The bill comes on the heels of recent pro-Palestinian protests that blocked traffic on I-190 near Chicago O’Hare International Airport, causing many travelers to pull their luggage along the freeway to catch their flights.
General Assembly
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initiative targets many of the “utilization management” practices insurance companies use to hold down costs by either denying claims or steering patients toward lower-cost options.
With a month and a half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system.
An increased moratorium on closing Chicago Public Schools – including charters – easily passed the state House heads to the Senate over the objections of the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointees to the city’s school board.
The Illinois Food Safety Act passed on a 37-15 bipartisan vote and will head to the state House for consideration. The banned chemicals are used in a wide variety of food products.
The recent surge of migrants arriving in Illinois has brought with it a host of new challenges for state and local officials. Advocates say the state has not done enough to address educating the children of those coming across the border.
“These policies support those communities most impacted by the gun violence crisis,” Yolanda Androzzo, One Aim Illinois program director, said at a rally. “It’s an opportunity to ensure protection and justice for survivors of gun violence.”
The measure would put a moratorium on the closure of selective enrollment schools and prevent CPS from altering its standards for admission to those schools until 2027 when a fully elected school board in Chicago is in place.
Illinois Lawmakers, Cannabis Industry Call for Ban on ‘Delta-8’ and Other Psychoactive Hemp Products
New legislation filed in Springfield revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other hemp-derived products, which are totally unregulated in Illinois even as the state approaches the five-year anniversary of legalizing cannabis.
A bill moving through the Illinois legislature to allow certain terminally ill patients to end their own lives with a doctor’s help had made progress. Vermont and Oregon permit any qualifying American to travel to their state for the practice.
Illinois is the only state that grants residents the right to sue over businesses’ improper collection and mishandling of biometric data — whether they are an employee or a customer. Business groups have been clamoring for changes as upwards of 2,000 lawsuits have been filed under the law since roughly 2018.
The announcement came in the middle of a legislative session in which Gov. J.B. Pritzker is proposing sweeping changes in state regulation of the health insurance industry.
The $3.6 billion Red Line Extension project will carry the Red Line 5.6 miles south from its current terminus at 95th Street down to 130th Street. Nearly $2 billion in funding is slated to come from the federal government.
Illinois Beach State Park in Zion on the state’s northern border contains about 10% of Illinois’ Lake Michigan shoreline, with 6.5 miles. But the undeveloped shoreline can erode up to 100 feet per year.
One bill would require facilities that store electric vehicle batteries to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency by 2026. The state’s Pollution Control Board would set the regulations for the proper storage of EV batteries.
At least two sitting members of the Illinois state legislature – including the longest-serving member of the General Assembly – won’t be returning to Springfield next year after losing their primary races Tuesday.
