Six years ago, Illinois became the second state in the nation to offer subsidies to farmers for planting cover crops in the fall, an effort to reverse its status as one of the worst states for agriculture runoff.

About 3.9 million Illinoisans are enrolled in Medicaid. Of that total, 44% of Medicaid recipients are children, 9% are seniors and 7% are adults with disabilities, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

The cuts could force the elimination of more than 100 staff positions, Chicago officials said. 

More than 175 years after their reservation in Illinois was illegally sold at auction, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is now in line to get their land back.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has rarely issued vetoes since he became governor in 2019 and has largely found himself on the same page with the Democratic supermajority in the legislature.

“More focus on learning will bring even greater success for kids across the state,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “Furthermore, cyberbullying has expanded at alarming rates, and it’s time for Illinois to take measures to protect our kids.”

A pharmacy benefit manager negotiates prices with wholesalers, sets reimbursement rates on drugs and compiles the lists of which medicines an insurer will cover. But critics describe the industry as focused on self-enrichment and in need of regulation.

After Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that he would reluctantly support the bill, he bore the brunt of that anger, including a protest at his office, calls from progressives that he be primaried in 2028 and suggestions that the Democratic Party would soon be looking for new leaders.

His remarks came just two days after the agency abruptly laid off 1,300 employees, or about half its workforce, including an estimated 50 workers in its Chicago regional office.

Illinois’ prison population continues to shrink, with facilities now having a 26% vacancy rate, leading some of those inside and their advocates to question the state’s plan to build two new prisons.

Some of Illinois’ largest school districts already have adopted their own limits on cellphones in their classrooms, including Springfield, Peoria and Champaign.

Cuts to Medicaid would especially impact the most vulnerable in communities, such as low-income individuals and people with disabilities, according to state Democratic congressional members.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s recently unveiled 2026 budget proposal includes a controversial cut. It proposes to get rid of two programs that allow immigrants without legal status to receive healthcare coverage.

The report found more than 6,000 people enrolled in the state-funded programs were classified as “undocumented” despite actually having social security numbers. Some of those people were green card holders who would have instead qualified for health coverage like Medicaid or traditional insurance.

“We started this program with a simple premise: In a healthy and functioning society, no one should fall into financial ruin simply because they got sick,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during a news conference announcing the latest round of medical debt relief.

Illinois is giving municipalities the ability to reinstitute the 1% grocery tax locally starting in January, when the state one disappears. Municipalities are now asking the state to give them more taxing authority.