Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will give the Illinois Department of Insurance authority to review and approve rate changes for homeowners and automobile policies.

The state sales tax will be reduced from 6.25% to 1.25% from Aug. 7-16, 2026, and local sales taxes will still apply. School supplies, as well as clothing and shoes under $125, are eligible for the lower tax rate.

Most Illinois retailers will be required to accept cash payments beginning in 2028 under a bill Gov. JB Pritzker signed on Friday.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed sweeping regulations Friday aimed at social media companies and cracking down on “addictive algorithms” that keep kids glued to their screens.

It remains unclear where the additional funds would come from. The $55.9 billion spending plan Pritzker signed into law in June, which relies on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax hikes to bring it into balance, leaves little wiggle room.

The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday passed an approximately $10 billion budget after hours of contentious debate, a lengthy recess, sharp questions over revenue assumptions and a last-minute amendment.

Until recently, these state programs were split across three state agencies and the governor’s office. But since July 1, they’ve all been brought under the umbrella of the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). 

The $70 million program can support up to 175,000 Illinoisans who lost or received reduced SNAP benefits due to changes in eligibility. No paperwork or application is required; the one-time benefits are issued automatically.

Students in all Illinois public schools will soon have to abide by rules barring them from using cellphones or other personal electronic communication devices during school hours unless they have been given specific permission to use them.

A new Illinois law classifies compulsive gambling under the same umbrella as alcohol and drug disorders.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed 78 bills last week, including two affecting teachers.

After Illinois lifted its moratorium on construction of new nuclear power plants, Gov. JB Pritzker instructed state agencies to find out which communities would be interested in hosting new nuclear sites.

Emmett Till was a Black teenager from Chicago who was abducted, tortured and killed in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a White woman in Mississippi. Till was 14 years old. Following Till’s murder, his mother insisted on an open casket funeral to show his mutilated body.

The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are “consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”

One bill increases the state’s eligibility for access to federal energy assistance funds to 300% of the federal poverty level. The second bill requires the state to publish a report detailing all the charges on an energy bill, what laws or agencies mandate them, and what programs or services they support.

The legislation is based on similar bills from California and New York. Lawmakers estimate that the three states account for roughly 40% of the U.S. AI market, thus effectively establishing a de facto national standard in lieu of federal regulations.