Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to separate Illinois from the net operating loss and excess business loss provisions of the federal CARES Act and shield the state from a $520 million revenue loss collapsed during the final day of a lame duck legislative session.

Issued over social media, her statement reads, in part, “Illinois needs to change direction 180 degrees. That won’t happen under Welch. The moving companies will have another banner year in 2021 in Illinois.”

A 2002 police report indicates that officers in west suburban Hillside were called to Welch’s home, where an ex-girlfriend told them that Welch slammed her head into a kitchen countertop numerous times after she called him “a loser.” Welch also faced a 2010 federal lawsuit for sexual harassment and retaliation in which a different woman alleged she lost her job at Proviso Township High School District because she broke up with him while he was president of the school board.

“Throughout the nation Illinois is known as a judicial hell hole” said Republican state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer. “Litigation in the state of Illinois is out of control and the more we can make this concise, the better off we are.”

Welch thanked his predecessor for his tenure. “While our state has many problems, our schools are better, more children have access to healthcare, and our working-class families will easily live the American Dream,” Welch said.

Kevin Lyons allegedly traveled to Washington D.C. and took photos outside Speaker Pelosi’s office during the melee. In the complaint, prosecutors say Lyons told them he was in Pelosi’s office with 20 to 30 people until a Capitol Police Officer entered with a gun drawn and ordered them out.

“For a state that has lost roughly 250,000 residents during the last 10 years; for a state that is shrinking while every one of its border states grows; for a state whose voters are fed up with politics and power constantly superseding needed change, Welch could spring us forward at this crucial moment.”

Some controversial elements in the legislation– including the repeal of qualified immunity status for law enforcement and changes to collective bargaining agreements for police officers — were removed in the final version.

It’s a sobering number, but “the state of Illinois is vaccinating more than 25,000 people a day and we’re looking forward to getting more vaccine shipped here as quickly as possible,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh.

“People mature, they look back and would do things differently and I think my life’s work here in the legislature shows my respect for women,” Welch said.

While most news reports followed the end of America’s longest-serving legislative leader and the culmination of a year of vindication for a long-ignored Black Caucus agenda, Illinois lawmakers also sent Pritzker legislation that would grant prejudgement interest of 9% annually for wrongful death or personal injury cases.

“Long thought to be politically untouchable, Madigan was reportedly cleaning out his office yesterday evening. As recently as 2009, he had a neutral approval rating. Nearly 1 in 5 Illinois voters weren’t even sure who he was or had no opinion. And since 1983, a total of three Democratic House members had ever voted against Madigan for speaker. How did it come to this?”

The sweeping measure tries to tackle racial inequity on a range of issues, from early childhood education to workforce development. The bill includes a mix of concrete changes, like expanding early childhood education and new programs for students who’ve fallen behind during the pandemic, as well as calling for task forces to address issues over time. It’s unclear how a cash-strapped state will pay for these new initiatives.

It reads, in part, “We cannot rebuild without ridding ourselves of what’s rotten. We cannot hope to unify without upholding the ideals of justice, democracy and liberty that tie us together as one nation. Today, Republicans joined with Democrats to send that message.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the sole Illinois Republican to vote for impeachment, said the country is in “uncharted waters.”

“The IHSA acknowledges the immense mental, emotional, and physical strain that a lack of contact with school programs is causing Illinois high school student-athletes,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “This is an effort to provide a viable sports option to high school athletes given the growing number of student-athletes opting for higher risk opportunities within the state and across state lines.”

Jim Dey: “If one can ignore the fact that Illinois state government is the equivalent of a dumpster fire, the ongoing machinations are first-rate theatrics.”

House Bill 3653, which passed by a 60-50 vote, will change use-of-force guidelines, require body cameras for every police department in the state, end cash bail, and strip collective bargaining rights relating to discipline from police unions. The Senate passed the bill in the early morning hours of Wednesday by a 32-23 vote.

No other person in Illinois, or any other state, has had as much influence over both elections and official legislative power as Madigan during the past several decades. That power binds him to the responsibility for unprecedented levels of state debt, primarily by helping secure for politicians and public union workers generous retirement benefits that have proved unaffordable for the private sector workers and businesses who fund Illinois government.

House lawmakers in Springfield have elected Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch to replace Michael Madigan and become the first Black speaker of the House. Note: Read the statement outgoing Speaker Michael Madigan released upon Welch’s election here.

A vote on the bill in the first hours of Wednesday morning saw the House fall ten votes short, with several Democrats abstaining. Through a procedural maneuver, the measure’s supporters could call the bill again before the 101st General Assembly concludes at noon.

“The last time the speaker’s gavel was in such contention was 1975, when it took two weeks and 93 votes to arrive at a winner. If no clear contender emerges in time for the speaker election on Jan. 13, the same gridlock could be in store for Illinois this year.”

Illinois averaged over one federal public corruption conviction a week during the Madigan era. That is the most convictions per capita among the top 10 most populous states between 1983 and 2018.

By actuary Mary Pat Campbell.

“‘Getting rid of Madigan matters. There’s no argument there,’ government budget analyst Ted Dabrowski of wirepoints.org told me on Tuesday…Even if Boss Madigan loses power, ‘too many residents know that the current group of legislators won’t change anything, so they keep leaving,’ Dabrowski said. ‘No state is losing people like Illinois is. We’re shrinking, and you can’t build a state on that.'”

The governor’s office said the proposal would prevent the state from losing $500 million in tax revenue from business. Without the change, the state’s budget shortfall could grow from $3.9 billion to as much as $4.9 billion.