The full U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for an injunction from a Naperville gun shop owner and the National Association for Gun Rights which challengers hoped would block the state from enforcing the so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act while constitutional challenges to the law continue in federal courts. The denials of the injunction requests were issued without comment or dissent.

SB 1883 will make it unlawful for any person to allow any member of the public to come into direct contact with a bear, or a “non-human primate,” according to the terms of the law.

A plethora of federal, state and local employment laws will take effect in 2024. Here is what employers must know.

The reason is loopholes in the way the law is written – only allowing buyers who purchase within certain windows of time to apply. If you do qualify, and you’re in the state’s application window, you’re still going after a limited pool of incentive money. Last year, $20 million was up for grabs for almost 5,000 cars. But next fiscal year, Illinois is offering $4,000 per car, and budgeting $12 million a year.

The law also grants picketers and protestors the right to use the public right of way to publicize their labor dispute. Opponents of the measure argued the law could have a negative impact on businesses in Illinois and ultimately cause them to pack up and leave the state.

The Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday curtailed proposed rate hikes and rejected grid plans from two major electric utilities, mirroring a series of bombshell decisions rendered last month that cut increases for Illinois’ four largest gas utilities. ICC Chair Doug Scott said the plans had “significant shortcomings” and failed to meet the minimum standards set out by Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, including by failing to adequately address how the plans would benefit low-income communities. He also said the planning process lacked transparency among other criticisms.

Those new laws will apply to various levels of that system, including new benefits for community college students, bonuses for teachers in “hard-to-staff” schools, and changes in curriculum to educate students on the dangers of fentanyl and how to deal with allergens.

To incentivize law enforcement agency task forces to participate in crime reduction programs, lawmakers have introduced legislation that would give participants $10 million in grant funding, an increase of $8 million from previous funding levels.

The NCAA rule requires college athletes who transfer among Division I schools to wait one year before competing in games, unless the NCAA waives the rule for a particular athlete. Raoul and a coalition of six attorneys general argue that certain NCAA rules lack a clear procompetitive benefit and may run afoul of the nation’s antitrust laws.

the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 sent a summary of contract changes to workers, who subsequently ratified the contract July 25, 2023. Now, nearly five months later, the state and AFSCME Council 31 have still not finalized the contract. That means taxpayers still don’t know, in full, what they will be on the hook to pay. But from a memo released by AFSCME Council 31, we do know the wage increases will be expensive, far outpacing the growth in private-sector pay: 19% pay raises that will cost taxpayers $625 million.

Court-ordered audits show the Illinois Department of Corrections continues to fail to provide basic care to inmates. The state has paid more than $13 million in legal fees and fines so far as part of the settlements and faces an ultimate tab of hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill settlement requirements. Separately, a report published earlier this year estimates the state has a multibillion dollar backlog in maintenance expenses to repair its dilapidated prisons, some of which date to the 19th century.

The state board will likely have less funding for items such as transportation, private school tuition for students with disabilities, and Illinois’ free breakfast and lunch program. That’s because local revenue projections are modest and federal COVID relief dollars are set to run out, state finance and budget officials told board members.

Jim Dey: “The law criminalized by fines the speech of anti-abortion advocates while specifically sparing those who support abortion rights. The law passed last summer with great fanfare. Raoul, Gov. JB Pritzker and legislators all took bows for their bold stance against alleged misinformation. Unfortunately for them, the law represented a direct assault on free-speech rights protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

According to a search of the Illinois General Assembly’s website, at least 318 laws have an effective date of Jan. 1.