May 24, 2020
Illinois lawmakers wrapped up an abbreviated session early today, in which they crafted a $42.8 billion budget reliant on borrowing for an upcoming fiscal year that is shrouded in uncertainty wrought by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. The budget set to take effect July 1 relies on a $5 billion loan from a special Federal Reserve fund created to aid state governments during the pandemic. Legislators hope to pay off the debt with monies from an uncertain additional stimulus package from Congress.
Jun 4, 2019
In the final days of the 2019 legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved legislation making abortion a fundamental right, legalizing marijuana for recreational use, switching the state's income tax from a flat rate to a graduated rate and to be put before voters in November 2020, expanding gambling with up to six new casinos that include a site in Chicago, legalizing sports betting, doubling the gas tax, hiking annual license plate fees by 50 percent, and increasing cigarette taxes by a dollar a pack. Earlier in the year, legislators OK'd a measure to increase the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2025.
Jun 1, 2018
What a difference a year makes – especially when it’s an election year. Illinois lawmakers this week approved a $38.5 billion budget for the new fiscal year set to begin July 1 — before the May 31 midnight deadline, by a relatively wide margin,...
