The governor proposes restructuring the tax rate on table games in the 15 of the 16 casinos operating in the state: all those outside of Chicago. The budget also proposes the creation of the Illinois Department of Gaming Regulation and Enforcement (IDGRE), and proposes to relocate the video gaming terminal revenue, with 10 percent to be directed to a newly created State Facilities Repair and Maintenance Fund.

State lawmakers could pass a bill this spring to allow local election authorities to opt into a voter center model rather than the traditional precinct model of voting. Illinois voters choosing to vote early and in-person would already be familiar with the vote center model, as anyone is able to cast a ballot at the same building.

The Home for Good plan calls for rental subsidies and wraparound services for returning residents. The legislation also calls for reentry housing development to minimize the possibility of landlord discrimination. It would create a Home for Good Institute to provide training and technical assistance to community-based organizations helping with reentry housing as well. Sponsors and advocates told reporters in Springfield Wednesday that the program would cost $50 million.

Utility customer Suzette Saskill said she was “absolutely stunned” at her recent $861 electric bill, up from $292 one month earlier. Another person on Nextdoor said their bill skyrocketed by 68 percent over last year, even though their use was up just 19 percent.

House Bill 5238 introduced by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, and Senate Bill 3756 filed by state Sen. Graciela Guzmán, would provide cash disbursements starting July 1, 2026: a $1,500 lump sum payment in or around the third trimester of pregnancy plus $500 monthly cash payments for the first six months after delivery.

The taxpayer impact of Illinois’ House Bill 2789 would be that the Bears’ stadium and everything else built on the property – retail, entertainment and an expected 1,500 residences – would pay a lower property tax rate than others in the community but receive the same local services such as police, fire and schooling. The Bears have also asked for at least $885 million in state taxpayer funds for infrastructure at the development.

The proposed legislation calls for adding about $1.7 billion in new higher education funding over the next 10 years, distributed under a formula similar to the Evidence-Based funding formula used for K-12 education that would prioritize the schools that are currently the most underfunded. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign currently ranks as the most adequately funded school and thus would be last on the priority list for new funding.

While municipalities could regulate the size and location of such units, their availability would increase density and housing options without radically changing a neighborhood’s character.

Voters in one of the most Democratic districts in the state will see 16 names on the March 17 ballot. Bruce Leon’s name will be on there too, although he dropped out of the race and endorsed another candidate. Leon, a pro-Israel Democrat, blamed “tremendous political pressure from Washington, D.C., interests” — referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — for dropping out.

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez was one of several Democrats who skipped the State of the Union. “Today in that gallery, my seat is empty, representing the more than 40 lives we have lost to the violence of the Trump administration, who want our resources, our freedoms, our lives to advance their imperialistic, fascist, authoritarian agendas,” she said during a People’s State of the Union rebuttal.

Senate Bill 2876, sponsored by Sen. Terri Bryant, addresses what she calls a growing problem of parents being denied access to evidence used in disciplining their children. Bryant said the issue came to her attention after learning that several grade school students had been suspended based on video evidence that their parents were not allowed to see.

In the decision, U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel essentially ruled that the need to maintain Illinois residents’ ability to use the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) to sue Meta outweighs the need to abide by the user agreement provision that would otherwise force users to abide by California law.

“There’s already one Jackson in Congress, Rep. Jonathan (Jackson), who claimed that white firefighters let black homes burn, was caught violating stock trading disclosure laws, and who endorsed Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign while quietly getting a $13,000 consulting contract from him and then his construction company got a $750,000 contract from a Pritzker’s state program.”

“Illinois has added another layer to this debate with the Clean Slate Act, which significantly expands the automatic sealing of criminal records. … Judges and prosecutors are left with incomplete pictures when making decisions about detention, bond conditions, and sentencing. You cannot make sound public safety decisions with incomplete information.”