The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is calling on lawmakers to pass legislation to ensure workers are paid fairly. And an attorney for the Prisoner Review Board told a House committee they support some of the concepts House Republicans have proposed to reform the board.

Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) speaks at a news conference Tuesday with Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), left, and President of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association President Michael Jacobson, right.

Recovery is not happening as fast as hotel industry leaders hoped, and they need a shot in the arm from the state, industry leaders said in a news conference in Springfield Tuesday.  

The Illinois House voted to end its mask mandate for people in the chamber after weeks of removing Republicans not wearing masks. Republicans are renewing calls for legislators to take action to end Illinois investments in Russia and prepare for a potential influx of refugees from Ukraine. And Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan received an endorsement from the state’s former legislative inspector general.

Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) presents a bill on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 in the Illinois House.

Lawmakers are making a push to give teachers a new option to take care of their mental health as the state emerges from the pandemic. They want to pass a bill ensuring teachers can take a day off work to mentally recharge. 

Gov. JB Pritzker, right, files his petitions to run for the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor with his running mate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, left, at the State Board of Elections in Springfield Monday. [Blue Room Stream]

As candidates lined up outside the State Board of Elections in Springfield Monday to officially file as candidates for office in 2022, many expressed excitement about the future of their campaigns and weighed in on how the indictment of former House Speaker Michael Madigan will affect voters’ decisions.

The Illinois House meets on Friday.

The House advanced a bill with strong bipartisan support that would reform how some local taxing bodies levy property taxes in the hope that the new system will save taxpayers money.

Ahead of Friday’s deadline to hand bills off to the Senate, the House passed legislation to combat catalytic converter theft, eliminate the requirement that schools must choose the lowest bidder on lunch contracts and remove a potential barrier high school students face for graduation.

Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith, orange tie, speaks to members of the House Appropriations- Human Services Committee Thursday.

Lawmakers and advocates blasted Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith during his agency’s appropriation hearing Thursday, even after Smith said the department was making progress toward ensuring the safety of its employees and the children under its care.

Former Mike Madigan and Democratic Party of Illinois staffer Alaina Hampton speaks at a news conference in March 2018. [A.D. Quig] 

Wednesday was an emotional day but validating day for Alaina Hampton, a former staffer for the Democratic Party of Illinois who worked out of Mike Madigan’s 13th Ward office and ran Illinois House campaigns for the state party while Madigan was chair. 

The House advanced several measures Thursday ahead of Friday’s deadline to move bills on to the Senate. They included a requirement that life rings be placed on public lands along Lake Michigan, a bill to allow college students studying education to become substitute teachers and a proposal to limit standardized testing young children.