Kelly Cunningham, the Medicaid director for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, on Wednesday provided four House committees an overview of a new report calling for changes to the state’s nursing home industry.  

Illinois lawmakers can improve the state’s long-term care facilities by tying Medicaid money to performance and using $444 million in incentives and subsidies to help the industry, according to a new report from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. 

Wednesday’s redistricting hearings continued to feature little public participation. And a group filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging that Illinois’ new legislative maps infringe on the rights of Black voters. 

Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) and Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) engaged in a partisan-charged 20-minute discussion about the redistricting process during Tuesday’s latest Senate hearing on congressional redistricting. 

Lawmakers’ congressional redistricting hearings continued to be plagued by lack of participation on Tuesday, with just three witnesses offering testimony in a hearing that largely consisted of partisan bickering.  

The Illinois Municipal League and Illinois mayors are calling on the legislature to pass four bills during the veto session they say will help their municipalities. 

With one week until the start of the General Assembly’s fall veto session, Illinois mayors on Tuesday joined the Illinois Municipal League in calling on the legislature to pass four bills they say will help their municipalities by opening a new avenue for small business supports, tweaking gambling rules, codifying a parking tax break and allowing more remote meetings.  

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity acting director Sylvia Garcia on Thursday gave lawmakers an overview of the preliminary allocation of Back to Business grants.

A newly launched grant program aimed at helping small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic has awarded 784 companies a total of $36 million as of last week with a majority of funding going to minority-owned businesses, a state official told a panel of lawmakers on Thursday.  

Cook County circuit court clerk and former Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) encouraged lawmakers to redraw the county’s judicial boundaries to better reflect the latest population figures. 

Lawmakers on Friday formally initiated a process required by a 2019 state law that called for the redrawing of Cook County’s judicial subcircuit boundaries. 

CHANGE Illinois policy director Ryan Tolley on Thursday encouraged House lawmakers to give the public at least two weeks to consider any new congressional map proposals before the General Assembly votes on new political boundaries.  

The Illinois House kicked off the state’s congressional redistricting process Thursday, holding a short hearing that featured a brief overview of the state’s population shifts that will play a central role in creating new political boundaries as a single witness once again encouraged lawmakers to listen to the desires of community members.  

President Joe Biden praised Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot during his latest visit. The governor announced two more agreements with labor unions to vaccinate state employees. And the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity launched new tools to bolster broadband.   

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday touted the state’s manufacturing industry at a news conference announcing the expansion of the Chicago Magnesium Casting Company. 

Commemorating manufacturing month in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday touted the state’s manufacturing industry, which he said has become more attractive since he took office. But federal data indicates a less than rosy picture of the state’s manufacturing sector.  

Lawmakers on Thursday will begin the congressional redistricting process. Five Republican senators introduced new public safety proposals. And state fire officials announced the recipients of 36 fire department grants for COVID-19 recovery.