Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson referred to data centers as “the future industry” with potential property tax revenue that could change the fate of Granite City. “It’s very intoxicating,” Parkinson said, “but there’s a lot of these issues that come with it.” He specifically noted the need to prevent utility rates from going “sky-high.”

Right now, Utah is the only state with a 0.05 standard. Supporters of the bill point to research that shows some drivers could reach that level after just one or two drinks, arguing the change could help lower traffic deaths.

The group is pushing for a billionaires tax this year to generate more revenue for the state, as they argue the evidence-based funding model is not providing enough money for K-12 schools.

AARP Illinois Senior Associate State Director Lori Hendren said consensus is growing to approve either Illinois House Bill 1443 or Senate Bill 66, establishing a prescription drug affordability board, or PDAB.

Some organizations are also subsidized by their localities. Among them, the Chicago-based Jackson Action Coalition, the developer of Soul City Studios which received $1.5 million in state funds, also received a $250K grant from the City of Chicago.

The error rate measures overpayments and underpayments of SNAP benefits, though overpayments are more common. Illinois’ error rate is 11.56 percent, 12th highest among states. The state’s overpayment rate was 10.64 percent, and its underpayment rate was 0.93 percent.

“Pritzker masks income loss with new arrivals, and job loss with public sector growth.”

Breaking down January’s big layoffs, it wasn’t just a wave of pink slips, most of these were outright closings, accounting for 1,902 job losses. Only 152 layoffs were not part of a full closure.

One FOIA request detailing an equity report showed that a middle school in the district divided students by racial background, without notifying parents, as part of equity training sessions for staff in 2025. The equity director wrote after the session, which was held during “Student Support Time,” that she identified the “challenges with being discriminated against based on color” and that her next session would be with “those who identify as White.”

Voters in Evanston passed a referendum in 2022 to implement ranked choice voting, but the Cook County Clerk said current election laws only allow a person to vote for one candidate. Two other Cook County communities that have approved ranked choice voting, Oak Park and Skokie, also may be left waiting for the court to rule or for state legislation to provide clarification. And Peoria passed a nonbinding referendum in 2024 to research ranked choice voting, but currently has no plans to implement it.