From left to right, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Gov. JB Pritzker meet with abortion providers and University of Illinois Chicago students at a round table at the University of Illinois Chicago Friday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

A day after Indiana officially banned abortion, adding to the strain Illinois abortion providers were already feeling from an influx of out-of-state patients, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Chicago Friday to shine a spotlight on Illinois’ position as one of the only abortion providers in the Midwest.

Vice President Kamala Harris, center, celebrates at a rally at the University of Illinois Chicago with Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, left, and Gov. JB Pritzker, right. [FOX News] 

Mid-term elections often yield losses for the party that controls the White House. But with an electorate angry over the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Republican candidates taking hard-right approaches, Vice President Kamala Harris and Illinois Democrats are pushing voters to the polls to defeat candidates they believe are too extreme.

Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) speaks at a news conference outside the Cook County jail in Chicago Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

Attention on Illinois’ controversial SAFE-T Act exploded in the last week as conservative groups shared infographics around the internet promoting what they think the bill does.

Republican lawmakers like gubernatorial nominee Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) continue to call for the bill’s full repeal while Democrats attempt to stop the spread of misinformation about the bill.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a news conference with Gov. JB Pritzker and other state and local government officials Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]  

State and Chicago officials are working to better coordinate resources to assist a continuing influx of migrants arriving by bus from Texas as Gov. JB Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation Wednesday to help the state and local governments, including the city of Chicago, coordinate resources to assist the migrants.

Comptroller Susana Mendoza speaks to the City Club of Chicago on Wednesday. [Blue Room Stream]  

Illinois’ finances have come a long way since Comptroller Susana Mendoza took office in 2016. The state’s bill backlog has decreased by billions to a more typical amount now termed “accounts payable,” there have been six credit upgrades and funds to provide the state with a cushion in the event of an economic downturn have received recent boosts.

But there’s still more work to do to make the progress gained since the two-year budget impasse that ended in 2017 permanent, Mendoza told members of the City Club of Chicago Wednesday.

Solar panels will be a major source of energy in Illinois in the future.

It’s been one year since state lawmakers passed a massive nation-leading energy bill and those who helped craft the legislation after years of negotiations say they are happy with the bill’s early implementation.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) speaks during an event with the City Club of Chicago on Monday. [City Club of Chicago] 

Tension between Democratic Party of Illinois members and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) appear not to have thawed over a month after Kelly was ousted as the party’s chair in favor of Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero).

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke, left, and Justice Mary Jane Theis, right.

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke will retire from the high court at the end of November, she announced Monday.

Tax rebates will begin going to Illinois taxpayers as part of the General Assembly’s $1.8 billion tax relief plan. Gov. JB Pritzker reiterated his frustration with Texas officials over busloads of migrants after suburban mayors became frustrated with Pritzker. And a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. outside the State Library in Springfield was vandalized.

A drawing shows the Chicago Bears’ preliminary vision for the Arlington Park property. The team wants to ask for public funding to develop the “mixed use district” portion of the property but will not use public funds for the stadium. [Chicago Bears]

State officials are cold to the idea of directly giving the Chicago Bears funds to potentially add apartments, businesses and other sources of economic activity around a potential new stadium for the team in Arlington Heights.