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IDES Director Ray Marchiori said IDES has collected nearly $713 million in overpayments since 2021 and prevented $358 million in further attempts at fraud. When asked $713 million “out of how much,” IDES Chief Financial Officer Brett Cox could not say. State Sen. Chapin Rose remembered the number being in the billions.
An analysis conducted by Gov. JB Pritzker’s office and shared with legislators found that from a hypothetical $20 million payment in lieu of taxes made for a large industrial development, a typical Illinois homeowner would see only $1.29 in relief.
The utility says the added costs were related to connecting data centers and other new businesses, as well as electrification efforts such as building out EV charging infrastructure in 2025. If approved, the cost reconciliation would add $2.97 per month to the distribution charges on the average residential customer bill beginning in January 2027.
In a statement, Gov. JB Pritzker dismissed the inquiry as the Trump administration continuing to “punish states the president does not like,” calling it a “sham investigation.” Pritzker said, “The Civil Rights Division used to investigate actual discrimination concerns to ensure all individuals are treated equally under the law, but they’re now focused on belittling the rights and humanity of LGBTQ+ communities."
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Part of the state's rebrand is deleting the term “chronic absenteeism.” Schools will no longer be downgraded if students fail to show up, but a school’s overall grade can be “lifted” if students demonstrate “consistent attendance.”
Under Senate Bill 3444, developers would not be held responsible for massive harms if they did not act intentionally or recklessly and if they publicly post detailed safety and transparency plans. Instead of limiting liability, Senate Bill 3261 would require artificial intelligence developers to undergo independent audits of their safety and child protection plans, and report serious AI safety incidents to the Illinois Attorney General.
“These families have done everything right and they're still being squeezed,” state Rep. Nicole La Ha said. “In some of the hardest hit areas, about 10% of homeowners were only able to make partial payments on their property tax bills. That trend points to real financial strain.”
The Democratic Whip addressed matters including Amtrak funding, gas prices, data centers, green energy and the farm bill.
Experts in artificial intelligence spoke to state lawmakers recently, providing guidance on four bills introduced in the House, which would regulate and unlock legal remedies against AI companies, platforms and products. A repeated point of contention for the proposed regulations was the patchwork of legislation varying state-to-state stifles innovation nationwide.
More than 160 school districts in Illinois lock kids out of participating in school activities simply because they aren’t full-time public school students. It’s not the law. The Illinois School Code allows school boards to make district activities inclusive for all resident students.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said the inquiry will go beyond classroom instruction and examine whether districts are encouraging or facilitating gender transitions without parental notice or consent, including through policies involving students’ names, pronouns or participation in school clubs focused on gender identity. "Illinois is just pushing these radical agendas," she said.
Illinois has refused to hand over an unredacted voter registration list. Instead, it has provided DOJ with electronic copies of partially redacted files that do not include sensitive information such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers.
Rallies were held at more than 50 locations across the state.
But Tracy Sullivan, a consultant who assists businesses with the certification process, said the problem is a combination of difficulty and disillusionment. "I don't believe that businesses don't care about being certified," she said. "You can only bang your head against the wall so many times before the headache becomes too much."
With Gov. JB Pritzker priming for politics outside of Illinois, let’s not forget his scandalous past - including hidden trusts in the Bahamas, scrubbing the Internet of photos with an accused murderer, hypocrisy during the COVID no-travel order, and skirting rules to appoint brother-in-law to a political position.
Jim Dey: "The law requires state pension systems to terminate direct investment in companies boycotting Israel. It passed without opposition in the Illinois House and Senate and was signed into law by former Gov. Bruce Rauner. But is the worm starting to turn as progressive groups, among others, turn against Israel and, to a degree, embrace anti-Semitism?"
State Sen. Elgie Sims has publicly pushed back on calls to revisit the SAFE-T Act, describing the killing of Officer Bartholomew and the wounding of his partner as “one-offs.” His social media posts since the shooting have ranged from a missing person bulletin to criticism of Walgreens for closing its store at 8628 South Cottage Grove Avenue, which the company says it shut down due to theft and violent incidents running above company averages.
A report issued on April 21 by the outgoing auditor general found that the state agency the new state auditor had previously led, the Illinois Finance Authority, lacked a required full-time internal audit program. As executive director, Meister was responsible for appointing a chief internal auditor.
"A shrinking tax base and exploding spending obligations are a recipe for disaster. Government costs don’t magically shrink when people leave; they get slammed onto the backs of the remaining families, small businesses, and retirees who can’t afford to escape. The middle class gets squeezed even harder."
