In Illinois, an estimated 427,000 residents would be at risk of losing SNAP benefits; Over 1.8 million (about 16 percent) of Illinois residents rely on SNAP. Of the 1 million households receiving benefits, 45 percent have children; 37 percent have older adults; 44 percent have a person with a disability, and 83 percent have an individual who is actively working.

“Well, is that the same governor that said he was not going to support a gerrymandered map? I think that’s the same, governor,” state Sen. Andrew Chesney said during a news conference.

State Sen. Ram Villivalam has called for reforms to mass transit in the state, but also investing $1.5 billion into the system. “If we don’t do this, 40 percent of cuts in service, more than 3,000 public transit workers will get pink slips in the mail, and that we believe is not an option,” he said.

Not only did Gov. JB Pritzker increase spending from $38.5 billion to $53.2 billion through six state budgets – growing more than any of the four prior state governors in terms of dollars – but he also outspent inflation.

Despite clear warnings, the People’s Republic of China, with help from the Biden administration, Democratic governors, and members of Congress, has established footholds in America’s emerging electric vehicle battery sector. Gotion, a company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, has begun building plants in Michigan and Illinois despite strong local pushback.

The report from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation notes that “in the last decade, New York lost $111 billion in net adjusted gross income (AGI), California lost $102 billion, and Illinois lost $63 billion to interstate migration.”

Senate Bill 1473, would undo part of a 2019 law that gave Hawthorne Race Course, a gambling course in Stickney, authority to veto other racecourse developments within 35 miles. At the same time, it would make way to build a new racecourse in Decatur.

Legislation that would require Illinois public libraries to have life-saving medications on hand for people experiencing opioid overdoses and provide staff training has unanimously passed the Illinois Senate and is now on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.

In Rockford, which had a tax rate of 3.31 percent in 2017, Mayor Tom McNamara has reduced the rate to roughly 1.93 percent. This means as property values have gone up, the tax levy and property tax bills have remained somewhat stagnant. Two simple strategies have empowered Rockford to avoid tax hikes: eliminating unnecessary costs and only spending on what’s important.

Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino is set to retire after a decade in the position and 24 years as a state lawmaker before that. His campaign spending came under scrutiny and ended with ethics violations, a federal criminal investigation and a refusal to respond to requests for information.

The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing for over $7.3 billion in new taxes. One proposal includes changing the base corporate income tax from 7 percent to 7.92 percent, the highest rate permitted without affecting personal income taxes under Illinois law. This would raise $830 million in short-run revenue.

This legislation would stop Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBM’s for short, from spread pricing, where they charge Medicaid more money than what was paid for the drugs, catching a cut of the profit.

The maneuvers suggest talks between the two sides have gone deeper than has been portrayed publicly and shed new light on some of the behind-the-scenes positioning that has taken place during the yearslong push for public dollars or changes in state law that could help facilitate the construction of a team-owned stadium.

The RTA has previously said the ability to integrate fares and keep them relatively low will depend on whether the state addresses an expected financial shortfall, which the legislation being considered so far does not address. More than 50 ‘L’ stations could close or see service slashed, and more than half of the CTA’s bus routes could be eliminated entirely in that “doomsday” scenario, the RTA has warned. On Metra, trains could run only once an hour on weekdays and service on the Metra Electric’s line to Blue Island could be cut entirely.

The legislation also would prevent police from issuing tickets to students for behavior on school transportation or during school-related events or activities.