The last day of action saw more than 55,000 letters and messages in a single week, calling for a change to Tier 2 pensions.

While the SAFE-T Act was criticized by many in law enforcement, the body camera requirement met with general approval. Criminal justice advocates see the devices as crucial tools for protecting civil rights and holding officers accountable. Many in law enforcement view bodycams as another means of gathering evidence as well as a way to protect officers against unfounded accusations of misconduct.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its annual homelessness report for 2024. It shows the state of Illinois saw a 116% increase in homelessness from the previous year.

“If anything shows you the level of division and dysfunction is the rules package,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat from Illinois’ 3rd District.

“You have a situation in Illinois where the cost of living is high and the actual wages are not keeping up,” state Rep. La Shawn Ford said. “People are driven out of the state. They have to go places where wages are comparable to Illinois but the cost of living is less. We could do more to cut some regulations for businesses and also support business needs so that they can hire more people or at least pay higher wages.”

According to U-Haul, South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee were the top five growth states for the year. “Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president.

Nearly $20 million in federal taxpayer funds will be distributed to nine Illinois school districts and they will have to use the funds to replace 70 gas-powered school buses with electric buses.

“I will give you this job if you give me this benefit, that’s quid pro quo, versus doing something nice in the hopes that that will curry favor for the public official in front of whom you have state business. The Supreme Court has drawn a pretty difficult line,” former Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins said.

“I’m really worried going forward that on Jan. 20, we are going to see second-graders afraid to go to school,” Sorensen said. “We are going to see neighbors afraid to go to church for fear of the American government.” Sorensen said he also wants to see Congress work to secure the U.S. southern border, adding “I’ve been down to the border. I’ve seen it. It’s not.”

While Frank Lesko’s campaign slogan was “Hire me, so you can fire me,” Lesko will serve his full term as Sangamon County Recorder. Any changes to the office face a long process.

The price tag to move into the mall is hefty – around $430 per square-foot according to a spokesperson for the 186,000-square-foot space. In total $80 million over the last four years has gone into the project run by the Capital Development Board, which oversees state construction projects.

“If you aren’t for E-Verify, you aren’t serious about controlling immigration,” says border expert Mark Krikorian, who heads the Center for Immigration Studies. Yet many blue states go out of their way to discourage E-Verify’s use. Illinois penalizes companies that “misuse” the E-Verify system, discouraging them from using the program at all.

“We’re dealing with a crisis that is about to get even worse once the shelters for migrants close,” said Antonio Gutierrez, a community organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations in Chicago.

The next big challenge for the controversial movement: Can it win in enemy territory — that is, blue states — too? A school choice researcher sees external pressures forcing blue states like Illinois to get with the program. With school choice now in a majority of states, he says, Illinois will come under pressure to adopt it or risk losing residents to four of its neighbors with choice programs. Such peer pressure explains why public charter schools are now in 46 states.