Jerry Nowicki Capitol News Illinois

Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot.

Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status.

Weeks after two high-profile resignations at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday appointed the first-ever executive director to help lead the beleaguered agency.

Pritzker’s main revenue-generating proposal looks to raise $526 million by extending a cap on corporate net operating losses that businesses can claim on taxes.

The state’s two main fiscal forecasting agencies agree: Illinois’ finances will see a strong close in the final 3.5 months of the fiscal year before things tighten a bit next year.

The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony Thursday on two bills that seek to make Illinois-grown food more accessible to the state’s consumers.

The annual process of negotiating the state budget kicked off Wednesday with Gov. JB Pritzker proposing a $52.7 billion spending plan that includes hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending and tax increases, particularly for businesses

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday proposed growing state spending by about $1.8 billion in the upcoming fiscal year while making a handful of corporate, sports wagering and other tax changes to pay for the increase.

Republicans in the Illinois Senate indicated Tuesday that their sticking point for budget negotiations this year will be the same as it was last year – state spending on programs for noncitizens and recent arrivals from the country’s southern border.

Gov. JB Pritzker will give his sixth state budget address this week, laying out his plan for a fiscal year that government forecasters in November predicted is on pace for a near-$900 million deficit unless corrective action is taken.

The Illinois Supreme Court has again denied a request from a Republican lawmaker seeking to repeal the state’s gun ban.

Cost estimates for a pair of state-funded health care programs serving certain low-income noncitizens have declined by tens of millions of dollars in recent months as the state rolled out new copay and co-insurance requirements this week.

More than 300 statutes will become Illinois law in the new year. Here's what to know:

The bottom line from the five-year forecast from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget: The current fiscal year is now projected to end with a $1.4 billion surplus, while the upcoming fiscal year 2025 is projected to face an $891 million deficit.

Monday marked the kickoff for the 2024 election cycle, with hundreds of candidates filing their petitions at the Illinois State Board of Elections.