Since 2015, more than 600 renewable energy projects have been halted as a result of local opposition. Michigan recently joined Illinois, New York and California, each with laws that allow the state to override local actions against renewable energy projects. In January, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that stops local governments from limiting or banning wind and solar power.

A $100 fee charged to electric vehicle owners in Illinois generated more than $8.8 million for the state in the last year. That’s up more than $3.3 million from a year ago, and is earmarked for road construction projects, according to Illinois Secretary of State figures. But because EV drivers don’t pay the more lucrative motor fuel tax, some industry experts and government leaders worry

Anja Solum, data journalism manager for MoneyGeek, said the average natural gas heating cost for Illinois households this winter is expected to be $133 a month. That is $5 monthly more than residents in No. 2 ranked Oklahoma can expect to pay.

Undocumented residents will be issued a standard four-year drivers license, which will serve as a valid form of identification and be issued instead of the current Temporary Visitor Driver’s License, according to a previous news release from the governor’s office.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost discusses the Department of Veteran Affairs’ role in facilitating medical care for illegal immigrants and veteran access for community care.

“If you are an undocumented person in this country, and you can pass the physical and the required test, background test alike, then you can serve in our military,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said. “If you do it honorably, we will make you citizens of the United States.”

“They could run for almost two weeks now, however for context, the median capacity for a state is 46 days, so Illinois is still lagging substantially behind the national median,” said analyst Page Forrest.

Statewide, only 30% of kindergartens enter their first year of full-time school prepared. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said it’s “disturbing” that seven out of 10 students start school already behind.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul is taking the NCAA to court over what he calls an “illegal restraint” on college athletes’ careers, slapping the association with a federal antitrust lawsuit for its one-year waiting rule on transferring players.

Black students should not be penalized for using “Black Language” and college courses should critically interrogate “white linguistic hegemony and anti-Black linguistic racism,” said a scholar who gave a presentation recently at Northern Illinois University.

“The opportunity and hope for students that Illinois just crushed is being embraced nationwide as a key to thriving.”

One of the new laws will allow noncitizens to become police officers. And landlords will be required to rent or sell property to undocumented migrants, among many other new laws for the new year.

Emergency rules regarding the registry of now banned guns and accessories were first filed and put into effect on Sept. 15. The gun ban registry opened Oct. 1. The deadline for gun owners to register now banned guns is Jan. 1, 2024. Being found out of compliance could carry up to a Class 3 felony.

A question posed by Equality Illinois brings to mind a state law that says legislators cannot promise action on a bill in exchange for a contribution.