Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood speaks at a news conference at Union Station in Chicago on Monday. [Blue Room Stream]   

Amtrak trains began running at 110 m.p.h. between Chicago and St. Louis on Monday, cutting down travel times between Illinois cities and representing the latest step by the state to improve passenger rail service.  

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at a news conference at Union Station in Chicago on Monday. [Blue Room Stream] 

A week after his administration announced changes to a healthcare program for undocumented immigrants, Gov. JB Pritzker responded to criticism from members of his own party who have asked the governor to reconsider the changes.  

Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), right, presents a bill in a Senate committee in May. [Attorney General’s Office]   

Illinois’ longest-tenured legislative leader at four years, Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), likes the direction his Democratic caucus is trending:   

“I’ve joked how hard I’ve worked to make Springfield boring again,” Harmon told The Daily Line. “We’ve had enough headlines or focusing on the difficult task of governing, of passing responsible balanced budgets, of making sure the law works for people in Illinois.” 

Gov. JB Pritzker makes a campaign stop at Planned Parenthood’s Chicago office in August 2022. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

When the U.S. Supreme Court dropped the expected end of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022 in the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, it was a call to action for Illinois Democrats who spent the next year crafting and passing bills to protect and expand access to abortion in Illinois.  

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias speaks at a news conference Wednesday at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. [Blue Room Stream] 

Undocumented immigrants living in Illinois may soon have nearly the same driver’s licenses as everyone else under a bill on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.  

Gov. JB Pritzker signs the Fiscal Year 2024 budget into law earlier this month. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

New rules to rein in costs for a healthcare program for undocumented residents is generating backlash from advocates and Latino lawmakers who fear the new rules will leave many Illinois residents without healthcare.  

Police process the crime scene on July 5, 2022 following a shooting at Highland Park’s Independence Day parade. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

On July 4 last year, a gunman opened fire on parade goers in Highland Park from the anonymous cover of a rooftop, killing seven people and wounding 48 others. It would be hours before the suspect was caught driving around Lake County. 

Under a new law that took effect Friday following Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature, Illinois police will have new abilities to get a bird’s eye view of special events like parades that supporters hope could allow police to catch a mass shooter before a shot is fired.  

Illinois Capitol

Gov. JB Pritzker has signed 100 bills passed during the spring session into law this year. The bills range from establishing temperature limits for utility shutoffs to new protections for union members on the picket line to a task force to revitalize Illinois’ history with the Underground Railroad. 

The north wing of the Illinois Capitol is undergoing a major renovation project that will be completed in 2025 and feature a new visitor’s center. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

The seat of Illinois’ government has turned into a massive dust-filled construction site as workers overhaul a portion of Illinois’ capitol building that opened in 1888. The changes have forced some state offices, including the Senate, to find new homes for the next two years.  

Lawmakers are pushing for legislation during veto session to regulate the hemp industry in Illinois after a cannabis bill fell short last month. And primaries for central Illinois races are starting to take shape.