The employees work at the company’s offices in Deerfield, at the Old Post Office downtown and in Danville, according to a letter the company sent to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Activity. Another 80 workers were laid off in October.

“However, upcoming budget negotiations must also account for downstream impacts on local governments, where many of the most critical public services are delivered.”

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said the federal pause is damaging the state’s economy. “A strong economy depends on strong logistics,” he said in a statement. “If trucks don’t move, supply chains fail, prices rise, and families feel it in their pocketbooks. We can see the actions by the Trump administration taking their toll on our truckers and our farmers, both of whom are essential to Illinois’ economy.”

In Illinois, this funding is used for numerous disaster mitigation projects, including two projects that aim to protect critical infrastructure and communities from flooding. FEMA approved a grant to relocate a vulnerable wastewater treatment plant out of a FEMA recognized floodway, a project that aims to safeguard drinking water, prevent raw sewage backup and prevent the contamination of waterways for DePue, Peoria, Hennepin and Pekin.

States must spend ARPA funds by Dec. 31, 2026, which means final amounts are supposed to be spent in the budget this fiscal year. Illinois lawmakers have treated ARPA like a blank check, using a portion of the state’s nearly $8.1 billion in temporary aid to support recurring social programs and issue questionable grants for local pet projects.

“The president certainly thinks that Gov. Pritzker is not doing a very good job of managing his state, as evidenced by not only the waste, fraud and abuse but also the crime in the city of Chicago that, unfortunately, Gov. Pritzker has refused to pick up the phone and call and ask the White House for help on,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about Pritzker signing Illinois House Bill 460, expanding taxpayer-funded college financial aid to people who are in the country illegally.

“I’m concerned about a lot of different impacts of vaping, to be perfectly honest with you,” said Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who introduced the bill in January. “These batteries are just getting thrown into the garbage. … There’s a lot of reasons to want to control these products.”

The governor also signed a new executive order to develop more nuclear power plants in Illinois. A recent state report warns that the centers could outstrip our energy supply.

Gov. JB Pritzker said his proposed new fee on social-media companies would raise about $200 million a year for education. “Those companies are profiting from online engagement of Illinois consumers, and they currently contribute nothing to ameliorate the negative effects of their platforms,” he said. “If social media giants are going to feed off of Illinois families, they ought to support Illinois families.”

The report notes that Illinois handed out licenses that remained valid long after the applicants’ legal residency in the U.S. had expired, allowing them to continue driving seemingly legally despite no longer being allowed residency in the U.S. The licenses also served as “valid” IDs for the migrants.

The proposal would require social media platforms to pay a monthly fee based on the number of active users in Illinois, with larger companies paying higher fees. For example, social media companies with 1 million or more users in Illinois would be charged $165,000 per month, plus 50 cents per month for each user over 1 million. The legislation would prohibit social media companies from passing along the fee to users.

Like the last two budgets, Gov. JB Pritzker is opting for targeted tax increases that will be paid by businesses rather than consumers. His proposal does not include new taxes on millionaires and billionaires and corporations sought by progressive Democrats.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a written ultimatum to both Gov. JB Pritzker and Kevin Duesterhaus, the state director of driver services under Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, and listed several cases of drivers from El Salvador to Ukraine who were in violation of the law. “I need our state partners to understand that they work for the American people, not illegal immigrants who broke the law illegally entering our country and continue to break it by operating massive big rigs without the proper qualifications,” Duffy said.

Illinois already has more than 200 data centers across the state, according to the data center map – an industry website that tracks data centers across the country. “With all the shifting energy landscape it is imperative that our growth does not undermine affordability and stability for our families,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.