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

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that could allow drivers with suspended licenses to continue driving with a speed control device in their car

From Capitol News Illinois: A bill in the legislature would eventually allow driverless vehicles to operate in Illinois counties that have more than 1 million residents, plus Sangamon and three downstate jurisdictions. They could replace rideshare and taxi drivers

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker and Democrats have added a new abortion access measure to their agenda that would allow people with limited or no insurance to get financial assistance for abortion care in Illinois.

Cary Mayor Mark Kownick used the annual state of the village event to warn residents of new state legislation that will put limits on local control from housing to parking.

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker is urging Congress to authorize year-round E15 gasoline sales, arguing it would stabilize fuel markets and support rural economies

From Capitol News Illinois: The blame game comes after Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas released a report that found property taxes in the state’s largest county have grown faster than inflation and wage growth over the past 30 years

The Bears say they want a new stadium open by 2030, with a final decision expected in the coming months. Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana, remain in play as lawmakers negotiate key incentives

From Capitol News Illinois: More than 1,000 Illinois State Police vehicles have passed the threshold for replacement, but current funding levels mean it will take 18 years to replace them all, Director Brenden Kelly said

From Capitol News Illinois: A proposal that would have created the first statewide regulations aimed at curbing pollution generated by fulfillment centers, parcel hubs and sorting facilities failed to receive a committee vote in either chamber of the General Assembly

From Capitol News Illinois: Rep. Suzanne Ness, D-Crystal Lake, sponsored the bill after hearing from an agency that had funding and a house ready to open a CILA, but was blocked by local zoning, despite a long wait list. The bill passed the house 77-35

From Capitol News Illinois: A bill to allow for small, plug-in solar panel systems is moving through the Illinois Senate, which would open access to solar power for renters and others who can’t install rooftop solar panels

From Capitol News Illinois: House Bill 5507 would ban “ultraprocessed” foods in schools. The bill passed out of a public health committee on a partisan 6-2 vote

From Capitol News Illinois: The bill calls for annual increases in university funding of $135 million each year over the next several years, with priority for new money given to schools that are currently the most underfunded.

From Capitol News Illinois: The measures included a ban on junk fees, classification of “child torture” as a Class X felony, a retry at a nonprofit savings bill, and a bill to strip Chicago’s authority to alter the minimum wage for workers who make tips

From Capitol News Illinois: An Illinois House committee advanced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from operating an immigration detention center within 1,500 feet of any home, school, daycare center, park, forest preserve, cemetery or place of worship

From Capitol News Illinois: The bill would establish an independent board with the ability to set and implement the maximum price on certain prescription drugs

From Capitol News Illinois: A House education committee unanimously approved the latest version of a bill that would require school boards to prohibit public school students from using their cellphones in the classroom

From Capitol News Illinois: Midwestern governors, including Illinois’ JB Pritzker, are seeking a permanent solution to being able to use the ethanol blend E15 gasoline that’s cheaper but some say more polluting at a time when gasoline prices are rising

As lawmakers returned to Springfield Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker said that a deal to get a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights “needs to happen sooner rather than later,” but is in the hands of the state legislature.

From Capitol News Illinois: State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, who works as an insurance agent, said the new bill was an improvement over earlier versions. But he said it does not address the factors that he said are the real causes of rising premiums

From Capitol News Illinois: Raw milk advocates saw Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment as Health and Human Services Director as a win, but it hasn’t translated to loosened regulations in Illinois

From Capitol News Illinois: As large data centers burn electricity as fast as some small cities, utilities and advocates are looking for ways to ensure they’re not passing the buck for related infrastructure costs to everyday ratepayers

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.