“I do think that there’s some pleasant surprises with revenue projections, but then there’s some other things that they’ve done to close the gap,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said after a meeting in the governor’s Springfield office Tuesday. “Revenue projections are up,” he said, without elaborating. No tax increases are expected in the governor’s proposed budget, which might even include a small surplus, Welch said.

State Sen. Neil Anderson doubts the legislation will pass. “I’m hoping that I can get some friends on the other side of the aisle that just agree with the concept of, ‘oh, my gosh you’re right, we do have to be able to own our property at some point and not pay anything else.’ If the compromise is to go to 50 years, fine, I’ll take that starting point,” said Anderson.

The “State of Illinois Economic Forecast, February 2025,” compiled for the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability by Moody’s Analytics and Economic and Consumer Credit Analytics says the state’s economy strengthened moderately in 2024, but the pace of job and income growth has slowed. “Illinois will underperform the region and the U.S. in 2025, with gross state product, employment, and income increasing less than elsewhere,” the report’s summary said. “Growth in the labor force will diminish.”

Senate Minority Leader John Curran referenced Gov. JB Pritzker’s 30 separate, but altogether similarly worded, emergency declarations made since September 2022 in response to the asylum seekers transported from Texas and southern states to cities around Northern Illinois. The declarations allow Pritzker to allocate funding for emergency services to cities like Chicago and its suburbs to support asylum seekers. The governor’s most recent declaration related to asylum seekers was filed Jan. 31.

House Bill 2827, filed by state Rep. Terra Costa Howard and co-sponsored by eight other Democratic members of the House, would require homeschooling parents to file annual reports to avoid truancy charges, be credentialed and have their curriculum reviewed. Teachers unions have invested over $2 million in the nine sponsors’ campaigns.

A new measure has been introduced to ensure every Illinois mom that has insurance, whether private, through the state or Medicaid, has access to a car seat and crib after birth. Insurance companies would need to reimburse new mothers for the purchase of an approved car seat or crib or provide a car seat and crib directly to them.

“He has stuck a middle finger in the face of the American people,” U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood said, “and it’s unacceptable.”

The Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act would provide a five-year extension on the statute of limitations for criminally prosecuting those who stole unemployment benefits. “This is a must pass bill,” said U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood. “Federal law enforcement agencies are in the middle of litigating hundreds of cases with hundreds more yet to be litigated.”

One email further explained: “Gov. Pritzker’s Chief of Staff Anne Caprera will host a call with the administration to discuss lock-in asks. The emails raise the question of how they sought to plant landmines and derail Trump this time: “What information did the Biden White House pass along to assist with this ‘GSD’ (‘Governors Sock-puppeting for Donors’) project; what were these ‘priority asks;’ were any privileges or obligations violated in doing so; was Susan Rice involved, again; and, of course, will there be any accountability this time?”

But red and blue states went in different directions after the Great Recession, especially after the initial fiscal shock faded. Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and Oregon all have higher tax burdens than in 2007. On the other hand, states like West Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Arizona have seen big declines in tax burden over the last 15 years.

“Right now, we’re leading 22 states in a lawsuit to hold the Trump administration accountable for undermining the rule of law. Courts across the country have already delivered him sweeping losses, and we will continue working around the clock to make sure his illegal actions do not go unchallenged. We will not stand by as he tries to take advantage of the system, and when he tries to ignore the courts, Illinois will be leading the charge to hold him accountable.”

“It’s a backward, unfair process for Illinoisans who would be asked to approve this mysterious rate structure sight unseen, potentially approving tax hikes on themselves without even realizing it. That’s not democracy — that’s deception.”