The first-of-its-kind audit by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg of the city’s workers compensation system found “major improvement” in the system that paid $73.5 million to resolve approximately 3,700 claims in 2022.

Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ gift to the pope was on brand. He delivered the pontiff a certificate to reclaim $8.65 of his own money, a sum the successor of St. Peter had held in a now-closed PayPal account.

“I believe government should answer to the people it serves, not political insiders or special interests,” Mendoza said in a video announcing her campaign. “Because Chicagoans are tired of paying more and getting less, tired of politics that divides people without solving problems.”

State Republican leaders criticized the General Assembly session schedule and new taxes in this year’s budget. But they saw progress in their overall inclusion in budget talks, and also advanced several pieces of bipartisan legislation.

The $56 billion spending plan awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature explicitly prohibits the City Council from imposing a version of the tax that would send new revenue into the city’s cash-strapped coffers.

It was well past 4 a.m. Monday when the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned for the summer. The budget had been balanced, and a flurry of bills were sent to the governor’s desk. But a busy finish to the spring session left some of the biggest decisions until the very end.

The pontiff reiterates throughout “Magnifica Humanitas” that it is the church’s responsibility to engage contemporary questions and challenges.

Mayor Brandon Johnson took a victory lap Monday, hours after the General Assembly passed a $56 billion budget that authorizes the Chicago City Council to impose a tax on digital advertisements seen by Chicagoans.

The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly tested with such back-and-forth attacks, even as officials from both countries try to negotiate an end to the war.

Hours after Illinois lawmakers failed to approve a stadium incentives structure aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged that the “pride and joy of Illinois” may take a deal to build a football palace in Indiana.

While a number of high-profile bills failed to garner enough support during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, the designation of an official state bee sailed through both the House and Senate.

House Bill 5090 would regulate how rideshare drivers can form a union, elect union representatives and engage in union activities such as collective bargaining.

The budget totals $55.9 billion, supported by a similar amount of revenue. The spending plan included an $830 million supplemental current-year spending plan, meaning the upcoming fiscal year 2027 budget is essentially flat.

Despite a Hail Mary heave from the Illinois Senate in the final hours of the spring legislative session, state lawmakers ultimately failed to reach the end zone on a bill incentivizing the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium in Illinois.

Illinois could soon reform the state’s regulations on delinquent property tax sales after the House approved a bill 80-35 along party lines Saturday evening that lets homeowners keep their equity.

The ethics board in Chicago published a list of 71 employees and officeholders who missed the annual filing deadline. Ald. Stephanie Coleman has filed after the statutory deadline every year since 2021, records show.