Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) speaks on the Senate floor on Dec. 1. [Blue Room Stream] 

Sen. Jason Barickman’s (R-Bloomington) announcement earlier this month that he would leave the Illinois Senate surprised many, but it had been on Barickman’s mind for a while, he told The Daily Line.  

From left to right, Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison), Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), and Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) participate in the House Judiciary- Criminal Committee meeting in Chicago Thursday. [Blue Room Stream]   

A proposal to ban semi-automatic weapons, large capacity magazines and raise the age for owning a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card to 21 received a second hearing in a House committee Thursday that focused on data behind gun violence.  

Secretary of State Jesse White speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally in Chicago in October alongside Secretary of State-elect Alexi Giannoulias. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Much has changed in Illinois since Secretary of State Jesse White first took control of the office in 1999: Barack Obama rose from the state senate to the presidency; Rod Blagojevich served as governor and prisoner and has since been released; Mike Madigan no longer controls White’s Democratic Party, and the state even went without a budget for over two years.  

But despite shifting political winds and various triumphs and controversies in state politics, White remained the familiar face of Illinois government, but will step aside next month after decades in elected office.  

Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) speaks on the House floor on Dec. 1. [Blue Room Stream] 

After 14 years in Springfield, Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) is preparing to leave the Illinois House after suffering a tough primary loss in June.  

“I’m going to miss the job incredibly so,” Zalewski told The Daily Line. “I’m going to miss being down here… I love the job, probably too much, and it’ll be hard to leave it, but I’ve got some closure. I know it’s going to be good at the end of the day.” 

Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) speaks at a news conference in Chicago Monday before a hearing on his proposed semi-automatic weapon ban. Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, right, was also in attendance. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

A bill to ban semi-automatic weapons faced its first test in front of the House Judiciary- Criminal Committee Monday as Illinois lawmakers consider legislation that could make Illinois the ninth state to ban “assault weapons.”   

Monday’s hearing focused on the victims of gun violence and was the first of three subject matter hearings over the next week on the bill.  

Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) speaks to the Senate Executive Committee on Nov. 30. [Blue Room Stream]   

A bill that would provide more insight into how principals are hired in the Chicago Public Schools system is one step away from passage.  

Sen. Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) speaks on the Senate floor on Dec. 1. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Sen. Scott Bennett, a Democrat from Champaign and an eight-year veteran of the Illinois Senate, died Friday at age 45, according to WCIA-TV. 

Thursday’s City Club of Chicago panel on mental health resources for youth. [City Club of Chicago livestream] 

Illinois leaders used the backdrop of a City Club of Chicago panel Thursday to discuss the importance of mental health access for youth and touted legislation signed by Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this year that aims to ensure schools provide information on mental health resources. 

Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) gives a farewell speech in the House on Dec. 1. [Blue Room Stream]   

One of Springfield’s more popular lawmakers will be leaving his House position to take a lobbying job at the end of the month, but Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) is at peace with his decision as he embarks on a new chapter in his political career.  

Gov. JB Pritzker said he believes the state’s cannabis license rollout is starting to move forward as he celebrated the opening a social equity cannabis dispensary Wednesday. Pritzker also said he supports Rep. Bob Morgan’s (D-Deerfield) bill banning “assault weapons” and hopes to sign a proposal in the coming months.