The almost 200-page plan is a hybrid between guidance and a workbook, designed to help pre-K-12 educators teach reading using evidence-based and developmentally appropriate practices. The plan is not a mandate for schools to follow and doesn’t require schools to buy new curriculum or instruction materials for educators. The state board has recommended $3 million for fiscal year 2025 to implement the literacy plan, but advocates

Along with the Attorneys General to Washington D.C. and 49 other states, Kwame Raoul is warning the Texas-based company Life Corp to stop all unlawful robo-calls immediately. In a letter sent Tuesday, the coalition of attorneys general said the company could be found in violation of several state and federal laws if they continue, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Truth in Caller ID Act.

Gov. JB Pritzker last year signed into law a measure that strips local control from county governments regarding zoning matters on wind and solar energy. The law provides counties with “guardrails” for siting wind and solar farms, and creates a commission that oversees and approves wind turbines everywhere but Chicago.

State Reps. Dan Ugaste and Tim Ozinga discussed their idea found in House Bill 4866 to lower property taxes in the state by increasing state funding for local pensions. Separately, state Sen. Omar Aquino said the state-based child tax credit lawmakers are proposing this year will put money back into the pockets of many Illinois families. And a separate measure from state Sen. Mike Simmons would provide up to $700 in a child tax credit.

Manufacturers directly provide 650,000 jobs throughout the state, and there are over 10,000 open manufacturing jobs in Illinois.

Judge Tracie Porter denied a motion by the Trump campaign to delay the proceedings until after the Supreme Court rules in a similar case from Colorado. At the same time, she also denied a motion by the Illinois voters objecting to Trump’s candidacy to put the case on an even speedier track.

U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle granted Bernard L. Cherry’s motion to dismiss indictment after he was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, finding that “Cherry is included in ‘the people’ protected by the Second Amendment.”

Illinois prison officials are standing by their recent decision to award a new $4 billion contract to the state’s troubled prison health care provider, despite a new report filed in federal court that describes preventable deaths, poor care and neglect inside state prisons. The report found that half the medical positions the company is responsible for providing in the prisons are unfilled, and a review of 107 inmate deaths found nearly 900 issues with how patients and cases were handled.

The legislation is in response to a situation in Champaign where several firefighters were unable to engage the mental health counselor of their choice based on a non-compete clause in the counselor’s contract.

Last October, Illinois led the nation in the number of businesses experiencing rent troubles. The survey shows that conditions appear to have improved in January. “Just 29% saying they couldn’t pay the rent in full or on time,” said researcher Chuck Casto. “That is down from 35% in December, and down 18 percentage points from 47% in November.”

Illinois ranked 44th in nation in entrepreneurship and growth, based on measures of regulation, taxes and business dynamism.

DeKalb’s Northern Illinois University have dramatically expanded a program that ensures qualifying students will have their tuition and general fees covered for their first year of school. According to a press release, students who have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above, and whose families have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less qualify for the program. Previously, the income cutoff was $75,000, according to the press release.

All members of the Manhattan Village Board unanimously supported the ordinance, which removes nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas and whippets, from store shelves in the village. The affected establishments include a vape shop, a liquor store, and a grocery store. It’s a first-of-its-kind measure in Will County and possibly across Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker said in his remarks that anti-LGBTQ+ political action is “the hill that homophobic right-wing politicians have chosen to die on. Equality advocates in Texas have allies [here].”

A fresh wave of litigation has recently emerged in Illinois commonly known by the four-letter acronym GIPA—the Genetic Information Privacy Act.

According to the proposal, the subminimum wage would be phased out over a two-year period and would require that service charges, such as tips, go to employees, not employers. It would also require that tips bring workers to the full minimum wage on a per shift basis, instead of weekly or biweekly. Employers who violated the provisions would be fined up to $1,500 per day for each violation. The governor’s office would not publicly say whether Gov. JB Pritzker supports the plan.

Illinois HB 4754, the Homicide Data Transparency Act, would require law enforcement agencies regularly to publish how many of their homicides resulted in arrests and charges – not to publish the confusing “exceptionally cleared” statistic that can mean a case is closed without answers. “The clearance rate metric is extremely opaque,” state Rep. Kam Buckner said.