“Rather than discuss the issues facing Illinois, the governor took the time to paint a rosy picture as if nothing was wrong. He then laid out how he was going to raise taxes and fees by over $700 million and blamed the federal government. It was surreal.”

Kevin Martin, of the Illinois Insurance Association: “By banning long validated underwriting tools like credit and age, this bill would raise auto insurance premiums at a time when people can least afford it, especially seniors and women who often benefit from lower rates due to strong credit and years of safe driving. … These tools are not discriminatory; they are statistically proven indicators of future claims.”

Jim Dey: “Trial judges, generally speaking, preside over lawsuits other people file. Illinois Supreme Court justices, at least in part, protect people’s civil rights. But the two parties’ roles were recently reversed, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a former Cook County circuit judge who alleges the seven justices violated his constitutional free-speech rights.”

Retired Police Chief Tom Weitzel: “If someone commits four-armed robberies, there are four separate victims, four separate moments of terror, and four separate violations of the law. Yet under concurrent sentencing, punishment often does not increase in proportion to the number of crimes committed. The second victim effectively disappears at sentencing. The third disappears. The fourth disappears.”

State Sen. Laura Fine is carrying the bill to ban the state from hiring Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents serving during the current Trump administration. “Our officers here in Illinois are trained in de-escalation. They’re trained in mental health training,” Fine said. “The officers that we’re seeing, I say officers in a very loose way, coming from ICE, are completely different.”

Illinois recently expanded the state’s prohibitions on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment. In 2020, Illinois enacted the Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act (AIVIA), which regulates employers’ use of AI in the interview and hiring process. Under this Act, employers are obligated to inform applicants when AI technology is used during the course of a video interview, provide an explanation of the AI technology’s mechanics, and obtain prior consent from the applicant.

Economist Orphe Divounguy argued in a 2021 report that when political maps are drawn to heavily favor one party, it suppresses voter participation because many voters essentially have no alternative to the incumbent or dominant party candidate. “Uncontested and lightly contested elections tend to skew policy in favor of powerful special interest groups at the expense of everyone else,” he said. “This is because low voter participation makes legislators more susceptible to the influence of lobbyists rather than prioritizing the service of ordinary voters.”

The Passenger Rail Planning Act was introduced in January by state Reps. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) and Kam Buckner (D-Chicago). It does not include funding for expanded service or infrastructure, but seeks to define the plan for more frequent operations.