The warrants, however, have no power outside state lines and it’s unclear to what extent, if at all, Texas law enforcement may and could coordinate with their counterparts in the relevant states.

State Sen. Ram Villivalam defended the retail delivery tax which faced opposition last spring: “Sixty-five percent of online orders are over $200 or more. If you’re ordering something online repeatedly for over $200, by the way there’s 742 million deliveries every year, 6-7 deliveries per person that does online orders, you’re in a position to be able to afford $1.50.”

Among them, House Bill 2517 requires health care providers to receive one hour of training on historic racial discrepancies in maternal care prior to renewing a state license, starting in July 2026. Senate Bill 212 requires employers to compensate mothers who take breaks at work to pump breast milk for up to a year after their child is born.

The congresswoman — who represents segments of Chicago and its suburbs — further accused the U.S. of being “addicted to war,” and prioritizing “imperialism, militarization, conquest,

Corey DeAngelis: The school-choice movement just scored a historic win. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a federal tax-credit program that allows Americans to donate to organizations providing K-12 private school scholarships around the U.S. This initiative will give more parents access to schools that best fit their children’s needs. But there’s a catch: Governors must opt in to allow their states’ families to access this scholarship funding.

“If you have been paying attention at all, you know that blue state finances are not nearly as good as red state finances. As the population ages and as businesses calculate the costs of operating in blue states, they leave for red states. It’s a trend that has been going on for the better part of a decade now. “

Tom Bevan, the RealClearPolitics co-founder and president, wrote on X, “The idea that Texas Democrats would flee to Illinois, a state where Dems have abused gerrymandering to comical levels, is perfection.” And Missouri Senator Eric Scmitt wrote on X, “To protest ‘partisan gerrymandering’ Texas Democrats are fleeing to…Illinois. You can’t make this up.”

Senate Bill 1491 mandates the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board to develop a training course and certification program specifically for therapy dog teams that specialize in crisis and emergency response.

In a remarkable Friday afternoon news dump, at the end of last week Gov. JB Pritzker signed a controversial pension bill that will increase pension benefits for many Chicago policemen and firefighters….This is a really bad outcome for Chicago. As a result of this change, the future liabilities of the police and fire pension funds have risen significantly.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed pension legislation that will put Chicago on the hook for an additional $60 million in its fiscal 2026 budget, rising to $750 million in 2055, for a total of $11 billion over the next 30 years.

“Since Mayor Brandon Johnson took office more than two years ago, confidence in the future of Chicago among business and civic leaders has been shaken badly. Pritzker had positioned himself as a check on the mayor’s worst impulses and the voice of fiscal and economic reason in a state and city badly needing adult supervision. … He did not do so on Friday.”

Jonathan Turley: “Illinois has long been a sanctuary state, but this is getting ridiculous….The self-professed champions of democracy are fleeing to avoid a democratic vote by the duly elected representatives of the public…. Seeking sanctuary in Illinois raises the question of who you are being protected from in refusing to allow democratic votes in your state.”

“They’re here in Illinois. We’re going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them and make sure that — ’cause we know they’re doing the right thing, we know that they’re following the law,” Pritzker told reporters at a press conference Sunday night held alongside the Texas state lawmakers.

It’s the latest chapter in an unusual midterm election cycle that has seen veteran federal lawmakers announce their retirements at the end of their terms in January 2027, creating open-seat races for U.S. Senate, four congressional seats and state comptroller, as well as several legislative seats, as politicians aspire to climb the political ladder.

The pension funding shortfall increased almost 17 percentage points from the previous fiscal year, to nearly 66 percent of states’ own-source revenue. A state-by-state review of unfunded pension liabilities as of fiscal 2022 shows that Illinois’ unfunded pension liability was the largest of any state at 197.2 percent of its own-source revenue, followed by New Jersey (162.4 percent), Mississippi (149.5 percent), Connecticut (147.6 percent) and Kentucky (134.9 percent).

The roughly 30 Democrats are expected to stay for the week in a plan brokered with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who had met with the Texas caucus late last month and has directed his staff to provide logistical support for their stay. Politically, the move puts Pritzker at the center of a high-profile national fight. He has implored Democrats to resist Trump’s agenda.