by Jade Aubrey and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR), Capitol News Illinois May 23, 2025 SPRINGFIELD – A bill unanimously passed by the Senate on Thursday and on its way to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk will increase the age that senior drivers in Illinois are required to take an annual […]
State of Illinois
Summer electric price spike fuels policy tensions in Springfield
by Andrew Adams, Capitol News Illinois May 22, 2025 Customers around Illinois will see significantly higher prices on their electric bills next month. The average residential customer of northern Illinois’ Commonwealth Edison will pay about $10.60 per month more this summer, according to a company statement. Downstate Ameren Illinois says […]
Lawmakers pass bills on AI community college instruction, food handling, school bus seat belts
by Peter Hancock, Jade Aubrey, Bridgette Fox and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR), Capitol News Illinois May 21, 2025 SPRINGFIELD — Lawmakers approved measures limiting AI instruction at community colleges, requiring seat belts on school buses, and mandating food handlers receive certain allergen training among dozens of bills Wednesday. The […]
Illinois Senate Executive Committee Advances Bill the Would Allow Pharmacists to Dispense Emergency Contraceptives Without Prescription
Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would make it significantly easier for residents to access a full range of contraceptive options, including the prescription-only emergency contraceptive Ella (ulipristal acetate), directly from pharmacists, without the need for a doctor’s visit. House Bill 3489, championed by State Senator Rachel Ventura […]
Bill banning carbon sequestration near Mahomet Aquifer clears General Assembly
by Jade Aubrey and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR), Capitol News Illinois May 20, 2025 SPRINGFIELD — A bill that bans carbon sequestration over, under or through portions of the Mahomet Aquifer passed out of the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday. The bill has been a point of contention in […]
Native ancestors’ return to rest: A paperwork-laden process underway in Illinois
by Bridgette Fox and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR), Capitol News Illinois May 19, 2025 Two of the country’s largest collections of Native American human remains are held by museums in Illinois. To the director of one of the museums, the work to rebury those remains at the behest of […]
After 150 years, Mary Lincoln’s ‘madness’ still haunts American psyche
by Peter Hancock, Capitol News Illinois May 16, 2025 SPRINGFIELD — On May 19, 1875, a Cook County jury handed down a verdict in a case concerning the health and welfare of Mary Lincoln, widow of the former president who had been assassinated a decade earlier. After listening to only […]
Trump Administration Terminates Federal Digital Equity Program, Halting $23.7 Million in Illinois Grants
Illinois officials and community leaders are voicing strong opposition after the Trump Administration, through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), abruptly terminated the Digital Equity Capacity Program in mid-May. The move halts more than $23.7 million in planned federal grants that would have expanded digital […]
Illinois Supreme Court’s Role in Ending Slavery Explored in Upcoming Online Event
A new public program set for Wednesday, May 21, 2025, will shed light on a little-known chapter of Illinois history: the persistence of slavery in a state that entered the Union as “free.” Titled “The Presumption of Freedom: The Illinois Supreme Court and the Fate of Slavery in Illinois,” the […]
Lawmakers seek to reverse Illinois law penalizing companies that boycott Israel
by Simon Carr, Sonya Dymova and Medill Illinois News Bureau, Capitol News Illinois May 16, 2025 SPRINGFIELD — A growing number of state lawmakers are moving to repeal a 2015 Illinois law penalizing companies that boycott Israel to protest its policies toward Palestinians. Amid concerns about Israel’s ongoing war in […]











