Legal experts say the newly enacted Clean Slate Act may help reduce gaps in record-clearing, and federal marijuana reclassification could spur broader reforms across the country.

A federal judge has upheld a first-of-its-kind Illinois law that protects consumers and retailers from paying so-called credit card “swipe fees” on taxes and tips.

State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) has sponsored a new pilot program that would allow companies like Waymo to service Cook, Sangamon and Madison counties with autonomous vehicles over a three-year period. 

Drivers currently lack the right to unionize under federal labor law because they are classified as independent contractors. The proposal would not change that classification but would give rideshare drivers the right to unionize in Illinois despite their contractor status.

Illinois will begin a process to automatically seal criminal records for millions of adults in the state, after Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Clean Slate Act on Friday.

Both Gov. JB Pritzker and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, say the changes — if ultimately deemed necessary — would be narrow despite Republicans’ desire to see the law drastically overhauled.

Illinois lawmakers are back in Springfield for the spring legislative session. They’re facing some tough realities: a budget gap in the billions, growing pressure to deliver affordability relief, and a widening financial rift with Washington, D.C.

The bill will fund battery storage, grant greater authority to state utility regulators, create new options for “virtual power plants” and lift a longtime ban on new large-scale nuclear power plants.

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.

Gov. JB Pritzker and Democrats who control the state legislature have mostly shied away from renewing their graduated income tax push — all while managing to balance the books under the existing tax structure, largely thanks to a strong economy and federal aid in the years after the pandemic.

Illinois lawmakers responded to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrant communities with new legal protections for students and guidelines for schools that will take effect Jan. 1. Lawmakers also focused on the use of AI in education.

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

Leo said he had spoken “explicitly” with Gov. JB Pritzker and urged him to not sign the bill into law. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich did the same, Leo told reporters as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

A new report by state regulators projects energy shortfalls will begin in northern Illinois by 2029 and the rest of the state by 2031 if lawmakers and grid operators don’t act.

Supporters of the measure say it gives those who are already dying a peaceful way to go. Opponents argue the law would worsen health care disparities.

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.