Illinois lawmakers in 2023 passed the ban on so-called assault weapons following a mass shooting the prior year at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more injured.

Illinois lawmakers passed the ban in 2023 following a mass shooting the prior year at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more injured.

Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority collectively expect to be $730 million short come 2026 and are seeking a lift from state government.

Illinois lawmakers passed the ban in 2023 following a mass shooting the prior year at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more injured.

Whenever there’s talk about how to curb gun violence, two words often come up: assault weapons. Illinois is one of 10 states — plus Washington, D.C. — with a so-called assault weapons ban on the books. WTTW News Explains what that ban does. 

“The reality of climate change can be debilitating, it’s hard to know where to even start,” said state Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D- Grayslake), who introduced the bill in the General Assembly. “But now anyone can help restore native habitat right in our own yards.”

Legislation that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law this month bans physical punishment in private schools while reiterating a prohibition on the practice in public schools implemented 30 years ago.

In the middle of his second term, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker hinted during a speech to party faithful Monday morning that he’s game to run again.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed multiple bills expanding reproductive rights in Illinois on Wednesday, including codifying a federal law that allows medical professionals to perform an abortion in response to a clinical emergency.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law Wednesday that forbids employers from disciplining or penalizing workers who don’t participate in meetings “if the meeting or communication is to communicate the opinion of the employer about religious matters or political matters.”

The law requires insurers that provide state-regulated health care plans to cover pregnancy and postpartum services for covered individuals, including midwife services, doula visits, and lactation consultants for up to 12 months after the end of a pregnancy.

New safety requirements for carbon dioxide pipelines as well as a temporary ban on their construction are now in effect after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that passed the General Assembly earlier this year.

The legislation puts new controls on the state’s health insurance industry, including bans on certain practices companies have used to reduce costs by controlling the amount of health care services a patient receives.

Tuesday marked the first of at least six planned hearings about overhauling Chicago-area public transit agencies, proposed as part of legislation filed in May. That plan also calls for $1.5 billion in additional funding.

Changes to primary election fundraising, the electoral college and the state’s voter registration database are now law after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a wide-ranging bill. The legislation, containing several unrelated election measures, passed near the end of the legislature’s spring session.

Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature.