Stories by Ben Szalinski — Capitol News Illinois

State lawmakers approved new funding for public transportation agencies without large statewide tax increases previously proposed.

The once-every-two-year spectacle is the formal kickoff to campaign season, with candidates for state, federal and judicial offices filing hundreds to thousands of signatures to secure their place on the March 17 primary ballot.

The federal government has been without a budget since Oct.1, making virtually no progress in negotiations over health care issues causing the stalemate.

Illinois’ Republican primary for governor is growing expensive as the party's 2022 nominee works to rebuild his campaign fund while another candidate receives support from one of the state’s wealthiest Republican donors.

The summaries offer a glimpse into the billionaire governor’s finances, although the campaign did not disclose the total income of trusts benefiting his family. Pritzker does not take a salary from the state and placed his assets in a “blind” trust when he became governor.

Violent protests, legally questionable immigration raids and the deployment of National Guard troops without the governor’s approval will be at the forefront of state lawmakers’ minds when they return to Springfield on Tuesday.

Bailey began the campaign in downstate Carterville before taking a helicopter owned and piloted by his son to Bloomington, then departing for his opening rally in suburban Oak Brook later in the evening.

The recommendation bucks new and murky guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommend vaccines only for people ages 65 and older.

The latest order requires most state agencies to, within 30 days, “identify immediate spending reductions, including efficiencies that will result in reduced spending.”

The law requires Illinois media companies to provide the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, local county government, the company’s employees and any Illinois nonprofit that might be interested in buying the business with 120 days’ notice before the sale happens.

The former state senator and farmer from Clay County would become the highest-profile Republican to enter the race, having lost the 2022 campaign against Gov. JB Pritzker and a close primary race in 2024 against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost for a downstate congressional seat.

NASCAR will not be returning to Chicago streets next summer. But while the race leaves town for at least one year, the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget still contains several millions of dollars for NASCAR.

Illinois Republicans held their annual events around the Illinois State Fair on Thursday, with former Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy launching a U.S. Senate campaign and Ted Dabrowski announcing he will launch a campaign for governor in the coming weeks.

Democrats across the country are searching for a winning message in the 2026 elections, but Illinois Democrats say they’re already found one.

With U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Comptroller Susana Mendoza and others not seeking reelection in 2026, robust fields are growing in the Democratic primaries for the open seats. But on the Republican side, it’s a ghost town in primary races for statewide offices so far.

The latest domestic policy plan signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 will increase available funding by 12% for a key tax credit used by developers to offset a portion of construction costs.

A new law will make it easier for police to remove squatters who are illegally staying at a residence. Law enforcement, real estate and property owner organizations supported the bill.

Hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans could lose benefits from a federal food assistance program while the state will be required to cover more costs under changes passed in the latest domestic policy plan.

The law gives victims the right to file impact statements ahead of hearings, provides them with additional notice when their offender is granted early release, and allows them to seek an order of protection against an offender who is incarcerated.

The $55.1 billion spending plan set to take effect July 1 is the largest in state history and is supported by $55.3 billion in anticipated revenue, including more than $700 million in new taxes and more than $500 million in one-time revenues.

Lawmakers and labor unions have both expressed concern that benefits for Tier 2 employees are inadequate and that some workers in that category are in line to receive benefits out of compliance with federal law.

State lawmakers sent Gov. JB Pritzker a $55.2 billion budget on May 31 that raises $1 billion in new revenue and increases spending by more than $2 billion in fiscal year 2026 compared to the current year.

The ban was supposed to take effect on July 1, but lawmakers voted with strong bipartisan majorities Sunday morning to pass House Bill 742 to push the ban back until July 2026.

The $55.2 billion spending plan is supported by $55.3 billion of revenue, including just over $1 billion in new taxes and revenue changes. The four bills making up the budget and capital spending plan were part of a flurry of thousands of pages of legislation that went from introduction to passage in the final 48 hours of the legislative session.

The General Assembly has through May 31 to pass a budget with a simple majority vote before the threshold increases to a three-fifths vote on June 1.

Two hours in the state capital was enough for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to criticize Illinois’ immigration laws and its governor while invoking the 2023 murder of a local progressive activist.