Capitol News

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education is not telling schools to stop any diversity, equity and inclusion lessons or programs, the state’s education chief told a House committee this week, even as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from schools that don’t stop. State Superintendent Tony Sanders informed…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – A month into President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, Gov. JB Pritzker last week warned that the breakneck pace at which the Trump administration has been remaking federal policy could be a harbinger of something darker. “It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight…

Capitol News Illinois This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. Cleodious “J.R.” Schoffner Jr. sits in a visitor’s room at Lawrence Correctional Center, a small, cinderblock box with a guard posted outside the heavy metal door. His lanky, 6-foot frame is swallowed by baggy prison blues, and a faded lotus flower tattoo – inked…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed continuing funding for a program aimed at getting more minority teachers in classrooms as a conservative legal strategist challenges the programs constitutionality in federal court. In his proposed budget for the fiscal year of 2026, which begins July 1, Pritzker proposed $8 million to go…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — Lawmakers are considering legalizing a controversial medical practice that proponents say could ease suffering for the terminally ill. It’s sometimes called “assisted suicide,” although physicians and advocates for the practice prefer the term “medical aid in dying,” or MAID. While Compassion & Choices — a group that advocates for medical…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — The effects of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on allies and rivals are yet to be seen, but farmers in Illinois are bracing for their impact – even as they wait years for Congress to pass long-term federal spending legislation. Fourth-generation Illinois farmer Rick Nelson feels that uncertainty keenly. He…

Capitol News Illinois CHICAGO — State regulators on Thursday ordered Chicago’s natural gas utility, Peoples Gas, to abandon its approach to a long-beleaguered pipeline replacement program. Consumer advocates praised the decision, but the company said the decision could cost customers. Meanwhile, natural gas utilities in the suburbs and downstate are asking regulators to increase prices…

Capitol News Illinois With a deadline approaching for U.S. citizens to obtain Real IDs, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is urging Illinois residents to “Get Real.” Real ID is a federally-standardized identification card that requires stricter proof of identity to obtain than the regular state driver’s licenses or ID cards. All Drivers Services facilities…

Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Majority Party Democrats had mixed reactions to Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget address Wednesday, with leadership in the General Assembly offering praise amid criticisms from members of the legislature’s Black and Latino caucuses. The governor’s budget speech – which outlined a $2 billion spending increase without new taxes on everyday Illinoisans…

Capitol News Illinois Editor’s note: This story was updated to accurately reflect a quote attributed to Sen. Karina Villa. SPRINGFIELD — An improved revenue forecast is helping ease pressure on state finances as Gov. JB Pritzker calls for tightened spending to balance the budget without tax increases on everyday Illinoisans. During his annual state of…