Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) addressed reporters Tuesday after the Senate failed to take up an energy bill that remains under discussion.

The Senate’s plans for a one-day return to Springfield hit a wrinkle Tuesday after last-minute negotiations over Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed omnibus energy bill failed to reach a consensus.

The ongoing stalemate came hours after Pritzker’s office once again changed a key component of its bill that would allow certain power plants that were seeking an exemption to stay open longer if they reached certain emissions goals. 

Gov. JB Pritzker issued an amendatory veto to the state budget bill. The House is expected to change rules to allow remote voting. And the state’s health department announced it is scaling back COVID-19 updates.  

A coalition of business groups sent a letter to Gov. JB Pritzker in an effort to ramp up pressure on his energy proposal. 

One day before the Senate’s return to Springfield, a coalition of business groups sent a critical letter to Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday indicating his proposed energy omnibus legislation would result in the “largest rate hike on consumers and businesses” in state history.  

House Speaker Chris Welch listens to Gov. JB Pritzker during a May news conference in Springfield (Joel Ebert/The Daily Line)

As lawmakers prepare to return to Springfield Tuesday, House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) reflected in an interview with The Daily Line on lawmakers’ work throughout the spring legislative session while saying has no “personal agenda” for this week’s brief return.  

Prairie State Energy Campus and other power plants in Illinois would be shuttered by 2035 under Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest energy proposal. [Bechtel]

Gov. JB Pritzker released a draft and summary of his latest version of his omnibus energy bill proposal late Thursday, mere days before lawmakers are set to return to Springfield.  

In a memo to lawmakers, Pritzker’s office highlighted portions of the 866-page draft of the bill, which includes significant portions of his original energy bill but with notable changes. As of Sunday, the bill had not been published on the legislature’s website.  

A March 30 redistricting hearing. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund became the latest group to sue over the legislative redistricting process.

A second lawsuit was filed late Thursday challenging the state’s newly signed legislative maps on the grounds that they are unconstitutional because they relied on alternate data.  

The lawsuit was filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) on behalf of five registered voters in Illinois.  

Gov. JB Pritzker addressing reporters during a May 2021 news conference in Springfield [Joel Ebert/The Daily Line]

Marking what officials hope is the effective end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois will eliminate all capacity limits on businesses Friday and fully reopen.  

The state’s reopening comes nearly 17 months after Illinois recorded its first case of the novel coronavirus and 15 months after its first COVID-19 death. Since then, Illinois health officials have logged 1.3 million total cases of COVID-19 and more than 23,000 deaths. 

Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois executive director Rhonda Sauget (left) and small business owner Brenda Whitaker told lawmakers Thursday that a worker shortage is the largest issue facing Southern Illinois businesses that are looking to recover from the pandemic. 

Lawmakers turned their attention to Southern Illinois Thursday to seek input from business owners and others on how best to help the region recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

During a two-hour subject matter hearing, members of the Senate Tourism and Hospitality Committee listened to ideas from witnesses ranging from a state official to a vineyard owner about how lawmakers can help their struggling industries. They offered a range of ideas including cutting off expanded unemployment benefits, boosting government hiring and loosening business regulations. 

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill Thursday that requires casino applicants to enter into a labor agreement when seeking a new casino license or renewal. 

Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed SB 1360, a bipartisan-supported bill that requires casino applicants to enter into a labor agreement when seeking any new casino license or renewal. 

Under the new law, which immediately takes effect, casino owners must provide evidence that they have entered project labor agreements that conform to state law. Such agreements must include goals for apprenticeship hours dedicated to minorities and women, procedures for addressing labor disputes and guarantees against strikes and lockouts. The agreements almost must allow the lowest qualified bidder to be selected.  

Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) (left) and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the new legislative redistricting maps.  

Illinois’ top Republican legislators on Wednesday filed the first federal lawsuit challenging Democrats’ recently approved and enacted legislative redistricting maps. 

In a 39-page complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois, Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) are “challenging the constitutionality of the apportionment of state legislative districts.”