“The state could similarly be in for years of court fights over this current federal spending battle, and likely more in the future, while, as under Rauner, the institutions and people down below try to survive.”

Two lawmakers from both sides of the aisle — State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford and State Rep. Dan Ugaste — came up with different legislation. Both said they would be interested in combining their proposals down the road.

Charleston Police said they performed a well-being check for 22-year-old Yahacov Dennis, cousin of Rep. Kam Buckner, Saturday afternoon. During the check, department leaders said he disarmed one of their officers and used the gun to shoot himself. The representative said he is owed “complete answers, absolute justice and a legacy that reflects the love and pride we feel for him.”

In 2023, just under 13 percent of Illinois workers were union members, which was a record low. Since 2004, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 has seen about a 20 percent drop in membership.

Nearly 466,000 Illinoisans enrolled in Get Covered Illinois Marketplace plans since November 1st – a record high 17 percent jump in enrollment numbers for the 2025 Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Period.

A statement from the delegation reads, in part, “These unconstitutional federal funding cuts will immediately raise costs for Illinois families and destroy critical services that pay our teachers, support first responders, house homeless veterans, save lives through medical research, and so much more. We will not stand for these illegal efforts to withhold funding from Illinoisans, who already pay nearly $6 in taxes for every $1 we receive in direct support from the federal government.”

Introduced by state Rep. John Cabello, House Bill 1844 proposes the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve as a “special fund in the state treasury for the purpose of holding Bitcoin as a financial asset.”

Council member Davion Williams changed his profile picture to the image of a swastika. The post quickly drew criticism in the comments and Williams replied, saying the swastika had been used for thousands of years prior across multiple cultures and religions to represent “good fortune, well-being, and spirituality” and symbolize “peace, prosperity, and the cyclical nature of life.”

About 8,000 troops were booted from the military for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations. The order, signed by President Trump, paves the way for them to be reinstated in the military with back pay.

Illinois Policy Institute’s Dylan Sharkey said Stellantis bringing jobs to the state is good news but small businesses are still hurting. “Illinois has a long way to go if we want to fix our business climate and turn the state into a destination for new companies and workers. Focusing only on big businesses, it misses that small businesses are the ones driving most of the new jobs in the state, and those companies are still struggling.”

The Trump administration has its share of supporters, with Illinois Rep. State Rep. Dan Ugaste insisting he’s not only fine with the changes but he also feels like policies similar to DEI initiatives do more to spur racial divide than anything else. “We should be looking for equality of opportunity, not equity of outcomes,” he said.

A statement signed by District 147 interim Superintendents Creg Williams and Jerry Jordan was the same as one sent Superintendent Reginald Lawrence in Harvey Elementary District 152: The districts ensured all children have the right to attend school and state the district is committed to “providing a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for all students and families, regardless of actual or perceived immigration status.”

“It is the established practice in Aurora to abstain from enforcement in such matters, unless they pertain to criminal warrants or warrants based on criminal history,” Mayor Richard Irvin said in the statement. “In such instances, the city remains fully committed to protecting and upholding the safety and well-being of our community.”

Gov. JB Pritzker has said he would be willing to work with President Trump, but Pritzker has been highly critical of Trump’s first week and a half back in the White House, on issues such as sending immigration enforcement to Chicago to carry out deportations and a lack of communication with Illinois about those efforts. Pritzker, who was a surrogate for Biden and later Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, is believed to have his own presidential ambitions.

In Illinois and around the Midwest, coal and gas plants are extending their planned retirement dates even after a 2021 state law aimed to phase them out. Meanwhile, solar and wind projects are having a hard time getting up and running. The reason: Electricity needed for data centers, particularly those dedicated to artificial intelligence, is creating enormous demand for power. “No one foresaw this demand from data centers,” says state Sen. Bill Cunningham.

The university pulled the plug in October on the planned research hub on an acre south of Roosevelt Road along the east bank of the Chicago River now being marketed as The 78. The U. of I. instead said it would turn its vision to the south and become part of a quantum computing research park that Gov. JB Pritzker wants to build on a vacant, 300-acre site at East 79th Street and South DuSable Lake Shore Drive once occupied by US Steel.

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “Northern Illinois’ deep-blue politics are red meat for the partisan-minded president and his devoted supporters in and out of government. Gov. JB Pritzker is becoming a leading voice of the Trump resistance. Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined lawsuits challenging Trump, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has accused the president of a vendetta against working people.”

The money would come from the state’s growing $235 million opioid settlement fund, generated by Illinois’ share of settlements from lawsuits that states have filed against drug manufacturers and retailers. Details of the pilot program, including where the sites would go, haven’t been worked out, but State Rep. La Shawn Ford has introduced legislation that would make such sites legal in Illinois.