“The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said Wednesday he’ll retire after the 2026 elections, and how the party replaces him could suggest whether it has learned from its drubbing in November. Mr. Durbin is no moderate, yet Illinois Democrats in the age of Trump II could also be in the mood for a more combative leftism, in the style of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

New Jersey was the first state to pass what is being called Alyssa’s Law in 2020. Six other states followed suit and 13 more are considering similar legislation. Alyssa’s Law is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Cook County Republican chairman Aaron Del Mar said Gov. JB Pritzker is failing to deal with issues at home while he plays games with El Salvador and tries to get more headlines: “He’s trying to play national politics and start talking about issues versus Trump and in El Salvador that really have nothing to do with Illinois.”

The bills would prohibit the use of Native American names, logos, and mascots and restrict educational institutions from adopting or continuing the use of discriminatory disability mascots. The bills are still working their way through the legislative process, but they could change the way area high schools look in the near future.

The senator, who’s served 16 years in Springfield since he replaced his father — former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. — was charged with three counts of bribery and lying to the FBI.

And they’re getting it from fewer drivers: the number of registered passenger vehicles in Illinois went down by more than 580,000 from 2018 to 2024. So, the state is getting an extra $2 billion from fewer people and is still plotting to get more.

Councilman Tim Riggenbach lambasted the state government, saying it was “disingenuous” and that it was “no skin off the back” of state politicians to put the onus on local governments to impose their own tax on groceries.

Pritzker has asked the Illinois State Board of Investment, the State Universities Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System to review any investments in companies controlled by El Salvador, with the purpose of withholding investments in those companies. Additionally, Pritzker wants the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Office of Trade and Investment to send in an analysis of the scale of trade El Salvador has with Illinois.

“In the nearly five decades since the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was enacted, no other President has imposed tariffs based on the existence of any national emergency, despite global anti-narcotics campaigns spearheaded by the United States and longstanding trade deficits,” the lawsuit argued. While Congress passed IEEPA, “Congress never intended it to be used for tariffs.”

“The Illinois High School Association has crossed a dangerous line. By blatantly violating federal law and rejecting biological reality, they are not only undermining fairness in girls’ sports – they’re putting the safety of young women at risk,” Miller said.

In July, the Energy Department announced Stellantis was awarded $335 million in federal funds to help fuel the reopening of the Belvidere plant; It’s expected about 1,500 UAW-represented employees will go back to work at the plant. It’s unclear if the funds are in jeopardy under the new Trump administration.