Stories by Ben Szalinski — Capitol News Illinois

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has represented the 8th Congressional District since 2017. He was born in India and grew up in Peoria. He earned a law degree from Harvard and has worked in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and led a small tech company in the Chicago suburbs.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a resident of south suburban Matteson, has represented Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and recently served a short stint as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s upward revision to its revenue forecast remains significantly more conservative than what Gov. JB Pritzker’s office projected when he proposed a budget in February.

Nine Illinois police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024 were honored at a ceremony in Springfield.

With no other Democratic candidates announcing campaigns for the 2026 primary by Monday morning, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton secured the endorsement of two of the state’s top Democrats before fielding any competition.

Standing on his backyard deck Thursday – the same place where he declared his 1996 candidacy for U.S. Senate – Illinois’ senior Sen. Dick Durbin reflected on his decision to retire after four decades in Congress.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made supporting LGBTQ rights a regular part of his platform as governor, including speaking at dinner events for the HRC and Equality Illinois in recent months. He’s set to speak to the New Hampshire Democratic Party on Sunday – one of the first Democratic presidential primary states.

Many public defender offices in Illinois, especially in rural areas, are in desperate need of resources to provide adequate defense services.

In a rare rebuke of a Democrat-sponsored bill, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voted against House Bill 3332, causing the bill to fail on a 49-51 vote. Bills require 60 votes to pass the House, and numerous Democrats voted against the bill or skipped the vote.

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, along with a group of individual voters, asked the court to reject the current legislative map for its partisan bias and lack of compactness. House Republicans wanted the court to appoint a special master redraw the districts.

Mexico was Illinois’ second-largest export market in 2024 with $32 billion worth of goods being sent to the country. Another $19 billion worth of Mexican goods came to Illinois that year, making the country Illinois’ third-largest import market.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has rarely issued vetoes since he became governor in 2019 and has largely found himself on the same page with the Democratic supermajority in the legislature.

Chicago police executed a search warrant at the wrong address more than six years ago that left social worker Anjanette Young handcuffed and naked in her home as she was getting ready for bed.

Some of Illinois’ largest school districts already have adopted their own limits on cellphones in their classrooms, including Springfield, Peoria and Champaign.

The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program uses federal funding to buy fresh products from farmers at a fair market value, then distributes the food to communities via food pantries and other similar programs designed to help people in need for no additional cost.

Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace, along with the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees some aspects of the Chicago area’s transit systems, collectively face a $771 million funding shortfall in 2026 as federal pandemic dollars run out.

State Superintendent Tony Sanders acknowledged that roughly 10% of funding for Illinois school districts could be at risk if the federal government ceases funding. ISBE receives billions annually from the federal government.

The bill comes after the Illinois Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings last year. The court ruled in September that the smell of burnt cannabis did not give police probable cause to search a vehicle, but three months later ruled the smell of raw cannabis was probable cause for a search.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker will present his seventh budget proposal Wednesday as the state faces a projected $3.2 billion revenue shortfall for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.

Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter Daniela were shot and killed on Fourth of July weekend in 2023 at their Chicago home, allegedly by her husband. After more than a year of negotiations, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill in her honor that is designed to remove guns from domestic violence situations.

Lawmakers passed the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act last spring as part of the legislative package that enacted the state budget. It’s the first of its kind in the country and prohibits credit debit and card companies from charging fees on the tax and tip portions of credit and debit card transactions beginning July 1.

Kin-first foster systems decrease the risk of abuse and create a higher chance of achieving permanent placement for kids, according to Casey Family Programs, the nation’s largest foundation focused on foster care.

President Donald Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on key United States trading partners could affect more than $100 billion worth of goods imported to Illinois from Canada, Mexico and China. The countries were Illinois’ top trading partners in 2023.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed a long-awaited bill to stop Illinois organizations from paying less than the minimum wage to workers with disabilities.

As a new General Assembly begins, it remains unclear how lawmakers and the governor plan to plug the projected deficit. Republicans’ main concern is Democrats will resort to tax increases to boost revenue and avoid spending cuts.

The Kindship in Demand Act, or KIND Act, puts an obligation on the Department of Children and Family Services to use a “kin-first approach” when placing children in foster care settings.