“I asked for more specifics of how the “cushion” was built. ‘Increased appropriation authority was added to various lines,’ was all (Carol Knowles, deputy director for communications at the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget) replied…I assume the budget office refused to reveal much because it would provide keys to legislators and others to figure out how they do the voodoo they do. But this is beyond opaque.”

Gov. JB Pritzker blames his predecessor for neglecting IDES. “If you had to draw a lesson from it, you draw this: Do not ignore even these seemingly smaller agencies of state government, like IDES, like the Department of Public Health,” Pritzker said.

Also effective immediately, the Illinois State Board of Education is required to adopt a literacy plan.

“Where is this all going? We need to make sure that people are appointed to the Supreme Court who are going to do the right thing,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “And this is one way for us to demand and ask people to do the right thing and keep them safe in their own homes.”

Among other changes, the new law provides that urine tests can only be ordered if there is reasonable suspicion of illicit drug use and the basis of that suspicion is documented in the Department of Corrections’ case management system, and it provides for remote check-ins with parole officers.

In an opinion filed July 26, U.S. District Judge John Kness first said the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, by failing to sufficiently allege legal harm, and then explained the Eleventh Amendment would’ve barred the litigation even with the standing bar cleared.

“Bribery is a premeditated crime — those tempted to sell out the public have plenty of time to weigh the risks and rewards before doing so,” the nine-page ruling by the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals stated. “The district judge did not err by reasonably presuming that public officials consider the criminal sentences of other politicians, and that a longer sentence for Arroyo was necessary to deter corruption at the margins.”

The bill adds electronic smoking devices to the 2008 Smoke-Free Illinois Act, which banned smoking in most public spaces in the state. The act was amended to ban electronic smoking devices in any place where smoking is already prohibited.

The new residential campus will serve vulnerable youth between the ages of 9 and 18 who are both developmentally delayed or have experienced trauma. The project, at a cost of $16 million, will allow for the creation of seven brand new homes, increasing residential capacity from 36 to 42 youth.

Lawmakers also passed a similar expansion targeted at gun manufacturers and retailers in their spring session. Attorney General Kwame Raoul pushed for both expansions of the state’s consumer fraud law, which allows anyone – including the attorney general’s office – to file suit against CPCs. Raoul declined to discuss whether his staff is currently considering lawsuits against any CPCs whose tactics have already been reported to his office.

Perhaps most strikingly, IDES sent tens of millions of dollars to jailed and dead people through both regular unemployment insurance and the PUA program. Overall, auditors found that 3,448 people who were incarcerated received 92,811 payments totaling $40.5 million while 10,527 payments totaling $6 million were given to 481 deceased individuals.