From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois State Board of Education is asking lawmakers this year for $200,000 to develop a new way of counting low-income students as participation in federal assistance programs declines.

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois Accountability Commission is also sending letters to local law enforcement agencies for potential prosecution of federal immigration agents amid Operation Midway Blitz

From Capitol News Illinois: Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey proposed changes to electronic monitoring rules, but said his plan would not call for returning to the use of cash bail. JB Pritzker blamed the judge in the case for deciding to release the man accused

From Capitol News Illinois: A bill to strengthen privacy protections for transgender and abortion patients in Illinois passed a Senate committee Wednesday in a 9-4 partisan vote.

From Capitol News Illinois: Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said the Senate will not move forward with a constitutional amendment rewriting the state’s redistricting rules after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday

From Capitol News Illinois: A first-of-its-kind apprenticeship program in Illinois launched by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association provides online college coursework and real-life experience

From Capitol News Illinois: JB Pritzker announced Wednesday that IBM will bring its FutureNow innovation and delivery hub to Chicago’s South Side, bringing an estimated 750 new full-time jobs in supercomputing fields, such as cybersecurity, AI and data science

From Capitol News Illinois: U.S. District Judge Rubén Castillo, who chairs the commission, confirmed for the first time that the commission is planning to refer prosecutions of agents who abused their power to Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke

Seismic legislation that could determine the Chicago Bears’ future in Illinois officially arrived in the Illinois Senate on Tuesday, but the big finish is days off.

Lawmakers are raising concerns that a plan tied to keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois could impact property taxes, even as supporters argue it is needed to stay competitive with Indiana’s billion-dollar offer

From Capitol News Illinois: The mother of a young woman to whom the Trump administration dedicated Operation Midway Blitz testified to the Illinois Accountability Commission on Monday, saying her daughter would not have wanted this legacy

From Capitol News Illinois: The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld all of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bribery and other corruption convictions, writing in a 29-page ruling Monday

From Capitol News Illinois: A federal agency says Illinois can’t limit credit card swipe fees for federally chartered banks, even though a federal judge earlier this year ruled that it could.

From Capitol News Illinois: Water supply concerns are furthered by the development of data centers, particularly in regions with depleted aquifers

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois launched two websites last week that share various work, training and volunteer opportunities that meet federal food assistance work requirements

In dueling appearances Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker and his Republican rival in the Nov. 3 election, Darren Bailey, outlined fixes for legislation intended to anchor the Chicago Bears in Illinois

From Capitol News Illinois: Proponents of BUILD argued that the primary driver of the current housing affordability crisis is a lack of supply caused by legislative hurdles and different municipal priorities

For months, the Bears had sought property tax concessions, which drew pushback from local governments, and financial aid with stadium infrastructure like roads

From Capitol News Illinois: Lawmakers emphasized the need for transparency about how much water data centers use to cool their facilities at the final of three data center-focused hearings in the House Executive Committee

From Capitol News Illinois: It’s looking increasingly likely that Illinois voters will not see an amendment about creating a “millionaire tax” on the ballot in November

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois House voted to approve a constitutional amendment that would make a new priority list for lawmakers as they redraw legislative district lines. Even if the Senate agrees to support the amendment, voters would still need to approve it

From Capitol News Illinois: A 2025 nationwide report on statewide early childhood education found that Illinois stalled in efforts to expand preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. A flat budget for the upcoming fiscal year may further stall Illinois’ progress

Illinois lawmakers took a major step toward keeping the Chicago Bears from moving to Indiana on Wednesday night. The Illinois House passed a Bears-backed megaprojects bill by a 78-32 vote that would help the team build a new stadium in Arlington Heights

From Capitol News Illinois: In response to the nationwide school bus driver shortage, a partnership emerged between Illinois schools, transportation providers and the secretary of state

From Capitol News Illinois: JB Pritzker signed an executive order Tuesday barring state employees and elected officials from using information obtained in their official capacity to place bets on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi

