The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday passed an approximately $10 billion budget after hours of contentious debate, a lengthy recess, sharp questions over revenue assumptions and a last-minute amendment.

Until recently, these state programs were split across three state agencies and the governor’s office. But since July 1, they’ve all been brought under the umbrella of the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). 

Students in all Illinois public schools will soon have to abide by rules barring them from using cellphones or other personal electronic communication devices during school hours unless they have been given specific permission to use them.

A new Illinois law classifies compulsive gambling under the same umbrella as alcohol and drug disorders.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed 78 bills last week, including two affecting teachers.

State Rep. Carol Ammons is charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, making false statements and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, is also accused of aiding in attempts to cover up the alleged crimes.

Rep. Carol Ammons was charged Wednesday with 10 felonies for her role in a scheme prosecutors say was designed to enrich herself and her daughter using campaign funds and state grants.

One House Democrat was indicted this week and another resigned amid an ethics investigation last week. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch kicked both members out of caucus and stripped them of leadership positions.

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch stopped short of calling on Ammons to resign from her seat but said he is temporarily removing her from “any and all House Democratic Caucus meetings, from all House committees, and from accessing Speaker's Office staff and resources.”

The legislation is based on similar bills from California and New York. Lawmakers estimate that the three states account for roughly 40% of the U.S. AI market, thus effectively establishing a de facto national standard in lieu of federal regulations.

A wide-ranging new state law on hemp and other cannabis regulations was “long overdue,” Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday at an event in Chicago to celebrate the new law he signed last month.

House speaker’s demand of fellow Democrat comes after months of silence over sexual harassment allegations.

This bill would expand on prior laws and court rulings that have increasingly required judges to take defendants’ youth into account.

July 1 marks a second New Year’s Day in Illinois as a new budget takes effect along with more than a dozen new state laws.

“(The Bears) haven’t said, ‘OK, we’re done. We don’t want to talk anymore, we don’t want to hear from you, we are moving to Indiana,’” state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) said. “There’s at least one site we know they’re very interested in, in Illinois, and that’s Arlington Heights.”

The bill is designed to protect abortion-seekers in Illinois from potential retaliation by shielding their digital medical records from out-of-state entities.