Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs the Feminine Hygiene Products for the Homeless Act on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. (WTTW News via Governor’s Office)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Thursday that makes feminine hygiene products available for free at homeless shelters and at public universities and community colleges throughout Illinois. 

The Thompson Center’s glass facade wouldn’t pass muster today under a new law requiring bird-friendly design for state buildings. (WTTW News)
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Nearly 600 million birds are killed annually in North America due to collisions with buildings. A new Illinois law mandates bird-friendly design for state buildings.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 2, 2021 signed new legislation expanding background checks on all gun sales in the state starting in 2024. (Pool photo)
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed new legislation expanding background checks on all gun sales in the state starting in 2024, a step he touted as “commonsense” and with bipartisan support.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs a bill repealing an HIV criminalization law on July 27, 2021. (WTTW News via Governor’s Office)
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People with HIV can no longer be criminally prosecuted for exposing someone else to the virus without their knowledge. Advocates say the law discouraged testing and treatment for HIV — and the repeal is long overdue.

Workers put the finishing touches on the Sunnyside dispensary in Lakeview on Dec. 30, 2019, just two days before recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois. (WTTW News)

When recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois, Gov. J. B. Pritzker’s stated goal was to use the burgeoning industry to reverse the harm done to Black and brown communities during the war on drugs. But those profiting from pot sales are nearly all white men.

Supporters of an elected school board demonstrate in April 2019. (WTTW News)
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It’s official: The Chicago Board of Education will transition from being an appointed body to an elected one — over the objections of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

In this file photo, houses sit behind metal fencing on a tree-lined street in Chicago. (WTTW News)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Thursday that creates new resources and incentives to finance affordable housing across the state and helps low-income residents access assistance for heat and other utilities.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs into law two new bills advancing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Illinois on July 27, 2021. (WTTW News via Governor’s Office)
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For transgender and gender non-conforming people, the process of changing your name and getting documents to reflect those changes can be a burden. How two new laws in Illinois aim to ease that process.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, repealed a law criminalizing HIV. (Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed into law a legislation package that aims to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals by, among other provisions, expanding infertility health care coverage for same-sex couples and repealing an HIV criminalization law.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker talks about House Bill 0135 at a signing ceremony on Thursday, July 22, 2021. (WTTW News via Governor’s Office)
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“Access to birth control should never be determined by economic status, education or ZIP code. Birth control is a basic health care service. It should be treated as such and readily available for all,” said state Sen. Melinda Bush, a co-sponsor of the bill. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law before signing into law new criminal justice legislation on Thursday, July 15, 2021. (WTTW News via Governor’s Office)
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Working to reverse a notion that Chicago and Illinois have become false confession capitals in the U.S., Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Thursday that prohibits the use of deceptive tactics by law enforcement officers when interrogating juveniles.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Prtizker signed the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act on Friday, July 9, requiring public K-12 schools to teach Asian American history. (Pool via CNN)
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In the midst of a right-wing attack on creating a more inclusive education in the U.S., Illinois just became the first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools.

The Loyola Ramblers get ready for their Sweet 16 matchup in March 2018. (WTTW News)
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 A new state law allows Illinois college athletes to play ball with – and make bank from – businesses, by entering into endorsement deals and doing commercials. 

(WTTW News)
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Major changes to Illinois’ criminal justice system that passed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder will begin to take effect Thursday, including a requirement that officers track and report to the state incidents in which they use a gun on someone. Here’s what else is changing.

Stateville Correctional Center (WTTW News)

In the U.S., many people view incarceration as the punishment one receives for breaking the law. But a recently released study indicates that for the more than 3.3 million people with criminal records in Illinois, punishment continues well beyond time served.

The law currently makes it illegal for people living with HIV to have unprotected sex without disclosing their status to sexual partners. (WTTW News)
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A bill awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature would repeal the state’s so-called HIV criminal transmission statute, which makes it illegal for people living with HIV to have unprotected sex without disclosing their status to sexual partners.