Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) speaks to the nomination of former U.S. District Judge Michael McCuskey as the state’s new legislative inspector general.

The Senate took a party-line vote Wednesday afternoon to nominate former U.S. District Judge Michael McCuskey as the new legislative inspector general after President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) forced a vote on his nomination.

Lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday to compel the Department of Public Health to establish a licensing process for private COVID-19 testing facilities and laboratories. A House committee also advanced legislation to work toward creating common reading standards for Illinois students.

Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield), center, speaks during a news conference Tuesday with Rep. Sandy Hamilton (R-Springfield), right, and Sen. Sally Turner (R-Beason), left.

Lawmakers in Springfield took several more steps Tuesday to address issues at the Department of Children and Family Services, (DCFS,) as state leaders clamor for tighter employee safety rules after a case worker was murdered on the job last month.  

The House moved a bill out of committee that makes additions to the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights, and Republicans introduced new legislation to give DCFS employees protection in the field.

Lawmakers advanced a bill to create a grant for communities to provide filters to residents with lead water pipes. And Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) plans to present a bill Wednesday to make changes to how schools create contracts for school lunch providers.

Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville), center, speaks with Jim Bell from the National Storm Shelter Association, left, and Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, right, during a House hearing Monday.

About two months after an EF-3 tornado killed six people at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, lawmakers held a hearing Monday to learn about severe weather safety in the workplace and probe experts and labor leaders about what can be done to keep employees at similar warehouses safe during a tornado warning. Some encouraged the General Assembly to toughen the state’s legal standards for tornado preparedness, opening up the possibility of changes coming to state law.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is a Republican candidate for Illinois governor. [YouTube/Richard Irvin]

With Chicago billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s money officially in the Illinois race for governor, the financial status of the field varies widely even as no clear frontrunner has emerged for the Republican nomination.

The Cook County Jail is pictured in 2021.

In the wake of recent deaths of first responders in the line of duty, Illinois Republicans are pushing to reinstate the death penalty as a way to toughen punishment for people who intentionally kill police officers, firefighters or other public workers. 

Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn), Wheaten North High School student Henry Lytle and Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) speak during the House Transportation Committee Thursday.

When Henry Lytle and his twin brother became old enough to drive, Lytle realized his brother might encounter a common situation on the road that might be difficult for him to handle: getting pulled over by the police.  

Lytle’s brother has autism, and Lytle said unfamiliar situations or moments that make him nervous can cause his brother to have difficulty communicating or react in unconventional ways that might also make police officers on a traffic stop nervous.

Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago), left, and Kazeem Sanuth from Indiana University speak in support of requiring schools to offer African language as a class Thursday.

African American students deserve to have the same opportunities to learn about their heritage in school as their peers, Rep. Marcus Evans (D-Chicago) said while advocating for a bill to require schools offer African language studies. 

From left: Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) and Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) speak during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. 

On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee advanced bills that would eliminate barriers for young people to buy pepper spray, clear the way for prisons to share records with inmates and remove cannabis tests from expungement proceedings.