House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) and other lawmakers and advocates speak at a news conference outside the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Monday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

After more than two years of waiting, Illinois became the first state on Monday to end cash bail as a condition of pretrial release as a law loathed by opponents and praised by supporters took effect.  

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks at a conference in Japan last week. [Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton/Facebook]   

Illinois leaders say now is the time for businesses to put roots down in Illinois as the state enjoys more fiscal stability and recently passed policies that are designed to attract innovative green technology businesses to the state.  

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart speaks at a news conference on Wednesday. [Zoom]   

Nearly 10 months after it was first supposed to take effect, Illinois will become the first state to end cash bail on Monday.  

Attorney General Kwame Raoul speaks at the City Club of Chicago on Wednesday. [City Club of Chicago] 

Attorney General Kwame Raoul said he’s aware of how people simplify Chicago’s crime issue; that it needs to be reduced quickly or that there’s often a choice people make between supporting police or supporting criminal justice reform and people of color.  

Speaking at a City Club of Chicago luncheon on Wednesday, the second-term attorney general ran through numerous examples of why reducing crime is more complicated than it might appear on the evening news.  

Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) speaks during the Joint Committee on Administrative Review on Tuesday. [Blue Room Stream] 

Lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Administrative Review (JCAR) continued their legislative oversight powers on Tuesday over separate rules established by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) that have irritated lawmakers in both parties.  

Yolonda Morris speaks at an appointment committee in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood on Tuesday. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]   

Cook County Democratic committeepeople in the 9th House District met Tuesday to select Yolonda Morris, a union organizer from Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, to be the district’s new state representative.  

The report recommends consolidating the Chicago Transit Authority into a single regional transit agency.    

A new report from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) commissioned by lawmakers that will help guide future legislation on public transportation funding recommends sweeping changes to the transit systems in the Chicago area, including more public funding and consolidating agencies.  

Gov. JB Pritzker and executives from Gotion celebrate the opening of the company’s new plant in Manteno on Friday. [Gov. JB Pritzker/Facebook] 

Illinois officials signed off on a massive incentives plan to bring a large international electric vehicle battery manufacturer to the state as Gov. JB Pritzker made use of a new pot of money to close business deals for the first time.  

Illinois AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Pat Devaney speaks to the House Personnel and Pensions Committee on Wednesday. [Blue Room Stream]   

Illinois lawmakers continue to discuss possible pension reform as the calendar flips to fall, and union leaders are calling on lawmakers to keep the legislative process open and transparent after saying they were caught by surprise when major reform passed in 2010.  

The State Board of Elections in Springfield.  

Candidates for offices large and small began going door to door in their communities on Tuesday asking their neighbors to sign petitions allowing them to run for office. 

Here’s how some races for the General Assembly are shaping up: