The underlying litigation is a class action complaint accusing Mullins Foods Products of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Two people sued the sauce and spread maker for using a fingerprint time clock for employees allegedly without complying with BIPA provisions requiring written consent, data retention and destruction and disclosure of worker data to third-party payroll and timekeeping vendors.

“This is a great win for schools across Illinois that were faced with the uncertainty of having to erase longstanding traditions and absorb yet another unfunded mandate from out-of-touch Chicago politicians,” state Sen. Erica Harriss said.

“We do not have a revenue problem,” said state Rep. Jed Davis. “We have a priority problem. This money isn’t ours. It’s the people’s money. So it’s time to put it back into their pockets and live by a simple principle, which is spend less and live better.”

Statewide guidance for school districts and educators could include explanation of basic AI concepts and specific ways it can be used to inform teaching or learning while preserving human relationships. Senate Bill 1920 also requires the guidance to touch upon impacts of artificial intelligence on student data privacy and best practices for developing student literacy with AI.

State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said the board prioritized improving ISBE’s internal processes, after a compliance review listed 15 findings.

“We want to continue to support our auto dealers to do the work that they’re doing and do it even more, especially at a time where Tesla is doing terrible,” said stat Sen. Ram Villivallam. Tesla and Rivian currently sell their vehicles directly to the customer.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 19 other Democratic attorneys general filed a pair of lawsuits Tuesday. According to the lawsuits, recently enacted policies at the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Transportation illegally tie grant funding for items such as natural disaster recovery and road construction to whether the state participates in federal immigration enforcement.

“States don’t have an extra $715 billion in revenue,” said Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs. He complained that costs for groceries, clothing and electronics are rising as a result of Trump’s “chaotic, incoherent tariff war,” while the overall agenda will lead to “taxing Barbies and G.I. Joes, if you can even find them on store shelves.”

The laws were promoted as a way to clear out violent criminals, drug dealers and nuisance tenants who made life miserable for their neighbors. But many cities in Illinois have turned crime-free housing programs into a blunt instrument to oust families for virtually any alleged infraction, no matter how minor.

Pritzker, Durbin and others initially emphasized that the Lion Electric factory, located in a leased 900,000-square-foot building at 3835 Youngs Road, was the first auto assembly plant to open in the Chicago area in more than 50 years.

the state’s film industry bounced back in 2024, bringing in $653 million in expenditures and generating $354 million in wages since the Film Production Tax Credit was passed. This marks the second-highest in state history. Unlike other states, Illinois does not have a cap on it’s 30 percent film and television tax credits.

Said Gov. JB Pritzker, “With this investment of more than $31.5 million–supported by state incentives–Damera will expand into our state and create 90 new full-time jobs.” Lion Electric, which opened a plant in Joliet to build electric school buses, recently filed for bankruptcy.

Despite her reservations, Moms for Liberty Lake County chair Marsha McClary praised the bipartisan nature of the proposal and emphasized the importance of giving local districts flexibility. “If you try to control a high schooler like you try to control a first grader, you’re going to lose,” said McClary.

“Third terms are notoriously perilous, and things that can go wrong tend to go wrong in third terms,” said David Axelrod, former chief strategist and senior adviser to President Barack Obama. “If your attention is divided between running for president, which is a hellacious job in itself, and … dealing with crises at home, that is a very difficult balance to strike.