Topics vary wildly – from internet accessibility around schools to vegetable gardens on private property.

“We are estimating there could be close to one million people that could fit these categories that could renew online and would not have to go to the facilities,” spokesman Dave Druker said.

Gov. J.B Pritzker extended his own emergency powers and Illinois’ disaster zone status through Aug. 21, claiming they were necessary to promote state vaccination efforts. When asked when he would give up his emergency powers, Pritzker wouldn’t say.

An annual report from the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Lawmakers haven’t moved on any measure impacting the state’s energy industry, but discussions continue behind closed doors.

“In lower-income countries, the economic contractions that accompany lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19 can increase child mortality, counteracting the mortality reductions achieved by the lockdown,” state the authors of a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. For every adult life saved from COVID-19, the researchers calculated that 1.76 lives of children were lost due to the downturns caused by shutting down economies.

Said Gov. Pritzker, “I’m proud that this Executive Order will help shape a more equitable system of justice that makes our state stronger and expands opportunities for all of our residents. It is a goal of mine for the nation to look to Illinois as a leader in true equity.”

Jim Dey: “Records in the House clerk’s office, however, show that Ammons, who receives a $10,574 stipend for her role as chairwoman, is the only member of the new committee to which ‘at this time, no legislation has been assigned.’…The date of Welch’s appointment — the last day of June — allowed Ammons to be paid her stipend as if she had held the position for the entire month.”

The state’s own moratorium on evictions will expire at the end of August, more than 17 months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued it. Eviction filings can resume at the start of the month, but enforcement can’t resume until September.

Rep. Sean Casten said on Twitter that he “dropped a new #HotFERCSummer jam” — an homage to “Fergalicious” — to shed light on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The Pritzker administration said former Republican President Donald Trump was to blame for his administration’s lackluster approach to building a relief program.

State Sen. Sue Rezin said the problems from just those few weeks are staggering. “This report talks about claims made for dead people, claimants for future birthdays and individuals under the age of 13 and over the age of 90. What’s even more shocking is the fact that this audit only shows findings through June [2020], which only accounts for ten percent of the program’s duration.”

Sekile Nzinga will head up a new office of equity that the governor plans to create Friday through an executive order, tasked with taking the lead on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, legislation and policy, as well as identifying barriers to equity, for the state and coordinating

The taxpayer money is being used to rebuild computer systems, notify individuals their personal information may be at risk and get the office fully back online following the April 10 attack. In the meantime, many of the basic functions of the office are being conducted by mail and telephone as online access remains shut down.