Illinois AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Pat Devaney speaks to the House Personnel and Pensions Committee on Wednesday. [Blue Room Stream]   

Illinois lawmakers continue to discuss possible pension reform as the calendar flips to fall, and union leaders are calling on lawmakers to keep the legislative process open and transparent after saying they were caught by surprise when major reform passed in 2010.  

The State Board of Elections in Springfield.  

Candidates for offices large and small began going door to door in their communities on Tuesday asking their neighbors to sign petitions allowing them to run for office. 

Here’s how some races for the General Assembly are shaping up:  

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) speaks on the House floor in February. [Blue Room Stream]   

Illinois Democrats usually find themselves earning praise from the state’s labor unions, but House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) was accused of abandoning unions over the Labor Day weekend.  

Across the aisle, some members of the House Republican Caucus took aim at teacher unions asking the Illinois Republican Party to prevent Republican candidates from receiving contributions from teachers’ unions.  

Concerns over timing, cost, confusion and rollout were all heard on Tuesday from advocacy groups at a meeting held by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) on the emergency rule changes for the Health Benefits for Immigrant seniors (HBIS) and Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA) programs.

Following the hearing, HFS suspended the cost-sharing portions of the new rule changes with a provider notice being issued shortly after the meeting.

The Illinois Capitol    

Both the House and Senate each took more than 900 votes during the spring session ranging from celebratory resolutions to major pieces of legislation. Some lawmakers pressed their button for nearly every vote, while others missed votes on hundreds of bills.  

Illinois Supreme Court   

Illinois court officials have issued a pair of rulings and guidelines ahead of the end of cash bail in Illinois on Sept. 18.  

Chicago-area transit agencies face a fiscal cliff in 2025 when pandemic relief funds expire.    

Chicago-area transit agencies received additional years of relief this legislative session from a state law that requires transit agencies receive half of their revenue from rider fares.  

The pause comes as lawmakers and transit officials work to drill down over the coming years on the future funding model for transit agencies as rider patterns have changed since the pandemic.  

Illinois Democrats gather at the State Fair on Governor’s Day earlier this month. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Illinois Democrats are stepping up their focus on down ballot races in 2024 as the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI) will launch a new recruitment strategy on Wednesday aimed at improving party operations in rural areas dominated by Republicans and giving voters more choices on their ballots.    

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), standing, speaks at an event in Oak Park on Monday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Officials from all levels of government in western Cook County are working to establish a collaborative approach toward addressing climate change at the local level.  

Sen. Mike Simmons speaks at a news conference in Chicago on Friday. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]  

A group of Illinois Democrats are pushing legislation that would give people serving time in Illinois prisons the right to vote, arguing civic engagement is key to their rehabilitation.