Gambling options have proliferated in Illinois under Pritzker, who signed legislation in 2019 that legalized sports betting, authorized six new casinos and expanded the pool of tens of thousands of slot machines in bars and restaurants to help fund his signature $45 billion capital infrastructure upgrade plan. A campaign spokesman said Pritzker “had winnings and losses from a casino” but didn’t name his game(s) of chance, nor where he beat the house.

Neither Gov. JB Pritzker nor House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch offered plans to relax the state’s decarbonization mandates after Illinoisans’ electric bills spiked this summer.

State Rep. Patrick Sheehan, who is also a police officer, said it doesn’t help that Gov. JB Pritzker calls ICE the “gestapo” and “jack-booted thugs,” and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson calls law enforcement a “sickness.” He said, “And I really just urge Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson to apologize for their comments and stand behind the women, men and women of law enforcement.”

State Rep. Kam Buckner questioned why the RTA spent $500,000 on the “Save Transit Now” campaign for more funding: “The best PR campaign for RTA and any other service agencies is reliable transit. It’s not spending a half-million dollars to remind the General Assembly that you’re running out of money. Some people use the words ‘coerce’ or ‘cajole.’ I felt it was a bullying effort, and I don’t think it worked.”

State Sen. Celina Villanueva said she would “fight like hell with my colleagues in order to try to do whatever the hell we can in order to try to protect people. … The reality is, the playbook that we used to play by doesn’t exist anymore because they’re not abiding by it. So we’re going to get really, really creative and try to do what we can in order to stand up for people because this is not OK. This is not normal.”

Also on the table is an extension of the Chicago Real Estate Transfer Tax to the collar counties, which taxes $1.50 for every $500 during the transfer of a property to fund public transit. Collar County dollars would be used for Metra and Pace transit needs, not for the CTA. Revenue estimate: $82 million

Pritzker: “This advancement will make rail systems nationwide more reliable, more efficient, and more resilient – all while solidifying Illinois leadership in the industry and creating jobs in our communities.”

In Chicago, ICE agents involved in a collision while apprehending a suspect were falsely accused of misconduct after viral photos distorted the truth. The media ran with the narrative without fact-checking, and the Chicago Police Department reportedly sent a commander to ensure officers followed the directive not to assist.

The Governors Public Health Alliance is intended to protect states from the federal government’s “war on science,” vaccine misinformation and cuts to healthcare for millions of Americans, according to Pritzker’s office. The alliance will serve as a cross-state liaison with the global health community and will help facilitate collaboration to share best practices, elevate national considerations for procuring vaccines and develop policies.

As part of its investigation of State Farm, the state is seeking zip-code level nationwide data about State Farm’s homeowners policies, including the total premiums collected by State Farm, the types of policy coverage and insurance limits, and the number of claims against those policies.

“We don’t want troops on the ground and we don’t want [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officials or [Customs and Border Patrol] abusing people on the streets of Chicago or any of our suburbs, or, frankly, anywhere in Illinois or the country,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

The governor just has to send a letter to opt into the federal program on behalf of Illinois and, Davis says, he’s concerned that Gov. JB Prtizker’s primary focus on debating the president will again override any ability to focus on supporting benefits for and priorities of his own constituents.

As part of a string of recent lawsuits seeking to enforce the 1996 law, President Trump’s Department of Justice recently sued the state of Illinois, which offers illegal immigrants comprehensive access to in-state tuition. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is fighting the lawsuit.

“The tables will turn one day,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.”These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration because the statute of limitations would not have run out.”

“The core of power in the Illinois House is still centralized entirely around one person. This person has the ability to block ethics legislation, disallow bipartisan coalition roll calls and send good governance measures to the legislative graveyard.”