Welch reflects on first year as House speaker
SPRINGFIELD – One year after being named speaker of the Illinois House, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch says he is proud of the accomplishments he and his colleagues achieved and he looks forward to building on that record. “I actually thought 2021 was one heck of a year,” the Hillside Democrat said during a recent interview. […]
Lawmakers prepare for shortened 2022 session
SPRINGFIELD – The 2022 session of the Illinois General Assembly will be even shorter than originally planned due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Democratic leaders announced. The session was originally scheduled to start this week with three meeting days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But leaders announced last week that they will meet […]
Oral arguments to begin Tuesday in redistricting cases
SPRINGFIELD – A three-judge federal court panel in Chicago will begin hearing oral arguments Tuesday in three cases that could determine the makeup of state legislative maps in the Chicago area and Metro East region for the next 10 years. The panel announced during a status hearing Friday that it will go ahead with in-person […]
Greg Harris — high-ranking Democrat best known for passing same sex marriage — announces retirement
Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago), the No. 2 Democrat in the Illinois House, will not run for another term in 2022, he announced Monday. Harris, who has served in the legislature for 15 years, is best known for passing Illinois’ same sex marriage law in 2013. But he’s also been one of the chief architects […]
Congressional redistricting plan clears General Assembly
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers gave final approval in the early hours of Friday morning to a new congressional redistricting plan that divides the state into 17 districts, one fewer than it currently has due to its loss of population since the 2010 U.S. Census. It was the fourth draft plan that legislative Democrats had proposed […]
Bill allowing in-state college sports betting will head to governor
SPRINGFIELD – Betting on in-state college sports could become legal with the stroke of the governor’s pen after lawmakers in the General Assembly approved an amendment to the state’s sports betting law Thursday. The amendment to House Bill 3136 passed both the House and Senate with vast bipartisan support, reaching the threshold necessary for it to take […]
UPDATE: Repeal of parental notice of abortion clears House
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House late Wednesday gave final passage to a bill that repeals the state’s Parental Notice of Abortion Act, clearing the way for Gov. JB Pritzker to sign it into law. The bill narrowly passed out of the Senate on Tuesday night on a 32-22 vote, with three Democrats voting no and […]
House approves changes to Health Care Right of Conscience Act
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House passed a measure Wednesday night that would give employers greater authority to enforce COVID-19 vaccine or testing requirements. The final vote came after 10 p.m. Wednesday, passing on a 64-52 roll call with two present votes. No Republicans voted for it, and enough Democrats peeled support for it to fail […]
Dems march forward with repealing Ill.’s last abortion restriction, measure to curb lawsuits challenging vaccine mandates
SPRINGFIELD — Democrats in the Illinois Senate on Tuesday night voted to repeal the last remaining abortion restriction on the state’s books, while Democrats on a House panel approved a measure tightening a decades-old law in hopes of curbing a recent wave of lawsuits challenging employer vaccine mandates in Illinois. Neither effort has an easy […]
Parental Notice of Abortion Act repeal passes committee amid faith leader, GOP opposition
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate Executive Committee advanced a measure to repeal the state’s Parental Notice of Abortion Act early Tuesday evening amid staunch opposition from Republicans and religious groups. The repeal bill advanced to the full Senate, which could vote on it as early as Tuesday night. Its future in the House was less […]
Lawmakers release revised congressional redistricting map
SPRINGFIELD – Democratic leaders in the Illinois General Assembly released a new proposed congressional redistricting map on Saturday. Leaders claim it better reflects representation of Latino voters in Illinois. According to USA Today, U.S. Census data released in 2021 showed that the number of Hispanics in Illinois rose by 309,832 people, or 15.3% between 2010 […]
GOP pushes public safety reform during light legislative week
SPRINGFIELD – The legislative action was light during the General Assembly’s first week of fall session, and lawmakers in both chambers left town a day early after leadership canceled the Thursday session. That means bigger items, such as a vote on congressional maps and potential changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act and […]
Public speaks out on proposed congressional maps
SPRINGFIELD – Members of the public got their first chance to speak directly to state lawmakers Wednesday about a proposed set of new congressional district maps, and most of those who did were critical of the plan. Democrats in the General Assembly released a proposed new map Friday that divides Illinois into 17 congressional districts, […]
Lawmakers returning to Springfield to consider congressional remap, more
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ first congressional remap draft is out but changes could be in store as lawmakers return to Springfield Tuesday for the first of their final two weeks of scheduled session in 2022. It’s customary for lawmakers to meet each fall to consider overriding or accepting any of the governor’s vetoes or amendatory vetoes […]
New congressional maps unveiled ahead of fall veto session
SPRINGFIELD – Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly released a proposed set of new congressional district maps Friday, just days before lawmakers return to the Statehouse for the start of their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 19. All states redraw their congressional districts following each decennial census. The proposed new maps reflect the fact that Illinois […]