President Biden’s spending bill, often called “Build Back Better,” passed in the House on Friday largely on party lines. Now the bill heads to the Senate, where it is expected to be pared down further.

Included in the $2.2 trillion bill is more than $500 billion for green energy and programs to combat climate change, hundreds of billions more for free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, housing, hearing aids for Medicare patients, four weeks of paid family leave and other programs.

The Illinois Association of School Boards is part of a growing number of state school board groups cutting ties with a national organization that likened parents protesting at meetings to domestic terrorists.

The National School Boards Association has been under fire after it sent a letter sent to federal officials in September asking for help. The U.S. Justice Department then instructed the FBI to monitor and investigate parents who they deemed troublesome for protesting the teaching of critical race theory and mask mandates in schools.

The Better Government Association is digging into a controversial plan in south suburban Joliet to solve a looming water crisis by tripling rates on homes throughout the area.

John Chase with the BGA joined ABC7 Chicago Saturday to talk more about it.