From Capitol News Illinois: Facing the specter of losing the Chicago Bears to Indiana, the Illinois House unveiled a new version of property tax legislation that the team says is a prerequisite for building a new domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights

State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, is sponsoring a bill that would create special Illinois license plates alerting police officers that a driver or passenger has autism

From Capitol News Illinois: Democrats are also considering asking voters to approve a millionaires tax amendment in November, but it’s not clear if they will be able to pass that resolution before a May 3 deadline

From Capitol News Illinois: A bill that cleared the Illinois House would give the state’s EPA emergency rulemaking powers to address plastic pellet spills and their affect on stormwater runoff

In addition to the regulations on e-bikes and e-motos, the bill also places restrictions on e-scooters, electric skateboards, and motorized unicycles. They could not exceed 28 mph on roads, bike lanes, bike paths or sidewalks

From Capitol News Illinois: An Illinois House committee got an overview this week of how data centers are driving up energy demand and threatening potential shortfalls in the second of three planned hearings on the matter.

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois House and Senate approved hundreds of bills this week ahead of a Friday deadline, including a plan proposed by Gov. JB Pritzker to limit cell phones in schools

A Whiteside County jury pool allegedly includes dozens of deceased individuals, prompting a defense motion claiming systemic flaws in how Illinois compiles jury lists

From Capitol News Illinois: Public school teachers in Illinois may soon have to add Latin Americans to the list of ethnic groups whose contributions to American history and culture must be taught in class

From Capitol News Illinois: The bill would also require social media platforms to have default privacy settings for minors that would stop addictive feeds, location sharing and transactions with digital currency

From Capitol News Illinois: Ad campaign highlights 2-year fight between retailer and finance lobbies

Under the measure, riders of e-bikes and e-motos that travel more than 28 mph would need a driver’s license, title, registration, and insurance.

From Capitol News Illinois: Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey has moved into an apartment in Chicago as he seeks to improve his outreach to voters in the state’s most populous region

From Capitol News Illinois: As the artificial intelligence industry rapidly expands, state legislators appear poised to continue imposing regulations on the technology

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois lawmakers say the Illinois Department of Corrections must fix a slew of errors that were revealed in a recent audit. Eighty percent of the employees reviewed by auditors recorded overtime on the same days they also received paid leave

From Capitol News Illinois: State employee health care costs have been rising steadily for several years due to growth in the state’s workforce and general health care inflation

From Capitol News Illinois: In its most recent version, the bill would require elementary and middle schools to implement a bell-to-bell ban, while high schools could allow students to use their cellphones during breaks and lunch

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois estate tax creates a heavy burden for families trying to pass down farms between generations. A bill in the legislature seeks to raise the tax exemption to $6 million, from $4 million

From Capitol News Illinois: ComEd customers in Illinois will see an average $19 monthly reduction to their electricity bills over the coming months, thanks to a policy in the state’s climate bill

From Capitol News Illinois: As Illinois officials remain strongly committed to closing coal-fired power plants, federal policies under the Trump administration are creating uncertainty, spurring legal action and a push by some to keep the plants open

From Capitol News Illinois: A long-proposed bill to improve price transparency and ban junk fees passed the Illinois House for the second time in three years. A plan pushed by Gov. JB Pritzker to create a new abortion grant fund is advancing to the Senate

From Capitol News Illinois: Madigan has been in a West Virginia federal prison for nearly six months, though family and friends showed up to Thursday’s arguments

From Capitol News Illinois:

From Capitol News Illinois: The Illinois State Board of Education presented its budget request for $10.9 billion to fund public schools in the upcoming fiscal year. The request includes $300 million in new spending for schools, plus $50 million for property tax relief grants

As Illinois considers new limits on data centers, northern Illinois lawmakers, union workers, and municipal leaders gathered in Springfield on Wednesday for the first of three legislative hearings on data center development, local impact, and energy use