“We have a much better idea today of what we need to do as a state to be prepared for surges if they should occur,” Pritzker said. “We also know how to mitigate the surges much better than we did in the last two years. That’s gonna allow us to avoid the devastating impacts, as long as those surges aren’t higher than we’ve ever seen before, which I don’t expect them to be.”

Mark Konkol: “Every four years, the Democratic Party suddenly decides to care about Illinois’ working-class poor, neglected minority neighborhoods and forgotten farm towns. After the votes are counted on election day, the political survivors hike taxes and hope we forget four years later when they concoct a budget that puts cash in the hands of voters — if they have the votes to pull it off. This year, thanks to Madigan’s supermajority, the cycle continues.”

The party primary is June 28.

Ted Dabrowski, in an article for Illinois Policy in 2016, said dictating how transportation funds can be spent has no place in the Illinois Constitution. “The Illinois Constitution’s purpose is to spell out the fundamental rights of citizens and the basic operational structure of government,” he wrote. “It’s not supposed to legislate or appropriate.”

State Sen. Jason Barickman told the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, “The analogy would be, we had a gaping wound on our leg that was hemorrhaging, and I think it has been bandaged well, but it is not healing.”

Since 2020, mental health-related issues are on the rise, especially among young people, after many children were left to stay inside and away from other people during the pandemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mental health-related visits are up by 24% since 2020 for children ages 5 to 11, while visits by children ages 12 to 17 have gone up 31%.

“It plays to all of the public’s worst fears,” Sen. Jason Barickman said of the late-night legislating, noting lawmakers were making major decisions with little information on little rest.

Gov. JB Pritzker credited the upgrade to the recently passed $46 billion state operating budget, and the fact that the state dedicated an added $500 million to its pension system and retired $900 million in other interest-accruing health insurance debts.

Said Josh Sharp, CEO of the Illinois Fuel & Retail Association, “This whole ploy to force our members into posting these signs just shows you how scared some in Springfield are and some of those that are running statewide in November are for perhaps being blamed for those high gas prices. And frankly, they should be blamed.”

The services were terminated as of 2018 due to financial cuts. Over the four years, the Mattoon Fire Department took their case to the Appellate Court and ultimately found a substitution clause which forced the city into reinstating the service.

Juvenile Court Judge and former Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy found Smith in contempt of court in a case involving a 15-year-old boy who has been held at a psychiatric facility even after it was determined to no longer be medically necessary as of Jan. 31, 2022. DCFS also is accused of failing for months to get a neuropsychological exam done for the boy’s special needs.

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, said it is time to put an end to the shady dealings involved with these cameras. “How many indictments is it going to take for either the Pritzker administration to act at IDOT or the legislature to act in the General Assembly to finally say enough is enough.”

“I am signing on as a plaintiff because my family has been so negatively impacted by teachers’ strikes and work refusals,” CPS mother of four Sarah Sachen said. “Amendment 1 poses a danger to my family; more CTU strikes would mean a deeper learning loss for my children and further burdens for me.”

Lawsuits have prevented the state from handing out the new licenses, which continue to keep social equity applicants on the outside. And on top of it all, the State of Illinois just asked Victoria Williams of ACC Illinois for $10,000 more to renew the license she’s never used.

The state reimburses local governments for projects and doesn’t provide the money upfront. Because it often takes more than one year to complete a project, appropriations are included across multiple budgets.