About 97% of Illinois schools show a proficiency gap where students overall outperform English learners, 2025 Illinois State Report Card data shows.

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois food producers and businesses can apply for a share of $3.6 million through the Illinois Department of Agriculture as part of a grant program to support local food infrastructure systems

From Capitol News Illinois: Margaret Croke will advance to the November election and face Republican Bryan Drew of Marion in the first open election for the comptroller’s office since 2016

From Capitol News Illinois: A proposed bill bearing the name of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson would require high schools to offer a voter registration opportunity for all eligible students graduating from Illinois high schools.

From Capitol News Illinois: The newly introduced POWER Act seeks to regulate new data centers built in Illinois and address concerns about their effects on energy prices, water and the environment

From Capitol News Illinois: Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey said his campaign will focus heavily on the Chicago area. Bailey heavily lost suburban counties in Tuesday’s primary that he won four years ago but said he intentionally focused recently on downstate

In a crowded race for retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s Senate seat, Republican Don Tracy has secured the GOP nomination in Tuesday’s primary, according to unofficial election results. Check back for updates

Darren Bailey has won the Republican nomination for governor in Tuesday’s primary election, setting up a familiar face-off with Democrat JB Pritzker in the race for the governor’s office in November, according to unofficial election results.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, edging out two sitting members of the U.S. House. in a race that will see her facing Republican Don Tracy in November.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where DuPage County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

From Capitol News Illinois: Chicago’s new 10.25% tax on sports bets is facing bipartisan pushback in the Illinois General Assembly as lawmakers support bills that would block Chicago and other municipalities from setting their own sports wagering taxes

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker is calling on agencies in his administration to set goals for increasing the number of adults in the state with college degrees or other postsecondary credentials

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois Principals Association expressed skepticism about the bill, citing concerns about burdening schools with the costs of purchasing female manikins for CPR training

Coleadero, or steer tailing, is a Mexican-style rodeo event where a horseback rider chases a running steer, grabs onto its tail, and wraps the tail around the rider’s leg to slam the animal to the ground.

Next week is a “big, big, big” week for hopes of a Chicago Bears stadium in the suburbs as state legislators return to Springfield to debate a tax break and other financial incentives, Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said Thursday

From Capitol News Illinois: A coalition of 19 manufacturer, business, and labor organizations has petitioned to end ongoing workshops studying the future of natural gas in Illinois after a statewide resource adequacy report warned of energy shortages

From Capitol News Illinois: A Senate bill regulating the volume of commercials on streaming services so they can’t be noticeably louder than entertainment content passed the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee on Thursday

From Capitol News Illinois: Bills creating new insurance requirements for boaters and establishing local pension buyout programs are moving forward in the Statehouse

From Capitol News Illinois: While there are efforts to protect and expand abortion access in Illinois, some state lawmakers are pushing for increased restrictions

From Capitol News Illinois: As the Trump administration moves to slash federal protections for waterways and wetlands, Illinois Democratic lawmakers and environmental advocates are racing to pass a measure that would enact state safeguards

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois and Cook County have erased more than $2 billion in medical debt combined for over a million residents through a partnership with a nonprofit that buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar.

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois municipal leaders are calling on state lawmakers to increase the amount of income tax revenue that is distributed to local governments.

Officials in several northern Illinois counties say regulating steer-tailing events at backyard rodeos is up to state legislators, but charges filed in McHenry County could prove otherwise

From Capitol News Illinois: Lawmakers are looking to further regulate alternative retail energy suppliers, tying the rates they can charge for energy to what utilities can charge

From Capitol News Illinois: Advocates for health care providers that treat low-income and uninsured patients are pressuring state lawmakers to pass legislation they say would prevent drug manufacturers from restricting access to discounted medications

Despite a weekslong delay in the legislative calendar in Springfield, Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday expressed optimism with progress on a pending Bears stadium deal in Springfield

From Capitol News Illinois: A spokesperson for Bill Clinton quickly clarified the testimony, saying the former president was referring to a trip he took with Pritzker to Africa in 2008 for the Clinton Foundation, but it was not on Epstein’s plane and Epstein wasn’t present

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois lawmakers are calling for an independent commission to investigate Illinois-linked crimes connected to international sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

From Capitol News Illinois: State Sen. Sue Rezin is hoping the uproar over road funding will create unity among downstate politicians as they seek solutions. “Downstate needs to be made whole,” Rezin said. “We need to be made whole because we have crumbling roads and bridges.”

