Gov. JB Pritzker receives his first COVID-19 vaccine in March 2021.   

It started on January 24, 2020: An Illinois woman returned from Wuhan, China with the second confirmed U.S. case of COVID-19. Two months later, Illinois and the country were locked down in hopes of slowing the spread of the then-largely unknown virus as quickly as possible.   

Over three years later, following 4.1 million confirmed cases and over 36,000 deaths in Illinois, the state’s COVID-19 disaster declaration ends Thursday.   

“It’s a significant indicator of the progress that’s been made of getting past the worst parts of the COVID pandemic and the fact that Illinois is one of the most vaccinated sates in the Midwest and that we’re in decent shape moving forward to keep people safe from this deadly disease,” Gov. JB Pritzker told The Daily Line. 

Gov. JB Pritzker and Comptroller Susanna Mendoza celebrate a bill’s signature at the Capitol in Springfield Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Chicago police officers and firefighters who had their career ended by a debilitating case of COVID-19 will receive full line-of-duty disability benefits under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker Wednesday.  

On the left are proposed school board districts for the north half of Chicago and on the right are proposed school board districts for the south half of Chicago. [Illinois Senate Democrats] 

Several Chicago residents spoke out against proposed maps for the Chicago Elected School Board at a Senate hearing Tuesday night saying lawmakers ignored requests for a map that represented the city’s minority community.  

Former Gov. Pat Quinn speaks at a news conference in Springfield Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Former Gov. Pat Quinn is calling on Gov. JB Pritzker and the legislative leaders to convene a special session to pass ethics reform following the guilty verdict last week against ComEd associates.

The Illinois Capitol   

A plan to require all businesses with 15 or more employees to post salary ranges and benefits on job postings is set to move forward in the Illinois Senate following an agreement between bill proponents and the business community.  

The Illinois Capitol.   

The Senate approved a controversial bill that has been the subject of an ad campaign by Uber that seeks to establish new regulation for rideshare companies.  

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is pictured at a polling location in June 2022. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]   

Costs to help migrants being sent to Illinois as well as provide health care for undocumented residents already living in Illinois are putting pressure on the state’s budget as a report finds Illinois will not have a surplus this year as big as experts once thought.  

House Republican leaders hold a news conference reacting to the ComEd verdict Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

Ethics reform is back in the spotlight in Springfield after four allies of former House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and key political figures at ComEd were found guilty Tuesday on all charges in a massive corruption scheme.  

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias speaks at a news conference in Springfield Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is celebrating his first legislative victory since taking office after the Senate voted to send a bill to Gov. JB Pritzker that works to restrict libraries from banning books. 

The Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago is pictured.  

Four ComEd officials and close allies of former House Speaker Mike Madigan were found guilty Tuesday on all charges in a sweeping corruption trial that dug into the depths of Illinois’ legislative process.