The latest Illinois news coverage of state government to newspapers, broadcast outlets and other media throughout Illinois.

Jan 10, 2025 · Voters can choose from 10 designs for a new flag, the current flag, the 1918 centennial flag or 1968 sesquicentennial flag. Individuals can vote for one flag once every 24 hours and may select the same or a different flag each day.

Dec 20, 2024 · A report earlier this year by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shed some light on what those proposals could cost. The April analysis of a different bill found it would cost the state $5 billion in total through fiscal year 2045 to tie the salary cap to the Social Security wage base and improve the rate of the annual cost of living adjustment.

Dec 5, 2024 · CHICAGO — The state’s largest private water utility, Illinois American Water, will increase customer bills in the new year. The move comes after state regulators at the Illinois Commerce Commission approved the requested increase on Thursday.

Dec 23, 2024 · Time to study up, Illinois. When the clock hits midnight on New Year’s Day, 293 new state laws will take effect. Those include some of the defining bills of the 2024 legislative session and others that will change how people get IDs, evaluate job postings and even cancel gym memberships.

Feb 12, 2025 · “It appears to me that he sees an opportunity to capture the American imagination a bit,” Caliendo said in an interview. Another vocal Democratic voice, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, has been responding to wildfires near Los Angeles, which has forced him to tamp down on criticizing Trump to ensure federal disaster aid gets directed to his state, Caliendo said.

Feb 19, 2025 · By comparison, according to the governor’s office, Illinois public universities currently charge tuition and fees that are nearly three times higher than those of community colleges while private, not-for-profit universities charge rates that are more than six times higher.

Feb 14, 2025 · Revenue is set to remain relatively flat next year, in part because one-time sources are disappearing. Federal pandemic aid has ended, and the Department of Revenue underwent a “true-up” process to fix a miscalculation of “overpayments” to local governments, which ended up boosting current year revenues that won’t carry over to next year.

Feb 19, 2025 · View the budget book here | View the budget in brief here | Download a copy of the operating budget. The proposal is balanced, in part, because the governor’s budgeting office expects to collect about $1.5 billion more in base tax revenue than it did when it issued its first fiscal year 2026 forecast in November. The governor also proposed spending about $1.1 billion less than what was ...

Jan 8, 2025 · Pritzker on upcoming challenges. The 104 th General Assembly has a lengthy to-do list, ranging from eliminating a projected $3.2 billion budget deficit to reforming transit in the Chicago area.. In a news conference following inauguration, Gov. JB Pritzker spoke about the budget challenges he faces this spring ahead of his late February budget address.