State Rep. Suzanne Ness will host a virtual town hall Tuesday to discuss Illinois Gov JB Pritzker’s annual budget proposal.

From Capitol News Illinois: A new bill introduced to the Illinois Senate would prohibit law enforcement agencies in Illinois from hiring individuals who serve as federal immigration officers for the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs between Jan. 20, 2025 and Jan 20, 2029

From Capitol News Illinois: House Bill 4333 aims to lower the legal blood-alcohol content limit from 0.08 to 0.05 for DUIs. Illinois would be only the second state to do so, following in Utah’s steps

From Capitol News Illinois: Citing high prescription drug prices, lawmakers and activists are reviving a dormant push to create an Illinois prescription drug affordability board

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois lawmakers voted Thursday to delay the annual Cook County property tax debt sale, saying they need more time to pass a bill reforming the sale process

From Capitol News Illinois: JB Pritzker’s ICE Accountability Commission heard testimony about fear and intimidation that led to the disruption of schools and a negative impact on businesses and health care during "Operation Midway Blitz"

From Capitol News Illinois: As state legislators emphasize affordability this session, several lawmakers are taking aim at regulating algorithmic pricing that uses consumers’ personal data

From Capitol News Illinois: A recent executive order by Gov. JB Pritzker set a new goal to begin development on new nuclear power plants by 2033, with the intention of bringing online enough energy to power up to two million Illinois homes

From Capitol News Illinois: The debate over how to regulate data centers in Illinois is intensifying as lawmakers struggle to balance a host of competing interests.

From Capitol News Illinois: Providers warned that flat funding combined with rising operating costs and continuing funding cuts at the federal level could strain services statewide

From Capitol News Illinois: Two Illinois high school students worked with a legislator and stakeholders to draft a bill mandating disposal programs for electronic smoking devices like vapes

From Capitol News Illinois: Fidel Marquez, a former executive for electric utility Commonwealth Edison, was sentenced to two years of probation Thursday for his role in a yearslong bribery scheme intended to influence ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan

From Capitol News Illinois: Republicans were less generous in their assessment of the budget picture Pritzker painted. But they found some items to agree on, including slightly less charged rhetoric than his 2025 speech, which was delivered just weeks into Trump’s second term

The long-stalled legislation would allow the Bears to negotiate directly with local taxing bodies over the amount of taxes that should be paid on at least a portion of the sprawling property for up to 40 years

From Capitol News Illinois: In his eighth State of the State address, Pritzker focused on affordability issues affecting Illinois residents and blamed President Donald Trump for the state’s tight financial condition

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker is proposing a $56 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 with minimal new spending. Pritzker’s plan does not include major new taxes but would create a new tax on social media companies

From Capitol News Illinois: A Republican lawmaker who introduced a bill to outlaw abortion in Illinois has resigned from his GOP leadership position in the Illinois Senate after conversations with top Republicans

From Capitol News Illinois: JB Pritzker will propose a plan during his State of the State address to drastically limit local governments’ authority to restrict the types of structures that can be built on property zoned residential

From Capitol News Illinois: Lawmakers say a long-stalled proposal to help the Chicago Bears build a domed stadium in Arlington Heights is gaining “positive momentum,” as negotiations intensify over a bill that would freeze the team’s property tax assessment for up to 40 years

Gov. JB Pritzker will present his eighth budget on Wednesday and outline a plan to deal with limited revenue growth and significant uncertainty over the future of federal funding for the state