Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) faced swift backlash after a report revealed he compared abortion to the Holocaust in 2017. And a new report shows Illinois’ revenue was higher than expected in July.

State and Chicago lawmakers are introducing legislation that would require police officers to have at least one day off each week.

State lawmakers are taking note of Chicago Police officers who have complained of mandatory overtime and canceled days off after three officers lost their lives to suicide in July. Now, some Chicago Democrats are proposing bills to require Illinois police departments to require officers get at least one day off each week in hopes of improving officers’ mental health.

The scene of the Highland Park Independence Day parade shooting is taped off on July 5. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

As state lawmakers search for a solution to gun violence and mass shootings, Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) wants lawmakers to take an extra step to hold parents accountable if they sign off on gun owner permits and their child uses a gun in a crime.

Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), left, and gun dealer Scott Pulaski, right, speak during the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force Thursday. [Blue Room Stream]

As gun violence continues to make headlines in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois, lawmakers took a stab at getting answers about what is missing in state law that could prevent gun violence and what local officials are doing to tamp down on gun crimes.

Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero), left, and Democratic Party of Illinois Chair and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) are battling for state party chair Saturday.

More than a year after U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) was narrowly elected by the Democratic Party of Illinois’ State Central Committee to become party chair, her detractors have not disappeared and are moving to oust Kelly in Saturday’s party chair election.

The state has occupied the James R. Thompson Center since 1985. [Provided by Google] 

After years of trying, the state of Illinois has finally sold the James R. Thompson Center after closing on the sale of the building to a prominent Chicago-based real estate developer and an agreement with Google to occupy the office space.

Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith speaks during a Legislative Audit Commission hearing in Chicago Tuesday. [Blue Room Stream]

Two months after an audit revealed an alarming lack of care for children in Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) care, the department’s director Marc Smith took heat from lawmakers Tuesday as they reviewed the department’s shortcomings and ongoing troubles.

Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith testifies during a House hearing in January. [ILGA]

Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith will speak to lawmakers Tuesday for the first time since a performance audit of his department found it was not following up on the safety of children under its care.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) speaks during a news conference Friday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

After the U.S. Supreme Court dealt several blows to progressives this year, Illinois progressive leaders want voters to turn out in support of Democrats vying for seats on the Illinois Supreme Court, arguing the state court is the last line of defense protecting progressive laws in Illinois.

Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Clint Hull, left, and Illinois Public Defender Association President Keith Grant, right, speak during Thursday’s task force meeting.

Illinois legal officials are working to prepare law enforcement agencies and other local leaders for the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act, which starting on Jan. 1, 2023 will add new restrictions to when and how people are detained by police in Illinois.