House lawmakers mill about as medical experts assist Rep. Darren Bailey after he collapsed on the floor of the Bank of Springfield convention center.

With less than a week until the adjournment of the 101^st General Assembly, lawmakers convened in Springfield over the weekend for a lame duck session that will decide the fate of a comprehensive agenda from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and set the stage for the upcoming wide-open speaker’s race.

The condensed schedule and thousands of pages of legislation at the center of the Black Caucus agenda led Republicans and members of the law enforcement community to call for lawmakers to delay action — a point Democrats widely rejected, despite outstanding concerns expressed by labor unions.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst introduced an omnibus ethics and lobbying reform bill this week

A newly filed bill from a House Republican seeks to implement ethics reform proposals previously discussed by a bipartisan special commission that was created in response to federal investigations into lawmakers.

Introduced Tuesday by Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), HB 5872 seeks, among many ideas, to implement a one-year ban on lobbying for former lawmakers and would require legislators to provide more financial disclosure information.

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (center) said Thursday the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda will be the “heart and soul” of the lame duck session.

The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ multifaceted agenda, ethics reform and other issues are set to be considered when the Illinois General Assembly reconvenes Friday for a multi-day lame duck session.  

The session, which begins with House lawmakers gathering at the Bank of Springfield Convention Center at noon, comes 229 days after the legislature wrapped up a 2020 session that was shortened to four days in May because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Rep. Tim Butler and Rep. Jackie Haas touted a new proposal Tuesday that seeks to change the redistricting process in Illinois.

A trio of House Republicans on Tuesday announced a new push to limit lawmakers’ influence on the redistricting process in Illinois.

Speaking during a virtual press conference, Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) announced a new bill that would create an 11-person bipartisan commission tasked with enacting so-called “fair” redistricting maps.

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House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and Rep. Tom Demmer criticized House Speaker Mike Madigan and the Democratic majority on Monday for providing little detail about the forthcoming lame duck session.

With less than a week until lawmakers are expected to return to Springfield for a multi-day lame duck veto session, it remains unclear what exactly will be under consideration.

On Monday, three House Republicans held a virtual press conference in which they alleged Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and the Democratic supermajority would introduce a tax increase during the lame duck session.

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Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday released a comprehensive energy overhaul proposal.

As lawmakers consider competing energy overhauls, Gov. JB Pritzker entered the fray on Thursday, releasing his own proposal to bake ethics reforms into a long-term plan designed to wean the state off fossil fuels by 2050.

Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and other House members pressed ComEd officials on Tuesday about various legislative proposals under consideration.

Significant fissures have opened this week between Illinois lawmakers and Commonwealth Edison executives over potential changes the state’s utility regulations in the wake of federal legal scrutiny the company faced last year.

When members of the House Energy and Environment Committee held a hearing early Tuesday evening, the stated purpose of the meeting was “utility accountability and ratepayer restitution.”

Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders gathered on Wednesday for a leadership meeting. The House approved a resolution to order an audit to examine the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. Seven higher education institutions are set to receive additional funding for projects. And Comptroller Susana Mendoza touted the state’s dwindling bill backlog.

Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) and other Illinois Republicans pushed back on Gov. JB Pritkzer’s latest comments about redistricting on Tuesday.

Illinois Republicans on Tuesday criticized Gov. JB Pritzker for throwing cold water on proposals for an independent redistricting commission, which the GOP said they had expected him to support.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning after a bill signing event in Springfield, the governor criticized Republican lawmakers for their conduct during the ongoing redistricting hearings. Pritzker, who said he had “listened in” on the redistricting hearings, said Republicans were “not really engaging” during the meetings. “All they’re doing is fighting,” he said.

Gov. JB Pritzker signs the health care bill that was the final pillar of Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda. The governor also said Monday’s Census data “exceeded” expectations. And Ngozi Ezike provides lawmakers an update on the state’s efforts to equitably allocated COVID-19 vaccines.

Illinois lawmakers approved hundreds of bills last week covering a variety of subjects ahead of a deadline requiring legislation to move out of each chamber.

The flurry of action, which took place during lengthy floor sessions held throughout the week, made it one of the busiest weeks of the ongoing legislative session, which is scheduled to conclude at the end of May.

Illinois, Mississippi and West Virginia were the only states in the nation to see population declines in the last decade according to new apportionment data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Monday released federal apportionment data indicating Illinois will lose one of its 18 congressional seats, prompting relief among state leaders who feared a second seat could be in the offing.

The announcement, which had been expected for months given steady declines in the state’s population, adds yet another factor for state lawmakers to consider as they hold their final legislative hearings in the leadup to the remap.

Sen. Linda Holmes, Sen. Chapin Rose and Sen. Robert Martwick all expressed concern about some of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed tax changes during a recent Senate hearing.

A bipartisan group of senators on Friday pushed back against portions of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate so-called “corporate loopholes,” signaling a potential uphill battle for the governor’s spending plan before lawmakers leave Springfield next month.

Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, released in February, called to close $932 million in what the administration called “corporate loopholes.” The proposed tax changes included implementing new caps on corporate net operating, reversing the 2019 repeal of a corporate “franchise tax” and removing a tax exemption for manufacturers.

Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell faced questions from Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) and Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) on Thursday about a heavily redacted audit of Exelon.

Lawmakers pushed back Thursday against Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration and an outside firm over their recently released independent audit into energy mega-firm Exelon that called for providing additional subsidies to Illinois’ nuclear power plants.

Last week, the administration released the findings of an audit by Synapse Energy Economics, a Massachusetts-based firm, which reviewed Exelon’s nuclear fleet in Illinois.

The Senate passed a bill designed to make legislative appointments more transparent. A bill placing term limits on legislative leaders cleared the House. And Gov. JB Pritzker commemorated Earth Day by signing two energy-related executive orders.

Dilara Sayeed, Jay Young and Darek Lau testified before the Senate Redistricting Chicago South Subcommittee on Thursday.

Representatives from organizations in Chicago’s South Side called for more public input and offered warnings Thursday about the potential for minority groups to be undercounted if lawmakers don’t use decennial Census data during the redistricting process.

Similar to what other witnesses said during the first four Senate redistricting hearings, members of the Senate Redistricting Chicago South Subcommittee listened to testimony from seven witnesses who expressed desires to improve public participation while making a host of recommendations on how to bolster engagement.  

News in brief: Senate approves vote-by-mail expansion and health care reform bill, sending both to Pritzker’s desk