Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to reporters Thursday after lawmakers passed a bill paying several of the state’s debts.

Democrats are claiming victory and touting fiscal progress in Illinois after lawmakers sent Gov. JB Pritzker a bill on Thursday partially paying debt in the unemployment insurance trust fund and paying other debts in full.

Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), left, and Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville), right, present bills to the House Revenue and Finance Committee Thursday.

Members of the House Revenue and Finance Committee heard more subject matter hearings Thursday on bills that committee chair Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) said will make it into a package of tax credits lawmakers will pass in the final weeks of session.

House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago) debates funding for the unemployment insurance trust fund on the House floor Wednesday night. [Blue Room Stream] 

The House approved a measure Wednesday night to provide $2.7 billion from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to its unemployment insurance trust fund despite severe blowback from Republicans. The bill also made several appropriations changes to pay down debt and fund pension accounts.

Democratic leaders said they hope to get the bill past the Senate on Thursday so Gov. JB Pritzker can meet a federal regulatory deadline by signing it into law by the end of the month.

Nora Collins-Manderville from the American Civil Liberties Union, left, and Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) speak during the House Human Services Committee Wednesday.

After sailing through the Senate with unanimous support, a bill that would codify rules allowing Department of Children and Family Service (DCFS) investigators to carry pepper spray on home visits was met with opposition by advocates as the House took up the bill.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) speaks during a news conference Wednesday.

House Republicans on Wednesday made another pitch for lawmakers to pass public safety legislation before session ends and continued to argue that legislation passed by the General Assembly last year is causing crime rates to rise in Illinois.

A bill that will bring vehicle emissions testing sites back to Chicago advanced to the governor’s desk on Wednesday. And volunteer firefighters are pushing lawmakers to a create a tax credit for them to help recruit more people to the profession.

Kenneth Tupy, left, Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville), center, and Oreal James, right, speak during the Senate Executive Appointments Committee Tuesday.

The Senate Executive Appointments Committee recommended four of Gov. JB Pritzker’s six nominees to the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) to the full Senate Tuesday about a year after they were first nominated by Pritzker. In a floor vote Tuesday afternoon, the Senate voted against one of the four members the committee recommended.

Senators advanced a series of bills designed to make it easier for retired teachers and student teachers to join the workforce. And a bill that would expand access to HIV care in the Black community advanced to the Senate floor for a final vote.

A map shows the new Illinois House districts across Chicago and much of northern Illinois. The 2022 Election is the first election using the new maps lawmakers passed in 2021. [Illinois House Democrats]  

Election Day is still more than seven months away, but the contest is already virtually over for nearly half the Illinois legislators up for reelection this year as 75 candidates — 74 of whom are incumbents — were the only person in either major political party to file to run for office.

Lawmakers are scheduled to be in session for all but two days through April 8.

Lawmaker are returning to Springfield Tuesday for the final three weeks of spring session and are looking to wrap up legislation in four key areas before they head home to begin their reelection campaigns.

This year’s session will end on April 8 , more than a month ahead of the traditional May 31 final day of session. After taking this coming weekend off, lawmakers will return on March 28 for 12 consecutive days of session.