A plan that would have “decoupled” Illinois tax law from the federal CARES Act legislation failed in the final hours of the lame-duck session, but could be brought back early in the 102nd General Assembly if needed.

New House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Westchester, said later that day that a new plan could be worked on quickly in the new term in order to help Gov. JB Pritzker fill a $3.9 billion budget hole.

Spring in Illinois is not only going to see a contentious conversation about how to address the state’s unbalanced budget but also how its political boundaries will be drawn and who will hold the pen.

Illinois’ lawmaker districts at the state and federal level are diced into jurisdictions by a process triggered by reapportionment. Once the president and Congress receive the decennial Census figures, they’re forwarded to each state. The clock then begins for either an independent commission or the ruling political party to rearrange the districts according to population.

The state announced Thursday that it has awarded $31.5 million in grants to 81 community organizations around Illinois to help fund legal services for low-income residents, youth development, violence prevention and economic development in areas hardest hit by the war on drugs.

The Restore, Reinvest and Renew, or “R3” grants are funded with a portion of the state’s revenue from sales of adult-use marijuana, and they were a key element of the 2019 bill that legalized recreational marijuana in Illinois.

A scheduled high school sports rally and a letter from Illinois state representative Darin LaHood are calling for Gov. JB Pritzker to allow youth and high school sports to proceed for the remainder of the school year.

LaHood, a Republican who represents the 18th district covering Peoria and Springfield, released a letter addressed to Pritzker advocating for all sports to be able to compete in the state.