American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois president CEO joins fellow board members for a news conference on Thursday [Blue Room Stream] 

Less than a month after Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed delaying a planned increase to the state’s gas tax, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois held a press conference encouraging legislators to stand by the original Rebuild Illinois infrastructure bill and its planned increase in the gas tax. 

From left: Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) and Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) speak during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. 

On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee advanced bills that would eliminate barriers for young people to buy pepper spray, clear the way for prisons to share records with inmates and remove cannabis tests from expungement proceedings.

From left: Rep. Larry Walsh (D-Elwood), environmental advocate J.C. Kibbey and Peoples Gas executive Torrence Hinton speak during Wednesday’s meeting of the House Public Utilities Committee.

A two-hour subject matter hearing in front of the House Public Utilities Committee saw proponents and opponents of a bill (HB3941) designed to rein in heating costs repeatedly confront one another while committee chair Rep. Larry Walsh (D-Elwood) played referee. 

From left: Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake), Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor and Sen. Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove) speak during a committee hearing Thursday.

The Illinois Senate Committee on Environment and Conservation met Thursday and passed two bills aimed at building upon Illinois environmental legislation passed during previous sessions.

Department of Children and Family Services director Marc Smith (left) and Senate Health Committee chair Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) during a meeting on Tuesday 

Members of the Illinois Senate Committee on Health on Tuesday weighed whether new  laws could help protect workers in the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) from on-the-job violence or other hazards.

Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) [left] and Margaret Croke (D-Chicago) said during a Thursday committee meeting that they want to pare back occupational licensing requirements.

On Thursday the Illinois State Senate Committee on Small Business, Tech Innovation, and Entrepreneurship held a subject matter hearing to discuss potential occupational licensing reforms the state legislature could consider in 2022.

SB2969 would require health insurance providers to cover continuous glucose monitors. [Wikimedia Commons]

The Illinois Senate Committee on Insurance met Wednesday to approve SB2969, a bill that seeks to ensure continuous glucose monitors are covered by insurance providers starting in 2023.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed six bills into law last week. 

Gov. JB Pritzker signed six additional bills into law last week that will adjust the state’s rules on gambling, firefighters, hemp and Chicago’s elected school board. 

A proposed new map of Cook County judicial subcircuits drew mixed praise during a hearing on Thursday.

Legislators from the Senate and House hosted a joint public hearing on Thursday to discuss the recently revealed map of proposed Judicial Subcircuits in Cook County. Co-hosted by House Redistricting Committee Chair Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) and Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), the hybrid meeting occurred at the Michael A. Bilandic Building in Chicago. Most legislators and participants chose the remote Zoom option.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday signed Senate Bill 280, launching a new Regional Water Commission for Joliet and its surrounding communities. The bill was originally introduced to the Senate in February by Sen. John Connor (D-Lockport) and passed both the House and the Senate unanimously in October. 

A map of 20 proposed Cook County judicial subcircuits [House Redistricting Committee]

Democratic legislators from both the Illinois Senate and Illinois House of Representatives announced a new map of Judicial Subcircuits on Monday, saying it will bring equity and fairness to a remapping process that has been starved for attention.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill on Friday that will regulate when flags are flown at half staff.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a string of bills into law on Friday. They will regulate flags flying at half staff, medicare reimbursements for hospitals, milk served to children at restaurants and the impacts of COVID-19 on the state’s transportation system.

From left: Rep. Denyse Stoneback (D-Skokie), Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) and Access Living organizer Cathleen O'Brien speak during a House Housing Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Lawmakers should hone state-backed housing assistance to better suit some of the state’s most vulnerable populations, including people who are chronically homeless, people with prior convictions and people with disabilities, advocates testified on Tuesday.

Home heating will become more expensive this winter for more than a dozen Illinois counties. [Unsplash via @realaxer]

On Thursday, the Illinois Commerce Commission voted unanimously to approve a $240.2 million rate hike requested by Nicor Gas in January.

Rep. Denyse Stoneback (D-Skokie) and Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) speak during a House Housing Committee meeting on Tuesday.

An Illinois House committee on Tuesday held the second of three public hearings set to discuss the future of affordable housing in Illinois. The hearing was led by the chair of the Housing Committee, Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), who called for the state to prioritize affordable housing with the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) monies streaming into state capitals including Springfield. 

Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended President Joe Biden's signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Monday. [White House]

As Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot were in Washington D.C. Monday to celebrate the signing of Democrats' long-awaited Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, elected officials from across Illinois were already making plans for the $17 billion that will come to Illinois.

Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) introduced an omnibus elections bill on the final night of the veto session that contained provisions changing how state judicial races could be funded. Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill into law on Monday.

After a day traveling to Washington D.C. and back, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 536, better known to many as the omnibus elections bill.

Senate Transportation Committee chair Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) (left) and American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois president Kevin Artl during a committee hearing Monday

Launching a commission to oversee and expand public-private partnerships could beef up the benefits of state- and locally-backed transportation projects, lawmakers and experts said during a hearing on Monday.