The Illinois State Board of Elections moved toward issuing a fine against Rep. Terra Costa Howard (left) after a complaint was filed by a supporter of Republican Peter Breen (right), who unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent Democrat last year.

The Illinois State Board of Elections on Tuesday moved toward issuing fines against Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) after she faced a complaint over alleged misreporting of campaign contributions from committees controlled by former House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and Planned Parenthood.

News in brief: Steans to resign from Senate; Cook County vaccination sites launched 

Lawmakers to consider remote voting among key rule change priorities when legislature reconvenes 

Unlike 2020, which was largely a lost year for the Illinois General Assembly, the days and months ahead are expected to be busy for state lawmakers.  

Tasked with resolving  a host of major issues facing the state, including redistricting and a $3.9 billion budget shortfall, lawmakers are set to return later this month although the exact format remains unclear.  

Ethics reforms, revenue savings among proposals likely to be reconsidered when lawmakers return  

Although Illinois lawmakers approved 23 bills during lame duck session that led to the adjournment of the 101st General Assembly on Wednesday, a host of other proposals failed to make it across the finish line. With much of the discussion focused on the approved comprehensive agenda pushed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus last week, bills ranging from ethics and lobbying reform to launching an elected board to oversee the Chicago Public Schools were left unfinished before the new General Assembly was sworn in. As a result, lawmakers are likely to reconsider many of the failed proposals as the regular legislative session gets underway in the coming weeks.  

The following is an overview of some of the most significant pieces of legislation that failed to advance during the lame duck session, and whose advocates are regrouping for another push.  

Union wins, pension tweaks and booze on trains: a look at the 23 bills approved during the lame duck session 

When the dust finally settled on the 101st General Assembly’s whirlwind six-day lame duck session, which included an all-night flurry of activity Tuesday night and early Wednesday, several consequential bills were passed, including a sweeping criminal justice overhaul and a power boost for the Chicago Teachers Union.   

The following is an overview of the most significant pieces of legislation that were passed during the lame duck session. In total, lawmakers approved just 23 bills during the truncated session, most of which passed in the final hours.  They now await Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature or veto. 

Black Caucus notches wins on education, criminal justice as health care proposals fall short in lame duck session 

Leaders of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus declared victory Wednesday after lawmakers approved most planks of their sweeping legislative package aimed at stamping out systemic racism during the final hours of the General Assembly’s lame duck session. 

The General Assembly approved bills overhauling state laws on education, criminal justice and economic development, but a companion suite of proposals aimed at closing racial disparities in health care failed to reach the finish line.

Welch elected speaker as Illinois enters new era of government 

Illinois lawmakers thrust the state into a new era Wednesday, passing a comprehensive agenda aimed at rooting out systemic racism and swearing in a new House speaker for the first time in decades.  

Days after Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) scuttled his bid to seek a 19th term, the House elected Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) to be the chamber’s 70th leader. Welch, who is the first Black House speaker in Illinois history, takes over for the longest serving leader of a legislative body in U.S. history.  

A flurry of last-minute moves on Tuesday upended the race for the next speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, less than a day before the chamber was set to begin voting.

The lengthy battle officially began on the second Wednesday of 1975. At the time, no one could have known it would take nearly two weeks and 93 ballots to select the 64^th speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. The drawn-out process, which pitted a “wheeler-dealer” backed by then-Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley against Democrats calling for a new era, ended with the selection of a consensus candidate that resulted in the state’s major political power brokers “taking a beating,” in the words of one reporter.

News in brief: Madigan suspends campaign for speaker; lawmakers approve first pillar of Black caucus agenda; Giannoulias launches listening tour, IL GOP outlines process to pick new chair