Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Staffers allege 'climate of fear' is lawsuit against Illinois House Speaker
Alleging a “climate of fear or anxiety,” staffers with the Illinois House Speaker’s Office are suing to get immediate recognition as a union and for the office to start collective bargaining.
The Illinois Legislative Staff Association says it filed in Cook County a motion seeking judgment that House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, is violating his constitutional duty to perform and carry out the lawful business of the state.
The Chicago Tribune: Legislation now before Gov. J.B. Pritzker: Mobile driver’s licenses, medical debt relief and a new state mushroom
The Illinois General Assembly’s spring legislative session ended in last-minute drama as Democrats barely eked out enough votes to pass a package of tax hikes that mostly affect gambling operations and corporations.
But lawmakers in the final days also sent a number of other bills to Gov. J.B. Pritzker that will directly affect the state’s residents and communities. And, during the course of the four-month session they approved some less significant measures, among them a bill designating Calvatia Gigantea, colloquially known as the Giant Puffball, as the state mushroom.
The Daily Herald: How Illinois’ new child tax credit will affect suburban parents
Thousands of qualifying suburban parents could receive an income tax break next year due to the state’s first child tax credit included in the upcoming state budget.
Parents of children 12 and younger who also qualify for the state’s earned income tax credit (EITC) are eligible for the tax break that could net as much as $300 for one child. Refunds would be higher for parents with multiple children in that age bracket, but the value is staggered similar to the EITC.
WBEZ: School cops, migrant students, funding shortfall: How CPS fared in Springfield
From police officers to closings, funding for new migrant students to dollars for after-school programs, education was a hot topic in Springfield during the just-ended legislative session.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, Board of Education President Jianan Shi, Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates each traveled downstate to lobby lawmakers and the governor about priorities for the district.
The Cook County Record: 'Unconstitutional dragnet:' Class action seeks to shut down IL cops' automated license plate readers
A class action lawsuit seeks to put an end to the widespread and growing use by police in Illinois of automated license plate reader systems to combat crime, as plaintiffs say such systems amount to unconstitutional warrantless surveillance on the movements of people throughout the state.
On May 30, attorneys with the Liberty Justice Center, of Chicago, filed suit in Chicago federal court seeking court orders blocking police throughout the state from using the alleged crime-fighting systems.