“It was Justice Scalia that said in a case, U.S. v. Prince, that the federal government cannot commandeer states and state and local resources to do what is the federal government’s work,” Raoul said. “The 10th Amendment gives us our sovereignty, gives us a state’s rights. It used to be that Republicans would advocate for the protection of state rights.”

Republicans have filed a bill to repeal the state’s shutdown dates for coal and gas plants, along with the construction of new natural gas peaker plants to improve energy capacity. They are also calling for a task force to study how recent energy laws have impacted electric prices and grid reliability.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, speaking on the House floor, outlined three articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, citing obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and self-dealing.

Overall, the $10.9 billion request would be a slight decrease from the current budget of just over $11 billion. But that is only because funding for early childhood education, which totals nearly $750 million this year, is being shifted in the upcoming year to the newly created Department of Early Childhood. Otherwise, the request seeks a $350 million increase in the Evidence-Based Funding formula.

Residents in 32 Illinois counties will have an opportunity on the March 17 primary ballot to tell Gov. JB Pritzker whether they think the state’s students should benefit from the new federal tax credit being given for education donations.

The team will grow to over 100 employees a spokesperson said in response to how many long-term jobs for Sangamon County the facility could employ.

The gaming board released October figures that show a 15 percent drop in bets placed in the state, mirroring similar numbers from September, which also saw a steep decline in online bets. This coincides with the state’s hefty tax on online gambling providers, which imposed a 50-cent tax on every bet placed by consumers. Other states with legalized online betting have not seen similar declines.

State Rep. Dan Swanson said in a statement, “Rising costs of living for Illinoisans, and failures of accountability – whether it is mismanagement of state agencies or the need for ethics reform to clean up corruption – must be addressed this year.”

“It really is astounding that the Left can miraculously rediscover the 10th Amendment when they don’t want federal law enforcement officers to enforce federal law,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. “Then [they] go right back to federalizing every state responsibility possible when they get back in power: Spare us.”

“In the veto session, passing that transit reform bill was historic. If that’s not an affordability bill, I don’t know what is,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said. “I have been a very big believer that the wealthy should pay more, that they should pay their fair share, and I think a surcharge tax on millionaires is an easy way to do it.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost filed a lawsuit against the state in 2022 for counting ballots postmarked on Election Day up to two weeks later. The court affirmed Bost had legal standing to sue without addressing whether states could allow mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted.

Carol Davis, chairman of the Illinois Conservative Union and a longtime election integrity advocate, highlighted Illinois’ permissive ballot collection laws, which she said are even looser than California’s. “In Illinois, there’s no restriction on how long someone can hold ballots they’ve collected, and there’s no limit to the number of ballots a person can turn in,” Davis said.

Both Gov. JB Pritzker and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch say the changes — if ultimately deemed necessary — would be narrow despite Republicans’ desire to see the law drastically overhauled. Welch said he is awaiting a report on the law that is still being crafted by Cook County’s top judge.

The Floating Museum’s political leanings surface in its piece, The Garden, linking “colonialism, capitalism and violence.” The Illinois Department of Human Services issued the grant for “operating expenses and prior years’ expenses.” This is extremely vague and lacks any information on the organization’s goals or what is expected for taxpayers’ $742,847.

The funds being halted would impact any institution that receives funding under Title IX, such as schools, colleges, universities, 4-H programs, non-governmental organization programs, sports programs and other education-related awards to detention facilities.