This policy could cost a total of $600 million, which if passed would be paid out by the FY2026 budget.

Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes could not answer a question about the number of inmate deaths at DOC facilities this year. She said there were seven deaths due to drug overdoses or exposures at DOC facilities in 2024.

Illinois Republicans are calling for changes to the state’s Pretrial Fairness Act after a man accused of concealing a dead body in a trashcan for nearly two months was released from jail pending trial.

Crime-free housing ordinances in Illinois municipalities began cropping up in the early 1990s in attempts to remove violent criminals, drug dealers and nuisance tenants who frequently disturb their neighbors at rental properties. While the local ordinances have been used to achieve those goals, advocates say they are sometimes abused to apply to people who aren’t even accused of crimes, much less convicted of them.

Since 2020, 84 percent of Illinois communities have lost population. Small towns were hit hardest by population declines in 2024, while Chicago’s migrant crisis helped offset people choosing to leave.

Members of the Illinois General Assembly said their Democratic peers are in stealth mode trying to pass the massive tax increase before adjournment May 31. They are claiming the money is needed to solve Chicago’s Regional Transit Authority fiscal crisis.

Among them is a plan to impose a 10 percent tax on digital advertising. Small businesses that rely on large advertising platforms such as Google, Meta or Amazon would face increased costs from a digital advertising tax: hitting small businesses with a tax hike, not the tech giants vilified by the CTU. It’s also legally questionable. Maryland’s similar law is already tied up in lawsuits.

Additionally, Brady Burden, a budget analyst for Crespo told the Tribune he was put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into his conduct. Burden defended Crespo’s efforts to craft a budget plan separate from that of House Democratic leadership. “He has valid concerns and he’s trying to provide solutions,” Burden said.

Meanwhile, separate legislation to allow Sangamon County residents to recall its elected officials is locked in the House Rules Committee. The measure would create a referendum in 2026 for Sangamon County, and residents would have the ability to vote on if they want to add recall laws locally. The proposal was originally much more expansive, with an ability for recall laws to be added for any county across the state under the same referendum process.

There are 24.7 percent of Illinoisans who need an occupational license – essentially a government-issued permission slip – to work the job of their choice. Another 5 percent require workforce certification. These regulatory obstacles hurt Illinois’ economy, including an estimated 135,000 lost jobs and $15.1 billion in misallocated resources.

“Illinoisans and the businesses that have set up shop here can’t be tapped every single time the math doesn’t add up.”

Jim Dey: “The Illinois Times summed up the issue in a headline: ‘Law intended to help people of color charged with minor crimes may lead to Sean Grayson’s pretrial release.’ The law, of course, is supposed to be applied equally to all citizens. But lawyers are expert in putting undue weight on extraneous factors.”

Fuyao is making a $400 million expansion in Illinois. According to Made In China Journal, the company is also heavily embedded with Chinese Communist Party members. The journal reports that “over 70 percent of Party members occupy key positions in the management or technical leadership, including 22 senior executives.”

The change “is largely driven by the economic uncertainty and anxiety fueled by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress,” Deputy Gov. Andy Manar said in a statement.