A new Illinois law requiring annual mental health screenings for public school students is drawing backlash from parents, policy experts and lawmakers who warn the policy may overstep boundaries and wrongly label children.

“The ordeal illustrates the extent to which Illinois Democrats gerrymandered their state’s House districts to send as many of their partymates to Washington, D.C., as possible. It also illustrates the unforced error Texas Democrats committed by traveling to Chicago to block Republicans from passing a new map in their own state.”

U.S. District Judge John Blakey wrote in a 44-page ruling that, “The fate of Madigan’s entire motion” actually rides on “routine, and meritless” objections to his wire fraud convictions, adding that the former speaker “clings to false hope.”

“You get a $3,000 bill when you’re not really expecting it. It raises your costs $1,000 in a month, you can’t budget for that,” Villa Grove bar restaurant owner Ryan Garett said. “You can’t plan for that. And then, it has a trickle down effect. We’re at the point where we’ve had to cut back on hours for some of our employees and take up those hours ourselves because we can’t, you know, keep up with payroll to pay that stuff.”

A lawsuit the Texas House of Representatives filed Thursday against the Texas Democrats in Adams County, Illinois, is being led by attorney Jil Tracy, a Republican Illinois state senator for Quincy. “The Full Faith and Credit Clause is used all the time throughout all 50 states,” Tracy said. “That’s a federal law saying that Illinois has to give credence to the Texas law.”

“Like every Democratic governor, Gov. JB Pritzker needs his party to win back the U.S. House next year to prevent further fiscal damage to his state (among many, many other things). Hence his intense attention to Texas attempting to pick up five seats with an intercensal remap. This is also a bit of a public relations payback by Pritzker after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to Chicago a while back.”

The absence of timely reports creates fertile ground for financial mismanagement, hidden deficits, or creative accounting to go unnoticed for years. Without current data, lawmakers, analysts, and citizens are forced to make decisions based on outdated or incomplete information. This undermines sound budgeting, masks potential risks, and erodes public trust in the state’s ability to manage its finances responsibly.

Recent warnings from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said downstate Illinois could face energy shortages as early as 2034 if current trends continue. “This isn’t just a minor inconvenience,” state Rep. Brad Halbrook said. “It’s a clear sign our current path is unsustainable. We need an energy strategy that puts consumers first, not one based on ideological agendas.”

The St. Charles Police Department confirmed the report of a second potential bomb threat at the Q-Center hotel and convention complex Friday morning. Police said after a search of the area, “no explosive device was found.” Police said the area had been secured by authorities, and all 70 hotel guests are safe.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said ICE has issued 1,664 detainers in Chicago over the last seven months, but Chicago has only honored 8 percent of those detainers.

“We’re driving ourselves in the ground and property taxes from what I hear is the number one reason people leave the state,” state Rep. Dan Ugaste said. “We drive businesses out. We keep investment from happening. We are killing ourselves as a state. … We don’t need to be taxing our people at these rates in order to pay for good services. We are wasting way too much money in this state.”

“What I see is what appears to be a very efficient program at delivering public dollars to a broad range of community news organizations covering almost every corner of Illinois,” said Matt Pearce, director of policy at Rebuild Local News, a nonprofit advocacy group. “I think that’s reflected in the fact that this is a subsidy built into the tax code, and it’s accessible to any eligible publisher.”

June housing production in Illinois continues to lag the rest of the nation, leading to price problems across the state.

He said, in part, “Let me be candid with you, it is a partisan process in our state and … when you look at the other states, there are about eight of them where it isn’t. So the question is, when are we going to wave the white flag and say we’re going to go to an independent commission?”

“Our map is absurd. From an Illinois point of view, this is great because it shines a spotlight on the absurd gerrymander here,” Porter said. “For JB Pritzker to be talking as if redistricting for political purposes is a bad thing, you’re like, hello? It’s like an arsonist decrying arson. It’s absurd.”

Rhonda Belford, Illinois Republican national committeewoman and president of the Republican County Chairmen’s Association of Illinois: “Let that sink in: The same man who signed, supported and pushed one of the worst partisan gerrymanders in the nation is now upset that other states are following his lead. Instead of looking in the mirror or pushing for national changes, (Gov. JB) Pritzker responds by threatening additional partisan moves that will continue to divide our state.”