Illinois lawmakers passed legislation in 2018 to allow the commercial production of hemp, the same year Congress legalized hemp nationwide through the 2018 Farm Bill.

The investment could reach tens of millions of dollars, IBM President and CEO Arvind Krishna said, and comes with an initial commitment of 50 permanent jobs that he expects will be paired with fellowships, internships and partnerships with other local firms.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker frustrated several of his counterparts by trying to get them to sign on to a group he started postelection to push back on Trump, but only Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed on as a co-chair. Pritzker has his staff exploring ideas such as blocking GPS tracking on apps for women who may be traveling to the state to get abortions. 

The Illinois Flag Commission chose the 10 finalists from nearly 5,000 submissions in a contest that closed in October. The fate of Illinois’ official banner will ultimately be up to lawmakers and the governor.

After an extraordinarily short day of trial Monday, jurors may only remember one detail: those high up in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2018 campaign had nicknamed then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan “Sphinx.”

Pritzker announced plans in 2023 to establish a new agency that would consolidate under one roof a host of state programs currently scattered across several other agencies that serve the needs of families with infants and toddlers. Those include oversight and funding of preschools, childcare centers, home visiting and early intervention programs.

The first professions to be licensed under the new system are clinical psychologists, music therapists and nail technicians.

Despite the attorney general’s declaration that Illinois schools should stop using police to discipline students, officers statewide continue to ticket kids with costly fines. One lawmaker will again pursue legislation to end the practice.

Employees from 13 different state agencies are involved in the fraud and have illegally taken these federal public funds, according to the OEIG, which is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct within state government. As of April, more than 60% of those implicated to date worked for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which operates mental health hospitals and developmental centers across the state.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of six organizations and six individuals against Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Department of Insurance Director Ann Gillespie and Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

That growth in chargers is important as Illinois aims to rapidly transition toward having more electric vehicle drivers. As of last week, there were about 120,000 EVs on Illinois roads, while the state’s goal is to have 1 million on the road by 2030.

State Sen. John Curran at a press conference Tuesday called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pledge not to raise taxes, either on individuals or businesses.

An Illinois judge on Friday issued a permanent injunction against the state’s so-called assault weapons ban, calling it an “unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a news conference on Thursday signaled that Democratic leaders are discussing what, if any, actions the state may take to gird itself against the future Trump administration.

With Vice President Kamala Harris conceding the race for the White House, Illinois Democrats who’d served as surrogates for her on the campaign trail weighed in for the first time on her loss.

An estimated 60.3% of voters said “yes” to theoretically adding a 3% tax to incomes over $1 million, with the funds going to reduce property taxes. It was one of three non-binding questions on the ballot statewide, meaning it’s akin to a poll with the results triggering no change in law.