Stories by Ben Szalinski — Capitol News Illinois

Bears president Kevin Warren claimed in a letter to fans last month that the team, which Forbes valued at $8.2 billion, was “told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026.” Welch did not dispute the claim.

Nearly 300 new Illinois laws will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Advocates said the measure and a new Chicago-area leadership board created by it will reimagine the role public transportation plays in the state’s economy and people’s lives.

The three top Democrats vying to become the party’s nominee for U.S. senator in Illinois have released proposals detailing how they plan to make life more affordable for Americans.

Staff at the elections board fined Don Harmon’s campaign $9.8 million earlier this year following a Chicago Tribune report that it improperly accepted $4 million more than was allowed during the 2024 election.

While Senate Bill 2111 was widely covered for the $1.5 billion it drives to transit throughout Illinois and its governance reforms in the Chicago region, the more than 1,000-page bill outlines a new approach to public transportation.

The RTA held a special meeting to approve new funding projections for 2026 through 2028 based on revenue estimates from new funding sources for public transportation. Those were approved by the General Assembly last week, which Gov. JB Pritzker said he will sign.

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.