely used financing mechanism under a new measure pushed by county Treasurer Maria Pappas. 

Comm. John Daley (D-11) will introduce an ordinance (21-1048) during Thursday’s monthly county Board of Commissioners meeting that would require units of government to send the treasurer’s office line-item reports on expenses furnished by tax-increment financing (TIF). Twelve of Daley’s 16 colleagues were listed as cosponsors on Wednesday. 

Remap disputes kick off as City Council approves Welcoming City ordinance among slew of other measures 

Results from the 2020 Census may be delayed, but the grappling over how boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards will be redrawn has already begun.  

As disagreements on the remapping process began to bubble up, the City Council on Wednesday approved a Welcoming City ordinance (O2021-117) eliminating carveouts that allowed Chicago police to work with federal immigration agents, a hike in fines (O2020-6200) for industrial facilities that violate air quality rules and two measures (O2020-6206, O2020-6207) that set minimum density requirements in parts of Pilsen and the city’s Near Northwest Side to stop the conversion of affordable small apartment buildings into more expensive single-family homes, among a slew of other measures.