The beginning of July marks a new fiscal year in Illinois, with new taxes and some new laws going into effect. 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul testifies to Congressional members Monday. [House Committee on the Judiciary] 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined Democratic members of Congress and fellow attorneys general for an informal hearing Monday on legal challenges to the Trump administration. 

In 2024, the Illinois Prison Review Board voted to release Crosetti Brand, who was serving time on domestic battery charges. A day after release, he stabbed his ex-girlfriend and killed her son, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins. 

Illinois Republican lawmakers are alleging legislative leaders are skirting constitutional requirements to pass bills. 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued guidance for organizations engaging in environmental justice work in the face of executive orders seeking to end federal environmental justice action. 

In the waning hours of the legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly passed a measure expanding the state’s jurisdiction for certain lawsuits against businesses. Illinois Republicans and business organizations are asking Gov. JB Pritzker to veto it. 

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules meets Tuesday in Chicago. [BlueRoomStream]

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is one step closer to implementing the Kinship in Demand (KIND) Act, creating a certification process for relative caregivers to receive full financial support.   

Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Fiscal Year 2026 budget Monday in Chicago. [Camryn Cutinello/The Daily Line]

With 14 days to spare, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the $55.2 billion state budget Monday morning.

The Fiscal Year 2026 budget will officially go into effect July 1, backed by new taxes on nicotine products, gambling and out-of-state corporations. The spending plan is the largest in state history, but Pritzker praised it as balanced and said it represented necessary investments in Illinois.

As Chicago-area transit agencies enter an uncertain budget year, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is preparing for potential service cuts. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee Thursday in Washington, D.C. [CSPAN]

Gov. JB Pritzker testified Thursday at a seven-hour long hearing of the U.S. House Oversight Committee on sanctuary state policies that featured arguments between committee members, discussions of a U.S. senator being removed from a press conference in California and many off-topic questions.