State Republican leaders criticized the General Assembly session schedule and new taxes in this year’s budget. But they saw progress in their overall inclusion in budget talks, and also advanced several pieces of bipartisan legislation.

The $56 billion spending plan awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature explicitly prohibits the City Council from imposing a version of the tax that would send new revenue into the city’s cash-strapped coffers.

It was well past 4 a.m. Monday when the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned for the summer. The budget had been balanced, and a flurry of bills were sent to the governor’s desk. But a busy finish to the spring session left some of the biggest decisions until the very end.

Gov. JB Pritzker says he intends to sign legislation imposing a statewide ban on cellphones and other wireless communication devices during instructional time in public schools and charter schools.

Mayor Brandon Johnson took a victory lap Monday, hours after the General Assembly passed a $56 billion budget that authorizes the Chicago City Council to impose a tax on digital advertisements seen by Chicagoans.

Hours after Illinois lawmakers failed to approve a stadium incentives structure aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged that the “pride and joy of Illinois” may take a deal to build a football palace in Indiana.

While a number of high-profile bills failed to garner enough support during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, the designation of an official state bee sailed through both the House and Senate.

House Bill 5090 would regulate how rideshare drivers can form a union, elect union representatives and engage in union activities such as collective bargaining.

The budget totals $55.9 billion, supported by a similar amount of revenue. The spending plan included an $830 million supplemental current-year spending plan, meaning the upcoming fiscal year 2027 budget is essentially flat.

Despite a Hail Mary heave from the Illinois Senate in the final hours of the spring legislative session, state lawmakers ultimately failed to reach the end zone on a bill incentivizing the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium in Illinois.

Illinois could soon reform the state’s regulations on delinquent property tax sales after the House approved a bill 80-35 along party lines Saturday evening that lets homeowners keep their equity.

According to a report earlier this year from the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that advocates for and researches abortion access, nearly a quarter of all people seeking an abortion outside the state where they live came to Illinois.

Senate Bill 3336 would establish regulations on “micromobility” transportation such as e-bikes and e-scooters that include age requirements, speed limits and rules on where they can be operated.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin spoke at a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate on Wednesday, where he was warmly received by fellow Democratic lawmakers who celebrated his lengthy career and repeatedly lauded his accomplishments.

A federal tax-credit scholarship program created last summer under the “Big Beautiful Bill” could send millions to Illinois students, if Gov. JB Pritzker or the Illinois General Assembly decides to opt in.

Illinois grows more soybeans than any other state, harvesting more than 639 million bushels in 2025. But almost none of those millions of bushels end up as food on Illinois plates. According to the Illinois Soybean Association, 60% of soybeans grown in the state are exported.