Stories by amanda vinicky

Republicans were in control of state government in 1995, when a change in Illinois law gave the mayor of Chicago the authority to appoint board members to run the city’s school district. Fast forward to 2021, and Republicans continue to favor that setup.

Illinois Democrats used their supermajorities in the General Assembly to full advantage this weekend as their spring session reeled toward an end, pushing through a progressive agenda, a $42 billion budget with no tax or fee hikes on individuals, and legislative maps.

With just one day remaining before they’re scheduled to adjourn until fall, Illinois legislators have a heaping set of issues left to tackle: a state budget, ethics reform, a follow-up to the major criminal justice overhaul signed into law in February, and legislation to fix issues with Illinois’ gun licensing system.

All legal gun owners would need to be fingerprinted under legislation that narrowly passed the Illinois House on Saturday – a practice that gun rights advocates say will prevent violence, but which critics say is an example of excessive government overreach.

Illinois legislators voted along partisan lines Friday in response to another set of political lines: the boundaries of districts for the legislature, state Supreme Court and the Cook County Board of Review.

With just days left before the General Assembly’s scheduled adjournment on May 31, a lot of legislation is moving in Springfield. But only one constitutional amendment has gained traction.

It’s a once-in-a-decade fight: We take a look at the proposed new maps of political power and get reaction from Republicans and a coalition of community groups.

The Latino Policy Forum’s Roberto Valdez Jr. said that his group is counting on Illinois lawmakers to set aside at least 20 state legislative districts – 15 House seats and five state Senate seats – that are at least 50% Latino.

It’s time for Illinois legislators to get down to the business of drawing new sets of maps that will decide the boundaries for state legislative and congressional districts. It’s a seemingly arcane task, but one with big consequences. 

With roughly a month before they plan to complete the weighty task of drawing new maps that will determine the lines of political power for the next decade, Illinois Democrats say they have not determined what data they’ll use. We speak with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle about that and more.

Last August, Gov. J.B. Pritzker released an eight-point plan that boldly declared “we will become the best state in the country for electric vehicle producers and consumers,” including by increasing the adoption of electric vehicles in the state to 750,000 by 2030.