Franklin Stacy Jr was one of the final witnesses to testify during the Senate’s final legislative redistricting hearings, which were led in party by Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago).

The Senate closed the book over the weekend on its 20 public hearings on legislative redistricting , hosting four meetings that largely mimicked previous meetings from the past eight weeks.

Witnesses re-upped their advocacy for greater representation in the legislature and on the federal level while expressing concern about engagement. Some witnesses also showed support from Democrats’ plans to finalize a new legislative map before June 30, while Republicans continued to press the majority for answers about a myriad of issues, including data.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday addressed the findings of a new audit of the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.

An agency director who “abdicated” her duties; the lack of a comprehensive plan, poor training, education and communication; officials doing the work of multiple people and a dayslong delay in acknowledging the severity of the situation all contributed to last year’s deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home, according to a  50-page audit published Friday that a legislative leader called “damning.”

The examination, which was performed by the Illinois Department of Human Services Inspector General Peter Neumer, shed new light on the COVID-19 outbreak that killed 36 veterans at the LaSalle facility.

Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) and Senior Advisor to the Governor Toi Hutchinson appeared before the committee to discuss HB1443.

Legislators on the House Executive Committee Friday morning probed Rep. LaShawn Ford's (D-Chicago) proposal to boost equity in the state's cannabis industry. The subject matter hearing touched on the efficacy of the lottery process, cutoffs for social equity scoring and ensuring racial justice through licensing, among other considerations.

Ford’s bill is one of dozens of proposals legislators have rolled out this year to restart cannabis licensing after the state’s botched rollout last year.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday released a comprehensive energy overhaul proposal.

As lawmakers consider competing energy overhauls, Gov. JB Pritzker entered the fray on Thursday, releasing his own proposal to bake ethics reforms into a long-term plan designed to wean the state off fossil fuels by 2050.

A bill that seeks to restart the regulatory process for cannabis retail and growing licensing is set for consideration by a House committee on Friday.

The House Executive Committee is poised on Friday to consider a bill (HB1443) meant to fix disparities in "social equity" cannabis retail licensing regulated under the state’s 2019 pot legalization law. The measure,  sponsored by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), seeks to address shortcomings in the original licensing process state leaders mapped out for marijuana growers. That measure hasn’t functioned as legislators imagined it would, leading to licensing delays and a bottleneck of applicants for social equity growers.

Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and other House members pressed ComEd officials on Tuesday about various legislative proposals under consideration.

Significant fissures have opened this week between Illinois lawmakers and Commonwealth Edison executives over potential changes the state’s utility regulations in the wake of federal legal scrutiny the company faced last year.

When members of the House Energy and Environment Committee held a hearing early Tuesday evening, the stated purpose of the meeting was “utility accountability and ratepayer restitution.”

Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders gathered on Wednesday for a leadership meeting. The House approved a resolution to order an audit to examine the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. Seven higher education institutions are set to receive additional funding for projects. And Comptroller Susana Mendoza touted the state’s dwindling bill backlog.

Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) and other Illinois Republicans pushed back on Gov. JB Pritkzer’s latest comments about redistricting on Tuesday.

Illinois Republicans on Tuesday criticized Gov. JB Pritzker for throwing cold water on proposals for an independent redistricting commission, which the GOP said they had expected him to support.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning after a bill signing event in Springfield, the governor criticized Republican lawmakers for their conduct during the ongoing redistricting hearings. Pritzker, who said he had “listened in” on the redistricting hearings, said Republicans were “not really engaging” during the meetings. “All they’re doing is fighting,” he said.

Gov. JB Pritzker signs the health care bill that was the final pillar of Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda. The governor also said Monday’s Census data “exceeded” expectations. And Ngozi Ezike provides lawmakers an update on the state’s efforts to equitably allocated COVID-19 vaccines.

Illinois, Mississippi and West Virginia were the only states in the nation to see population declines in the last decade according to new apportionment data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Monday released federal apportionment data indicating Illinois will lose one of its 18 congressional seats, prompting relief among state leaders who feared a second seat could be in the offing.

The announcement, which had been expected for months given steady declines in the state’s population, adds yet another factor for state lawmakers to consider as they hold their final legislative hearings in the leadup to the remap.