Gov. JB Pritzker Sunday said that while the delay wasn’t his initiative, he anticipated the interchange fee issue “will probably get resolved over the next year” as it is currently with the courts.

The total amount of funding allocated for ISBE’s program is $8.94 billion, as part of an ongoing program.

“This will be a difficult summer, I don’t want to sugar coat it,” said Jim Chilsen, spokesperson for the Citizen’s Utility Board.

The bill contains language that would change Illinois from a “specific jurisdiction” state to a “general jurisdiction” state, expanding Illinois courts’ reach over out-of-state businesses.

“The outcomes of this session are well predicted to be disastrous,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said.

The Illinois Constitution gives Pritzker options based on whether a bill is a substantive bill, a bill that changes government policy or a bill that is an appropriations bill determining where and how much money is spent.

“If you have been following our DOGE Illinois work, then you know we identified at least $1 billion going to bogus, euphemistically named NGOs in last year’s budget. This year’s budget is no different. This budget is even more pork-laden than previous ones.”

Wall Street is left wondering if other states will follow Illinois’ lead and try and plug their budget deficits by either adopting or increasing online sports gambling taxes. Both chambers of Illinois’ state legislature passed a budget that includes a tax of 25 cents per wager on the first 20 million online sports bets made each fiscal year, rising to 50 cents per bet after.

There will be about a 10-15 percent increase in your electric bill, and it will stay that way for the next year. ComEd says because of factors like extreme weather and spikes from high energy users – like data centers – demand is outpacing supply and costs are getting more expensive.

Three bills surfaced in the General Assembly that could’ve thrown the team a block in their rush to the former Arlington International Racecourse, but none made any headway by the time lawmakers gaveled out early Sunday. Nor were funds set aside for any stadium projects in the $55.2 billion budget bill headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk — no surprise, given lawmakers’ ice-cold reception to the prospect of sinking taxpayer dollars into a dome since the $6 billion franchise bought the Arlington site in 2021.

“We’re rushing this process like we always do. ‘Let’s hide this stuff. Let’s hide it so that the public doesn’t see it until it’s too late,’” said state Rep. John Cabello during the House debate. “Let’s blame everybody but ourselves. The Trump administration did this. The Trump administration did that. I call BS.”

The proposal, floated by the governor’s office, adds a levy of 25 cents per wager on an operator’s first 20 million booked bets with that rate doubling to 50 cents per bet for each wager placed after that initial 20 million. Over the trailing 12-month period spanning April 24, 2024, to March 25, 2025, FanDuel and DraftKings booked 164 million and 146 million bets, respectively in Illinois.

The “pizza tax,” Republican Sen. Seth Lewis of Bartlett said, was a heavy lift for everyone, including downstate Democrats, even though the bill proposed dispensing $220 million to counties outside the metro region. “The economics did not make sense,” he said. With 102 counties in Illinois “six counties were getting the bulk and 96 had to split up $220 million.”

In a move that could have major implications for election procedures across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case brought by Judicial Watch challenging whether federal courts have jurisdiction to hear disputes over ballots received after Election Day.

If signed by the governor, a bill would mandate high school seniors and community college students automatically be offered enrollment to all state schools for which their GPA qualifies them. The bill does not change universities’ and colleges’ GPA standards or admission requirements.

The revenue plan amends state law to tax sales from all businesses that transact in the state, rather than only businesses with a physical presence in Illinois. The plan also eliminates a “safe harbor” exemption for businesses that move money outside the state.

Pritzker’s reluctance to embrace a more comprehensive approach to overhauling the tax system after his failed effort to amend the state constitution in 2020 to allow for higher rates on larger incomes suggests a wariness about giving credence to political opponents eager to brand him as a tax-raiser.

Said state Sen. Chris Balkema, “Once again, Illinois Democrats are hitting hardworking families with new taxes to cover up their own failures. … This isn’t about fixing roads or improving transit access for all Illinoisans. It’s about forcing people in communities like ours and across Illinois to pay for a transit system many don’t use. While political leaders reward mismanagement in Chicago, hardworking families across the state are left paying the bill. It’s unfair and it has to stop.”

At Gov. JB Pritzker’s request, the budget bill lawmakers passed Saturday night cancels the program for immigrant adults, which had covered about 31,000 noncitizens age 42-64. But it provides $110 million over the next year, all in state funds, for the immigrant seniors program, which covers about 8,900 noncitizens age 65 and over.