Not only did the Chicago Bears and White Sox fail to win state funding for new stadiums before the General Assembly’s session ended last week, the teams shouldn’t expect to notch a legislative win later this year.

Despite holding 78 seats in the chamber, it took Democrats three tries to reach the 60 votes needed to approve more than $1.1 billion in revenue increases, including a tax hike on sportsbooks and businesses, to balance the $53.1 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2025.

The fiscal year 2025 spending plan, which came together over a stretch of late nights and closed-door dealmaking, spends $400 million more than what Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed in his February budget address.

Illinois legislators this week approved a bill to restructure an oversight board in charge of distributing state money to courts that provide prison alternatives, while other criminal justice measures introduced throughout the session remain stalled.

The bill would ban the practice of holding wildlife contests that reward participants with cash, prizes or inducements for killing fur-bearing animals. Much of the floor debate centered on contests that award the killing of coyotes as a method of population control.

The bill would authorize the state to hand over what is now Shabbona Lake and State Park to the tribe for $1. It also allows the tribe and the Department of Natural Resources to enter into a land management agreement under which the land would remain open to the public for recreational use for an unspecified period.

Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. 

The law expands the number of health practitioners who can provide certain types of abortions; requires Illinois public entities to cover abortion, gender-affirming and HIV-prevention drugs as part of health insurance; and establishes legal criteria for ensuring parental autonomy in reproductive technology.

The Illinois legislature was busy in 2022, enacting hundreds of new laws, many of which will take effect on Sunday.

Illinois lawmakers are pressing forward with an attempt to ban certain firearms they describe as assault weapons, but gun rights advocates say it’s a fruitless effort that will be tossed by the courts.

Last week, state Rep. Morgan, D-Deerfield, introduced a wide-ranging gun control bill that would prevent the future sale of what the measure describes as “assault weapons,” as well as large-capacity magazines and devices that can switch other firearms into machine-gun style guns.

Two Illinois Democrats on their way to Washington tell us how they plan to work with a Trump administration.

Illinois is about to enter a staggering second year without an agreed-upon state budget. We talk with lawmakers about what happens next.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner blasts Democrats for failing to pass a budget before the end of the spring legislative session. Where does Illinois go from here?

Are lawmakers any closer to a budget agreement? We speak with two legislators about the progress in Springfield.

State lawmakers return to Springfield this week to vote on a number of measures, but not on the agenda is the No. 1 topic of discussion—the state budget that should have gone into effect last year.