“The most serious finding involved the COVID-19 Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF). Auditors reported that the Illinois Department of Human Services failed to conduct any of the federally required monitoring of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the agency managing the funds. Approximately $177 million in HAF money was distributed without risk assessments or oversight …”

The law requires the Illinois State Board of Education’s Equity Journey Continuum to integrate dual language education into the broader framework of student learning to ensure it is considered an essential part of educational equity and excellence by July 1, 2029. This includes provisions for dual language teachers, focusing on recruitment, professional development and retention of bilingual educators.

“If we don’t know who is driving which vehicle and which car is registered to any particular driver, our streets will become lawless. We will continue to fight for accountability and the safety of everyone on Illinois roads,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said.

State Sen. Darby Hills said legislators and the public had little time to review nearly $1 billion in new spending before the budget passed around 3 a.m. last spring. “So rushing budgets and new taxes or fees put real pressure on families deciding whether they can choose between groceries or rent or prescriptions or child care,” Hills said, adding that the record-high state budget raised costs for families and small businesses.

Illinois and Chicago sued the Trump administration Monday, seeking to severely limit immigration agents’ authority in the state after accusing the feds of unleashing an “organized bombardment” to coerce state and local officials to change their immigration policies.

Rock Island County required tax buyers participating in the sale to certify that if they ultimately take ownership of a property, they must pay the former homeowner the value of the home above what was owed in back taxes. The requirement marks the first known instance of an Illinois county altering its tax sale process in response to federal court rulings declaring the state’s system unconstitutional.

“The money has rolled in — more than $2 billion in cannabis sales in 2024, a 2.5 percent increase from 2023, and $490 million in tax revenue in 2024. Meanwhile, an ominous trend has developed: 7.7 percent of Illinoisans ages 16 to 64 now have a likely cannabis use disorder, up from 6.5 percent in 2022, Illinois’ fifth Annual Cannabis Report said. An additional 11.9 percent meet the criteria for hazardous cannabis use.”

LyLena D. Estabine, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “When special interest groups turn a city or a state into their own political machine, as they have done in Illinois, decisions are no longer made on what benefits the many. More resources go to fund what benefits the few. In the end, taxpayers are the ones who lose.”

Those close to Gov. JB Pritzker insist his communication strategy has nothing to do with presidential ambitions. Pritzker often deflects questions about his national aspirations, insisting his focus is on governing Illinois and winning reelection in 2026. But his place in the national political scene is growing more prominent.

Democratic Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park described cost-of-living pressures as “an overriding theme” he hears from constituents. “It’s health care, it’s housing, it’s insurance premiums, it’s utility bills,” Harmon said, adding that lawmakers are still developing proposals for the session. “I don’t know that there’s a silver bullet anyone’s devised yet.”