This year’s races for seats on the Illinois Supreme Court, as well as other judicial races, could come under a new set of campaign finance rules aimed at limiting how much money candidates could raise from so-called “dark money” sources and from individual donors.

“Democrats accidentally did themselves a favor last year when they delayed the effective date of abolishing the bond system to win votes for the new law’s passage. If they had not, talk of abolishing bond and its potentially ugly consequences would be at the forefront of election-year debate instead of serving as background noise about what will happen in 2023.”

“While some Springfield traditions have gone by the wayside, including the House-Senate softball game and campaign fundraising on session days, the post-budget spin contest remains in full effect.”

Said state Sen. Jason Barickman, “Moving forward, the unfunded pension liability, I think we made a modest improvement in that. But we in no way changed the trajectory of that program itself.”

“There is nothing that has gotten cheaper,” said Clark Kaericher, of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “Everything has gotten more expensive, by varying degrees … but none of it by small degrees.” Another stunning price rise: the cost of rent. Rents in Illinois are up 5.1% this year, the largest yearly increase since 1991. “The last time that rents increased at this rate, Marky Mark and Wilson Phillips had number one hits.”

“Hoosiers should be particularly proud of how much their state appears to have gained from adopting a right-to-work law. We found that manufacturing employment as a percentage of total private employment was more than 27% higher than it would have been absent the law.”

Supporters says this will help small businesses and consumers avoiding higher prices at the grocery store.

“These individuals, including the leadership and committee chairmen of the lower house of the U.S. Congress, are placed on the Russian ‘stop list’ on a permanent basis,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the release.

The impetus for the resolution is the Champaign department’s continuing staffing shortage. “Although recruiting, hiring and retention efforts are being bolstered to address police staffing issues, further attrition is expected through planned retirements, and the city anticipates that it may take several years to normalize staffing levels,” the report says.