Despite mounting budget pressure, graduated income tax remains political longshot
Gov. JB Pritzker backs the idea in principle but says it’s not a 2026 priority.
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Illinois political leaders react to U.S. capture of Venezuela’s president
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that the U.S. “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro,” and that U.S. law enforcement assisted in the operation.
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US strikes Venezuela, captures Maduro and his wife
The United States has launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. President Donald Trump announced the operation on social media early Saturday.
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Lawsuits challenge Trump administration’s termination of grants for Illinois schools
If an injunction is not granted, dozens of schools across the state will lose access to extra support like after-school programs, food pantries and mental health services in January.
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New laws: Illinois education measures focus on immigrant rights, AI in the classroom
Measures that provide legal protections for students, guidelines for schools take effect Jan. 1
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Staunton restaurant owner headed for deportation
Business owner and father Ismael Ayuzo Sandoval is preparing for his deportation to Mexico — a country he left decades ago and where his attorney said he is afraid to return because of cartel violence, citing, in part, his cousin’s murder at the hands of drug traffickers.
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New laws: Illinois expands job-protected leave for parents with newborns in NICU
Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 2978, dubbed the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act, earlier this year and it takes effect Jan. 1. It requires employers of between 16 and 50 workers to provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave to employees who have a child in the NICU.
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New laws: Illinois’ grocery tax to end, aquifer protections begin
Nearly 300 Illinois laws will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
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Department of Justice sues Pritzker, Raoul over law barring federal immigration actions at courthouses
The law, signed by Pritzker this month, bars immigration enforcement from courthouses and opens the door for easier legal action against federal agents over alleged civil rights infractions.
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Lawmakers, reform advocates call for more oversight of prison health care
On Dec. 10, the Sun-Times published a monthslong investigation examining Centurion Health, one of the nation’s largest correctional medicine companies, which was recently hired by Illinois officials despite having a record of providing inadequate health care.
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Supreme Court keeps Trump’s National Guard deployment blocked in the Chicago area, for now
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker applauded Tuesday’s decision as a win for the state and country.
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MTD pursues plan to expand bus service following passage of state transit funding bill
Funding from the state transit bill will enable the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District to continue planning new bus routes and improve frequencies for existing service.
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Justice Department sues for access to Illinois voter rolls
Illinois among at least 19 states being sued for voter data.
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RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz announce moves to ban gender-affirming care for young people
The pivot to the topic of transgender minors comes one day after Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a package of health care bills that do not extend subsidies for people who buy health insurance in Affordable Care Act plans.
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Pritzker signs $1.5B plan to overhaul public transportation, avoid service cuts
Law raises money to allow Chicago-area transit agencies to avert financial disaster.
