Recent U.S. Census data underscore a grim reality for the biggest blue states: More people are leaving states such as California, New York and Illinois than moving to them. These migration patterns have huge consequences for state budgets: New York’s tax base, for example, decreased by $19.5 billion in 2020, while California saw $17.8 billion leave that year and lllinois lost $8.5 billion.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi will chair the new House committee on China, and U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood was selected for the panel. The spy balloon isn’t their focus, but it underscores the military, economic and technological threat from Beijing, Republicans and Democrats say.

“Illinoisans have better schools, better health care, stronger workplace protections, and a brighter future today because of the work of the Illinois House Progressive Caucus,” said Rep. Anna Moeller.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, both of whom have launched guaranteed income programs in their communities, will serve as co-chairs of Counties for a Guaranteed Income, a 20-member coalition formed to lobby locally and nationally for cash-first assistance policies.

House Bill 2206 and Senate Bill 40 require a new single-family residence or a small multifamily residence to have at least one electric vehicle charging station for each residential unit with dedicated parking. Dean Graven of the Home Builders Association of Illinois said different electric vehicles require different setups and that these stations are not universal in use or price.

State Sen. Chapin Rose said downstate residents are being shut out of the conversation on where to build alternative energy projects. “They are saying that you can put a windmill a tenth of a mile or a block away from your home in downstate Illinois, but yet they do not want them in Chicago,” Rose said.

Three federal lawsuits against Illinois’ gun ban made some movement Monday as a federal judge ordered a response from the state to show “each and every item banned.”

Illinois hospitals fared slightly better complying with the price transparency law than the national rate, 25%. Twenty-two out of 59 Illinois hospitals reviewed were fully complying with the rule, which is 37%.

There are several major Democratic officeholders thought to be waiting for the right moment to run for president. If Biden doesn’t run, that moment might arrive early for three governors: California’s Gavin Newsom, Illinois’s J.B. Pritzker, and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer. The first two governors have vast resources at their disposal, while the third checks an awful lot of boxes for Democrats valuing electability above all else.

“The Illinois General Assembly is gearing up for its spring session and like clockwork, one issue is likely to emerge from so-called fiscal conservatives: legislation to eliminate township government. Just as predictably, those efforts will be wildly unsuccessful. Why? Because taxpayers experience first-hand the value and low cost of township services.”

Said Chris Goodman, associate professor of public administration at Northern Illinois University. “It’s hard for public-sector employers to compete with private-sector employers because a lot of the public-sector jobs are highly unionized, so it’s hard to increase salary demands with those regulations.” Roughly 13% of all state government jobs in Illinois are vacant, with significant holes in public safety and health care posts.

While opponents have argued the measure would allow felons to escape scrutiny and potentially commit more crimes, supporters maintained the legislation would protect transgender individuals who face discrimination, as well as victims of human trafficking who face danger from their abusers.