Stories about the Illinois House and Senate
The elections law, which took effect immediately upon the governor’s signature, instructs election authorities to create a permanent vote-by-mail list which voters may choose to join. It also makes Election Day 2022 a state holiday.
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Illinois lawmakers finished a two-day special session Thursday by passing some important legislation but without reaching agreement on the one issue they had hoped to resolve – an energy bill that would phase out all carbon emissions from power plants over the next 30 years.
The Illinois house on Wednesday passed a Firearm Owner Identification card law change that would strengthen law enforcement’s ability to retrieve guns from those with suspended or revoked FOID cards and allow for voluntary fingerprinting to expedite renewals.
In an Energy and Public Utilities Committee hearing, Senator Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said the bill had stalled amid disagreements over decarbonization measures aimed at taking coal and gas plants offline.
According to stakeholders from those working groups, the major tenets of the legislation remain the same as they have for months – putting Illinois on a path to 40 percent renewable energy by 2030 through an increased fee on ratepayer bills
The bill would also end automatic formula rate increases, which allow utilities to raise rates by essentially bypassing regulators
As Illinois begins its official reopening and residents flock to state parks this summer, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources faces a severe staffing shortage, according to IDNR chief of staff Kristin DiCenso.
Republican leaders in the Illinois House and Senate filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of the new legislative district maps that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law June 4.
A former state lawmaker is suing the state comptroller for salary increases he claims he was entitled to while serving in the Illinois General Assembly for 12 years, even though he voted against those raises as a lawmaker.
Illinois lawmakers could take up a bill later this month that would restore voting rights to convicted offenders serving time in county jails or state or federal prisons, according to the bill’s House sponsor.