In the lawsuit, the Public Interest Legal Foundation asserts the Illinois VRA all but forces state lawmakers to use race when deciding how to carve up the state and its population into legislative districts. The lawsuit further asserts Illinois Democrats have intentionally done so, with the goal of artificially creating legislative districts that work to encourage and ensure the election of state and federal lawmakers who are black, Latino or of other preferred, particular races.

The Illinois unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in March, up from 5.0 percent in February.

“There are currently no checks and balances on data center developers, and they’re flooding the state with proposals driving up our utility bills, threatening our water supply and leaving communities in the dark,” state Sen. Rachel Ventura said.

State Rep. Patrick Sheehan questioned whether judges who release violent offenders should face greater public accountability when those offenders commit additional crimes. “I think there maybe needs to be a reexamination of the type of immunity that judges have,” he said.

Governors in neighboring states, including Indiana and Kentucky, have recently suspended gas taxes to offer drivers temporary relief. Illinois isn’t following suit — at least not yet. Gov. JB Pritzker appears focused on passing his proposed budget before the legislative session ends this month.

A battle over credit card transaction fees continues after a federal appeals court Friday sent the case about a new Illinois law seeking to limit so-called swipe fees back to District Court. A recent order from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury) exempted national banks from the law but not Illinois credit unions and community banks.

House Bill 34 would ban the ability to carry a firearm at any building, property or parking area of polling locations, creating a 24th restriction on open carry laws in the state.

“I can’t stress enough we’re not seeing this from one political party,” Tazewell County Clerk JohnAckerman said. “Both are just as guilty of committing the sin of throwing misinformation into the media circus, and that’s part of the problem.”

“Not all the BUILD Plan proposals would move Illinois in the right direction. One would provide $100 million “to remove upfront infrastructure barriers that prevent otherwise viable housing projects from breaking ground.” Another bill would provide $150 million to support down payment assistance programs.”

The lawsuit seeks to declare the Illinois Voting Rights Act as violative of the Fifteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which would essentially cause the current map to be redrawn in compliance with the Fifteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Former State Representative Jeanne Ives filed this lawsuit.

“Threading through nearly every debate in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly is a fundamental disagreement about the state’s fiscal future. While progressive Democrats are pushing to tax billionaires and close corporate loopholes, Republicans are warning that squeezing job creators will severely damage Illinois’ economy.”

“There was some discussion in Springfield earlier this year about skipping the planned gas-tax hike because of rising fuel prices, but so far, nothing has come of it.”