House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) speaks to members of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce in Springfield on Wednesday.

Crafting legislation to address crime in Illinois remains a priority, House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) said Wednesday, adding that he expects lawmakers will be able to vote on a package to tackle crime by the end of session on April 8. However, he did not detail what form the new legislation may take. 

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Tuesday.    

Illinois is successfully fighting COVID-19 and helping the economy recover from the pandemic, Gov. JB Pritzker told the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Tuesday.  

The House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow principals in the Chicago Public Schools system to unionize and collectively bargain. Democrats voted to remove three Republicans from House floor Tuesday for not wearing masks on the first day of session after the state’s mask mandate ended. And the House advanced a bill giving school employees paid administrative leave if they miss work for reasons related to COVID-19 so long as they are fully vaccinated. 

Grants for body cameras are a part of the Law Enforcement Training Standards Board’s budget increase for Fiscal Year 2023.

The Law Enforcement Training Standards Board is in line for a large budget increase in Fiscal Year 2023 as the agency begins work on implementing requirements of the SAFE-T Act. The board’s budget is set to have more than tripled since lawmakers passed the law in 2021.

The Moody’s ratings agency delivered a positive outlook on Illinois’ economic prospects, but with plenty of caveats. And Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would expand health care services to low-income undocumented immigrants. 

The Illinois Senate meets on Friday.  

The Illinois Senate met its deadline Friday to pass bills to the House for consideration by advancing measures to improve employee safety at the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), clean up coal ash in Waukegan and to continue emphasizing the importance of mental health care.  

Leaders of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum present their Fiscal Year 2023 budget request Friday.    

Eleven months after the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) parted ways with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, which handled fundraising efforts for the museum, ALPLM is asking lawmakers for another increase in fundraising.  

Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris and Governor’s Office of Management and Budget Director Alexis Sturm present Fiscal Year 2023 revenue estimates to the House Revenue and Finance Committee Thursday.

Illinois budget officials are expecting strong revenue numbers to continue for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022 and into Fiscal Year 2023, even as the economy stabilizes from bursts of activity as the pandemic wanes. But they also pointed to new economic uncertainty for the United States threatened by potential spillover effects from the war in Ukraine.  

Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) speaks Thursday about his thoughts on the war in Ukraine.

After waking up to the news Russia invaded Ukraine ending decades of peace on the European continent, Illinois state lawmakers offered their reactions Thursday — in some cases by proposing legislation to punish Russia and ready the state for a wave of refugees. 

Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) speaks Thursday about legislation aimed at improving Illinois’ teacher shortage. Turner was joined by Sens. Christina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago), left, Napoleon Harris (D-Harvey), center, and Christopher Belt (D-Swansea), right.  

Senate Democrats are targeting requirements for substitute and retired teachers as a way to dilute the effects of the state’s teacher shortage by making it easier for people to become subs, and for districts to use substitutes when full-time teachers are gone.