State Sen. Mike Halpin, co-chair of the state’s Higher Education Committee, supports Gov. JB Pritzker’s recently proposed education budget that calls for a $219 million increase. ”A dollar spent on education is not money that goes away, it’s money that we get a return on,” he said. “When we have high school students come into college here in Illinois that graduate here in Illinois, then they get a job here in Illinois, raise a family here in Illinois, so we get all that money back plus some.”

Titled the “Digital Property Protection and Law Enforcement Act,” the bill would authorize the courts — upon a valid request from the attorney general or a state’s attorney that is made pursuant to the laws of Illinois — to order a blockchain transaction that is executed via a smart contract to be altered or rescinded.

State Sen. Steve McClure argued that intoxicated drivers should be charged with a Class 2 felony if they kill someone and cause great bodily harm, permanent disability, or disfigurement of others. While some think this is a common sense change, he says his bill hasn’t gained support in the past because many Democratic lawmakers are opposed to penalty enhancements.

The Illinois Grocery Initiative would provide financial assistance to municipalities or local independent grocery stores opening in food deserts — whether rural or urban. The $20 million initiative includes an additional $2 million to help grocers purchase local food from Illinois farmers.

On Feb. 17, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that claims accrue under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) each time data is collected and disclosed rather than accrual occurring upon the first registration, collection or disclosure of biometric information and identifiers. As the dissent put it, this decision could have a “crippling,” “punitive” and “annihilative” impact on Illinois businesses.

“Gov. Pritzker has been an unabashed cheerleader for the Leftist economic and social policies that have made blue states like Illinois, California, and New York far less attractive to residents and businesses,” Tom Morrison, a conservative former state House member, said. “Their migration to red states like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee is indisputable.”

The state’s attorneys contend the Act was stillborn: “The failure to seek a referendum amending the constitution and to seek input from the voters to convert Illinois from a traditional bail state to a risk assessment-based system doomed its attempt.” Further, the prosecutors said the SAFE-T Act flies in the face of the Crime Victims’ Rights provision of the constitution, which requires judges to consider the safety of victims and their families when setting bail.

Governor JB Pritzker has submitted an Executive Order to change the official name to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS). The Pritzker Administration said the change will allow IEMA-OHS to better mobilize and coordinate response efforts during any future disasters and emergencies.

The situation at Choate is one of several issues the Pritzker administration has faced over its handling of state social service agencies. An auditor general’s report last year blamed Pritzker’s Public Health Department for failing to adequately respond to a COVID-19 outbreak at a state home for veterans in LaSalle that led to the deaths of 36 residents. And child-welfare advocates have repeatedly hammered the administration’s oversight of the Department of Children and Family Services, which has come under renewed fire for failing to find appropriate placements for children.

State Sen. Darren Bailey said of the governor, “He’s using COVID and federal money to advance his own agenda. There will come a day when these bills are due and the only way to pay will be to raise taxes on everyone or drastically cut services.”

The change in the law would be particularly welcome for craft brewers right now because local breweries are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. Before COVID, Illinois craft brewing was a $3.2 billion dollar industry with close to 350 regional breweries. Three years out from the start of the pandemic, on site sales remain down by 20% to 30%; As many as 40 craft breweries have gone out of business altogether.

Criminal justice legislation has for the most part split the General Assembly along party lines, with Republicans taking a so-called law-and-order approach that often runs counter to the reform measures favored by Democrats. But the legislation on sentencing drew some Republican support. Opponent state Sen. Steve McClure expects “things will get worse from here…I think it’s time to start sticking up for victims in this state and their families.”