House Bill 5295, also known as the Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act, would require health providers to segregate records related to abortion and gender-affirming care and limit their disclosure. But physician and state Rep. Bill Hauter argued, “We rely, as medical professionals, on the medical record to be complete and accurate and private. To say that this information is unimportant… ignores real-world scenarios where it could be critical to patient care.”
“Believe me, every mayor wants more effective, affordable... [middle class] housing in our communities,” said Mark Kownick, mayor of northwest suburban Cary “But in order for this to happen, you’ve got to work with the municipalities.”
Opioid settlements with other companies linked to the nationwide crisis have totaled more than $58 billion, with Illinois so far earmarked for $1.6 billion. Settlement funds are dedicated to addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs.
"Armed with whistles and phone cameras, the people of Illinois reminded the nation that everyday people of conscience do still have power in America. That’s the Illinois playbook. The Illinois Accountability Commission honors Illinoisans’ bravery with action."
"Pritzker, who Forbes estimates is worth about $4 billion, is also well aware of the backlash against billionaires in his party and has over the years been accused of "buying" public office. In the run-up to the midterms and 2028, the top-versus-bottom messaging popularized by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is already proving to be a dominant narrative. "
Between one-third and half of police departments surveyed said their use-of-force policies are missing at least one requirement under the SAFE-T Act, the report found. In a separate review of 10 agencies, only one had fully incorporated the law’s standards.
"Sen. Karina Villa, for example, had this to say about the House action on Bears/megaprojects and its refusal to take up a millionaire’s income tax surcharge: 'Illinois families were told there was not enough time to ask the wealthiest few to pay more. Yet there was time to move a Bears package that even the Bears management themselves say still needs changes. When Springfield decides something is urgent, it finds the time. Working families deserve to be treated as urgent too.'"
"This would apply when federal law enforcement comes with a valid, enforceable federal warrant," Rose said. "That's critical. This is not a question of, 'hey, we just picked up some guy off the street.' This is a valid, enforceable federal warrant. It's a big deal."
State Rep. Regan Deering, who also serves on the Mt. Zion school board, praised the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to examine school policies across Illinois, arguing that parents have been sidelined in key educational decisions.
The General Assembly created the independent tribunal in 2013, with the stated purposes of increasing fairness in the tax system and resolving disputes between taxpayers and the Illinois Department of Revenue. The tribunal’s jurisdiction is limited to certain Illinois statutes and it generally hears cases involving more than $15,000 of interest and penalties.
Illinois currently counts low-income students based on their enrollment in federal support programs, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. However, under new eligibility rules that were part of the federal budget law Congress passed last year, the number of people enrolled in those programs is expected to decline.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday underwent a “routine outpatient urology procedure” and will be stepping back from public duties next week.
Top Chicago Stories
At another point in the four-plus hour deposition, Foxx revealed that when she announced during a luncheon that she would not run for a third term, the presentation was entirely ad-libbed and she had no factual basis for telling the crowd that Marilyn Mulero “went to prison for a crime which she didn’t commit” and “was wrongfully convicted.” Mulero is now using Foxx's off-the-cuff statements as evidence of her innocence.
ICE officers went to Chicago and arrested Guatemalan national Erik Giovanni-Quiroa, who had been released from jail after his ICE detainer was ignored following a conviction for aggravated sexual abuse of a five-year-old child. Giovanni-Quiroa, who also had a 2011 firearm-battery conviction, was given a three-year sentence on the pedophilia charge.
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“I don’t know why any Chicago legislator would vote for anything that doesn’t benefit the people that they represent,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, before hinting that he may propose a new home for the Bears within the city limits.
A City Council committee determined to maximize revenue from video gambling terminals and eliminate competition for them moved Tuesday to ban sweepstakes machines over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s objections.
Speaking about the bill now before the Illinois Senate that would allow developers of large projects, including the Bears, to make payments to local taxing bodies in exchange for long-term freezes on property taxes. Mayor Brandon Johnson said, "Without, you know, a clear pathway to provide certainty, as well as equity for everyday working people, I believe that is a mismatch there."
But the court’s records are missing addresses for nearly 10,000 of the cases filed between April 2022 and September 2025; the landlord’s address is absent for 98 percent of the cases.
According to the CPD, there were 32 homicides in April, which marks a 39 percent increase over the 23 homicides recorded in the same month last year. Through the first four months of 2026, Chicago has seen 130 homicides, CPD data shows, up from the 120 recorded during the same period in 2025. Despite the recent uptick, the 32 homicides last month were the second fewest for any April in Chicago in more than a decade, trailing only 2025’s total.
While city leaders often followed past IG Joe Ferguson's "investigative recommendations" on things like disciplining staffers, he says, outcomes "were much more mixed" when it came to his advice on department operations.
