“Given how often and how long our Legislature meets, how come legislators spend so much time on minutiae while ignoring this state’s serious problems that relate to taxes and spending, business development and ethics reform? What the Legislature doesn’t do is often more revealing than what it does do.”

Of the 2,826 general purpose governments identified by the Civic Federation, which include counties, townships and municipalities, 1,298, or 45.9%, of those units are municipalities.

“In the fall, the Census Bureau will issue a more detailed look at its numbers. We’ll see the demographics of who left and from where. That will be helpful. But no matter what that shows, we have a big problem. We are not growing, at all.”

The two primary reasons these Illinoisans are choosing to leave the state are for better housing and employment opportunities, both of which have been hindered by poor public policy in Illinois. Nearly half of Illinoisans have thought about moving away, and they said taxes were their No. 1 reason.

Rep. Bustos chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2020 cycle, when the GOP, defying expectations, flipped a dozen blue seats red, taking a big bite out of the Democrats’ House majority. After stepping down from the DCCC chair role following the 2020 elections, Bustos remained part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership team.

“Founded in 2019, Capitol News Illinois, with three full-time reporters, has more folks embedded than any other news organization granted space in the legislative press office. It’s a wire service, essentially, for papers that otherwise could not afford to publish state government news. They go to press conferences. They attend committee hearings. They do what most Statehouse reporters do, except scrutinize from House and Senate floors, where they are not allowed. Capitol News Illinois has requested floor credentials granted to journalists from the Associated Press, the State Journal-Register and myriad other media outlets. Lawmakers have refused.”

The Illinois Senate worked through a long list of bills Thursday as lawmakers prepared to enter the final stretch of the 2021 session.

Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker said the ransomware breach was contained to the attorney general’s office only, and that no other state offices or agencies were affected. “We have federal authorities that are involved here and helping to investigate. It’s become a law enforcement matter at this point.”

State Sen. Sue Rezin said Friday’s report from the Pritzker administration doesn’t reveal enough about IDPH’s role, and there needs to be another investigation from a body that doesn’t report to the governor.

An analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts showed personal income in Illinois grew by 2.9%, but it would have declined if not for the federal assistance. Illinois’ pre-pandemic growth rate from 2007 to 2019 of 1% ranks near the bottom of all states, marking one of the slowest recoveries since the Great Recession.

Days after Chicago officials floated the idea of requiring vaccine passports, Illinois public health officials revealed they’re also considering a “vaccine passport” for residents. Currently, there is no standardized form of a vaccination card.

The 16-count indictment against the former 22nd Ward alderman stems from a series of transitions during 2016-2019 between political campaign funds from the Chicago Progressive Reform Caucus (CPRC) and Citizens for Munoz (CFM) and Munoz’s personal accounts.

A measure before the Illinois Senate, House Bill 253, would require future infrastructure projects to be selected based on evidence about their costs and benefits to taxpayers. The bill passed 112-0 through the Illinois House on April 22.

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin believes there should be criminal charges. “Governor Pritzker and his administration failed to lead and failed our veterans. All of this was avoidable. There has to be more accountability.”

Sen. John Curran, the top Republican on the Senate Ethics Committee, says the two sides are divided on the wording of the revolving door period, and that the bill does not prohibit lawmakers from lobbying local units of government. But he praised efforts to reform the state’s financial disclosure filings for lawmakers, elected officials, and some appointees.

The The Illinois Association of County Veterans Assistance Commissions, which advocates for veterans in the state, said the community was “in utter shock and disbelief” after reading the report. It’s president said, “Just in the last six years almost 100 veterans have died at our state’s veteran homes because of breakdowns in procedure, antiquated policy, and lax accountability.”

“Unlike CEJA, which is designed to speed Illinois toward a clean energy future without raising customers’ electric bills, Pritzker chose to impose the rate hikes proposed in the Path to 100 bill. Those hikes are hard to justify, and the Legislature should edit them out.”

The review found ineffective, alcohol-free hand sanitizer in abundant use and no one responsible for replacing it, staff members reporting for duty by taking their own temperatures and initialing results, and scant availability and use of personal protective equipment such as face coverings.

HB 655 would get rid of the current requirement for would-be teachers to pass written performance tests, otherwise known as educative teacher performance assessments (EDTPA). Another bill that passed the Senate last week would eliminate another current requirement for teaching candidates to film themselves while in the classroom with students.