“Trump is to be the next president of the United States with a mandate from the American people and more likely than not sufficient majorities to push through whatever he wishes to enact. Many of those policies will have profound impacts on the people of Illinois. Now another inconvenient truth. Trump did very well this past election in Illinois. When all is buttoned up, Harris will almost certainly have beaten Trump in the Land of Lincoln by less than 9 points.”

Amber Lengacher, of cannabis consulting firm Purple Circle, said, “Illinois’ cannabis program was supposed to be a model for diversity, but instead social equity licensees have faced insurmountable odds unnecessarily caused, exacerbated or ignored by Illinois state regulators.” Lengacher has worked with plaintiff Hands to Heart since 2020 and also worked as a pro bono lobbyist with several of the other plaintiffs.

Congressman Michael Quigley says there is very good reason to worry about what will happen to Ukraine in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

State Sen. Craig Wilcox, a Republican on the legislature’s labor committee, said it would not surprise him if state Democrats proposed labor legislation in response to concerns about Trump’s policies, and he said he would weigh those proposals as they come. Tim Drea, the president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said the organization would “double down” to protect workers’ rights in the state. “All options are on the table,” he said.

Illinois officials confirm that residents of the state, including students, are among those who have received the texts. The messages contain hateful language and alarming references to slavery, plantations, and deadlines to be at certain locations.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also said Thursday that he has spoken with other Democratic governors since the election about how to best Trump-proof their states. “There are many people whose lives and livelihoods are at risk, and there are many people who cried at the [election] result because they know what impact it may have on their families,” Pritzker said at a press conference Thursday.

Data insights manager Chase Gardner notes that Illinois insurers have already pulled back, with Pekin Insurance pausing new policy writing and SECURA Insurance dropping policyholders, which is an early sign the Illinois insurance market is hardening.

Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski said the improvements are exclusive to K-8th graders. Dabrowski also pointed out that SAT scores are down, but high school graduation rates are up. “The graduation rates are whatever they want them to be. They can set standards and just let kids graduate. What’s really egregious about this is how they are bragging about graduation rates being at 88 percent, but you look at the results of high schoolers, you look at SAT scores, they’re bad,” he said.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act, signed into law in January 2023 by Gov. JB Pritzker, took effect Jan. 1. It bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and a wide assortment of attachments largely in response to the 2022 Independence Day shooting at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn’s order doesn’t take effect for 30 days.

Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, University of Illinois’s Executive Director of Illini Chabad. said combating hate requires constant work, even in the Champaign-Urbana community. “These things are continuing, it’s a daily work,” he said. “I’ve been working on this for many hours today, between counseling students not to be worried and working with others in leadership to make sure this doesn’t come to our city.”