A migrant shelter located at 2241 S. Halsted St. (WTTW News)

Closing the four shelters will allow the city to avoid paying $19 million to lease the facilities, staff them and provide food and laundry services, officials said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his state of the state and budget address before the General Assembly at the Illinois State Capitol, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / pool)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday unveiled a $52.7 billion budget that he described as filled with “hard choices.” The plan builds on priorities like funding preschool, supporting Black residents, funding the neediest schools and caring for asylum seekers.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pictured in a July 2023 file photo. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois)

If Illinois continues spending next fiscal year as it has been this year, the state will face an $891 million deficit. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to spell out exactly how he plans to address that on Wednesday, when he delivers an annual combined state of the state and budget address. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker addresses the news media. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)

That cost is on top of the $150 million already set aside in Chicago’s 2024 budget, the $100 million earmarked in Cook County’s budget to care for the migrants, and $160 million in state funds Pritzker agreed to spend to care for the migrants in mid-November, officials said.

Members of the Teamsters Local 916 union rally Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, outside of the Illinois Department of Transportation building in Springfield. (Alex Abbeduto / Capitol News Illinois)

Last week, eight local Teamsters unions representing about 3,800 transportation-related employees authorized strikes amid the ongoing negotiations. A strike can still be avoided despite the authorization votes.

A file image of construction on the Jane Byrne Interchange. (WTTW News)

The eight local unions that authorized strikes are spread throughout Illinois and represent around 3,800 employees, including drivers, highway maintainers and bridge tenders. Negotiations between the state and the unions have lasted more than seven months. 

The emotional debate was over a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Chicago became the largest city to pass such a resolution after Mayor Brandon Johnson cast a tie-breaking vote. 

Medical equipment. (WTTW News)

The Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors programs provide state-funded Medicaid-like benefits to individuals aged 42 and over who would otherwise be eligible for the federal low-income health care program if not for their immigration status. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at a news conference Feb. 1, 2024. (WTTW News)

“The City Council, if they’re going to talk about the challenge of war in the Middle East, you’ve got to make sure that you include all the perspectives,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “They did not do that.”

Alaina Harkness, the executive director of the water tech nonprofit Current, appears at a Chicago news conference on Jan. 30, 2024, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker. (Dilpreet Raju  / Capitol News Illinois)

The U.S. National Science Foundation awarded the grant to Current Innovation NFP, a nonprofit “innovation hub” whose mission is to “solve pressing water challenges caused by climate change and pollution.” 

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks to reporters and advocates at a news conference announcing a new unified portal for child behavioral health programs on Jan. 29, 2024. (Capitol News Illinois)
,

The Illinois Department of Human Services is partnering with Google to launch a new centralized portal for children’s mental health care, state officials announced Monday.

The city of Chicago’s landing zone for migrants at Desplaines and Polk streets on Jan. 3, 2024. (WTTW News)

Mayor Brandon Johnson did not lift the requirement that migrants leave city-run shelters in 60 days — instead, the nearly 14,200 men, women and children in city shelters will have longer to find more permanent housing.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at the Economic Club of Chicago on Jan. 25, 2024. (Treasury Department / X)

“The Biden administration has put in place the most extensive set of policies and investments to benefit the middle class and grow the economy that our country has seen in my lifetime,” Yellen said in a speech before the Economic Club of Chicago.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a meeting of the Chicago City Council. (WTTW News)

Mayor Brandon Johnson said state officials have not worked fast enough to help migrants move out of Chicago’s shelters into permanent homes, or fulfill promises to open 2,000 new shelter beds.

State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders, left, and Illinois State Board of Education Chair Stephen Isoye speak at the board’s regular meeting on Jan. 24, 2023. (Peter Hancock / Capitol News Illinois)

PreK-12 education spending currently makes up about one-fifth of the state’s entire General Revenue Fund budget. The proposed increase, if approved, would bring the state’s total GRF spending on public education to just over $11 billion.

A migrant shelter located at 2241 S. Halsted Street. (WTTW News)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday he’s “deeply concerned” that Chicago is not going to add bed space, as the flow of nearly 35,000 asylum seekers who’ve come to the city since August 2022 shows no signs of abating.