The Illinois Capitol.   

Illinois’ teacher shortage remains persistent and requires more legislative action, according to a survey of 80 percent of the state’s school districts by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools.  

Gov. JB Pritzker thanks Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, left, at a news conference in Chicago Friday. [Gov. JB Pritzker/Facebook] 

Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell will leave Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration in early March, Pritzker announced at an unrelated news conference Friday alongside Mitchell.   

The Illinois State Capitol   

The December Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) report shed light on how tax and fee hikes passed by lawmakers in 2019 have raised revenue to pay for Rebuild Illinois and other infrastructure projects. But the report also shows some revenue sources in the current year are beginning to slow down. 

House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston). [ILGA] 

New House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) has big shoes to fill as she replaces the popular former leader Greg Harris, but she feels the transition will be natural.    

Tom DeVore, right, campaigns with former Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), left, the day before Election Day last year. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Republican attorney Tom DeVore has filed another state lawsuit seeking a restraining order exempting clients from following the state’s new “assault weapons” ban, this time including for some of the state’s most conservative politicians.  

The National Rifle Association (NRA) also filed the second federal lawsuit challenging the ban.  

Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) speaks at a news conference in Chicago Thursday. [SEIU] 

Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) is unveiling a proposal supporters say would make billionaires pay “their fair share” of taxes.  

A supporter of Gov. JB Pritzker holds up a campaign sign in support of abortion in front of Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton after Pritzker and Stratton won reelection on November 8. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Sunday marked 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that abortion was a constitutional right. The anniversary came less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June in its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson, which upheld Mississippi’s new abortion restrictions.   

As the abortion landscape dramatically shifted across the country in 2022, little changed in Illinois, but both pro-choice and pro-life advocates are continuing to work to influence lawmakers to see their side of one of America’s most controversial issues.  

Former Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) speaks at Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair last August. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Former Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) is not yet 40 years old but closed the book this month on a 10-year career in the Illinois House that concluded with an unsuccessful run for treasurer.  

After a long legislative career that put him at the front of key Republican negotiations on budgets, Demmer said he’s ready for his post-General Assembly life even after a tough election loss. 

The Department of Children and Family Services is being sued by the Cook County Public Guardian for repeatedly housing children in its care at jails as the agency deals with a lack of space for children in its care. And Gov. JB Pritzker said trying to pass the graduated income tax again is not a priority for him even as some Democrats hope to revive the proposal.  

Gov. JB Pritzker signs the state’s “assault weapons” ban last week. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

The Illinois State Rifle Association filed the first federal lawsuit late Tuesday challenging Illinois’ new “assault weapons” ban as the start of a legal fight promised by gun rights advocates in the wake of the law’s passage.