House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Chief of Staff has informed members they will be returning to Springfield for a lame duck session January 8th.

Incoming Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) is shaking up Senate Republican staff with a longtime Senate GOP fixture.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the calm, bilingual, scientific force behind the state’s COVID-19 response, has been named the first Illinoisan of the Year by The Illinoize.

A downstate lawmaker says Governor Pritzker has the authority to expand the University of Illinois-developed rapid saliva test for COVID-19, but the administration has yet to make the test more widely available.

One could argue Champaign County is doing everything right during the COVID-19 era. And at least two lawmakers from the Champaign-Urbana area say the state should be rewarding businesses and restaurants with decreased mitigations.

“The Governor is not limited to one disaster declaration.”

Social service agencies from around the state are asking Governor JB Pritzker not to include cuts to human services in his proposed list of state budget spending reductions.

When Governor JB Pritzker proposed a round of cuts totaling a potential $711 million dollars Tuesday, he was quick to blame Republicans for the actions. Republicans, who are a super minority in both the House and Senate, all voted against the Democrat budget which was panned by many as being $5 billion out of balance.

Governor JB Pritzker’s administration and a downstate Congressman are sniping over the Illinois unemployment insurance program, fraud, delays, and backlogs.

Three of the regions in the Governor’s “Restore Illinois” plan have met the criteria laid out to start stepping back from current Tier 3 mitigations, but Governor JB Pritzker says the regions won’t be allowed to open restaurants and bars to indoor seating until at least after the holidays.

Some lawmakers expressed frustration over what they called “dodging” answers and a lack of accountability during a hearing Wednesday on the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.

When Governor JB Pritzker proposed a round of cuts totaling a potential $711 million dollars Tuesday, he was quick to blame Republicans for the actions. Republicans, who are a super minority in both the House and Senate, all voted against the Democrat budget which was panned by many as being $5 billion out of balance.

Governor JB Pritzker says he plans to enact around $700 million in budget cuts under his control, but its unclear if public employees are going to work with him on some of the cuts he wants to make.

State Representative John Cabello (R-Machesney Park) lost his seat to Rockford Democrat Dave Vella by 239 votes in the November election. Cabello’s first step to challenge the outcome of the race is underway.

A new state report shows the state’s unfunded pension liability has grown by over $100 billion in the past 15 years and will only grow without reform.

A special investigative committee formed to probe House Speaker Michael Madigan’s role in a Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme adjourned for good Monday without issuing a single subpoena and drawing sharp criticisms from Republicans for covering up for the scrutinized Speaker.

Governor JB Pritzker Friday argued no comparisons should be made between a 2015 Legionnaires outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home that killed 15 veterans and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home that killed a 33rd resident this week.

The deaths of 32 residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home from a COVID-19 outbreak has raised the ire of one of the state’s top advocacy groups for veterans.