“There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t make the news, or we may not report to our village boards, but it’s nightly where I’m getting emails from our midnight watch commanders of this town got hit,” Oak Lawn police Chief Daniel Vittorio said. Chicago Ridge, home to about 30 businesses with video gaming terminals, has seen five such burglaries since October.
Bronzeville landlord Ebony Lucas points to a property tax bill where taxes on the building jumped 76 percent. She once paid about $7,400, but a surprise bill in December, right around the holidays, jumped to $21,000.
Brandon Johnson, along with mayors from Broadview, Fox Lake, Lynwood, Palos Hills, and other local municipalities, will argue that the loss of money shared with municipalities from the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) would impact essential services they provide their residents.
Both Glock and Smith & Wesson are facing potentially massive payout demands in lawsuits in which plaintiffs have said they are trying to hold the gun makers liable for the illegal use of their weapons by violent criminals to commit murder and other crimes. Both lawsuits center on similar claims that the gun makers have violated a recently enacted provision of Illinois' consumer fraud law, crafted by Democratic lawmakers in 2023 specifically to trigger such lawsuits against gun makers.
"These environmental hazards disproportionately affect Black and Latino residents, costing lives, shortening futures, and deepening the inequities that define daily life in Chicago. The failure to address this public health crisis is not a problem of money; it is a problem of will."
They said they've made adjustments to their operations and taken other steps to mitigate the issue, but "ongoing safety challenges" made it hard to keep staff and customers safe, and so they have chosen to close the store.
The case, Westforth Sports v. Chicago, alleged Westforth sold more than 300 guns between 2014 and 2021 to known straw buyers. The lawyers said those guns were used in homicides, shootings and assaults.
Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia said Chicago is 10,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels, and independent restaurants have suffered more since Mayor Brandon Johnson began phasing out the tip credit.
"The current Cook County court system is excluded by law from compliance with the Freedom of Information Act... Only high-profile cases receive the attention needed to dissect the complexities of the court proceedings and identify where the system failed. ... This has created an inherent distrust of the court system and reform efforts, including the SAFE-T Act."
The ages of the victims range from 16 to 58, according to Chicago police.
Dr. Daniel Davis, a faculty member at Kennedy King College’s social science department who teaches African American studies, said cash is necessary, but reparations is bigger than that: "So some people think we're only asking for a big check. No, a cash component is necessary as part of the package, part of a compensation, along with maybe home loan help, down payment on homes, tax breaks, education breaks for funding."
That lesson became abundantly clear with the renovation of Soldier Field in 2003. The team kicked in $200 million toward the $632 million project. The public still owes $467 million for the job, which, once it was completed, drew widespread criticism. Another lesson in taxpayer costs, Rate Field cost about $137 million to build when it opened in 1991. It cost another $118 million in renovations in the 2000s — all of it paid by taxpayers. The public still owes another $45 million for the ball field
Evanston's Healthy Buildings Ordinance is set to require around 500 buildings larger than 20,000 square feet to meet staggered energy use and efficiency benchmarks until they reach zero emissions by 2050. “What we don’t want is for Evanston to be viewed as this really onerous city where it’s difficult to hurdle all of the bureaucratic red tape and all these requirements,” spokesman Baxter Swilley said.
Buses took students to a rally at Operation PUSH on the South Side and other community-based events, while others transported students to an afternoon rally in Union Park that marched to Daley Plaza. Ultimately, 40 field trips were approved, allowing 2,200 students to participate in off-campus activities.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser, president of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association, said prosecutors need to look at every case individually. “I do agree with State’s Attorney O’Neill Burke’s process now, because I think they’re doing what is just in every case, which is making sure that if a certificate of innocence is going to be granted, it is going to be based on the fact that they were actually innocent,” she said.
A DePaul University journalism institute focused on “racial justice” is drawing scrutiny from media experts who say it contributes to skepticism of the news.
"Thousands of residents live in fear and are often terrorized by violent habitual offenders who are on the streets because of pretrial release and are reluctant to help police because they fear retaliation."
"In fact, nearly 9 in 10 parents in Chicago and nationally believe their child is at or above grade level, even though closer to only 3 in 10 Chicago students are on grade level in reading and only 2 in 10 in math. When families believe their child is doing fine, they may be less likely to see attendance as urgent."
All drivers — even those who stay in the car — face charges of $4.07 to $23.39 after a 15-minute grace period. Park district officials expect the new automated system to generate about $9.4 million in revenue this year.
Wirepoints Research and Commentary
Everybody needs a side hustle these days, and mine is Ukraine.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
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Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do. 
The state's existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis. 
Illinois lost another 54,000 tax filers and dependents, net, according to the IRS. Since 2000, fleeing taxpayers have taken $94 billion of annual adjusted gross income with them. 
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