Illinois State Senate
Recent News About Illinois State Senate
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Lawmakers hear testimony from current, former LIGs
The Senate House Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform heard testimony from Illinois Legislative Inspector General (LIG) Carol Pope and two former LIGs about what changes can be made to better assist the office in its role of upholding ethical standards in state government.
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Ethics policy directors push for an independent LIG, transparency
The Senate House Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform listened to testimony from several directors of policy about how to aid the legislative inspector general (LIG) in upholding ethical standards in state government.
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Wirepoints: Don’t buy the Pritzker, Harmon rhetoric on property tax relief
One of the key selling points for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push to switch the state’s flat income for a progressive one is that the higher taxes paid by the top 3 percent of wage earners under a progressive tax will ease pressure on property taxes for the middle class. Newly elected Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) has been making the same claim.
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Harmon is named new Illinois Senate President
The Illinois Senate elected Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) as its next president after former Senate President John J. Cullerton resigned on Sunday.
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Illinois GOP calls on Senate President candidates to support fair maps
Illinois Republican Party officials are calling on Sens. Kim Lightford (D-Maywood) and Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), the two finalists for the position of next state Senate President, to publicly endorse fair maps.
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Senate committee hears testimony on diversity in pension funds
The Illinois Senate Special Committee on Pension Investments heard testimony last week from several pension fund boards on what they were doing to increase diversity within their own ranks and the firms with which they invest.
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Chicago state senator Sandoval criticized for mock assassination attempt against Trump at fundraising party
Illinois Republican Party chairman Tim Schneider blasted state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s apology for allowing a man to point a fake assault rifle at a caricatured image of President Donald Trump at one of his campaign fundraisers as too little, too late.
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Sen. Oberweis opposes gambling expansion bill
The Illinois Senate passed a bill on June 2 that supports a vertical capital bill and expands the state's gambling access.
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Reform for Illinois director Kaplan holds no blame for Sen. Brady as long as he 'acts ethically'
Reform for Illinois' Alisa Kaplan just wants to see Republican state Sen. Bill Brady (Bloomington) do the job the people of the 44th District entrusted him to do.
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New subsidies for U of I in 2020 budget won't make college more affordable, according to IPI report
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be getting more in subsidies in the state's 2020 fiscal budget. However, a report from the nonpartisan Chicago-based think tank the Illinois Policy Institute from about two years ago shows that universities in Illinois should lower their tuition rates rather than continue to fund already inflated costs with tax dollars.
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IPI finance expert says the bottom line of state's new budget is 'more money from taxpayers'
The $40-billion budget that passed the state House and Senate during last weekend's overtime session in Springfield has a few head-scratching details, such as lawmaker pay raises, but a fiscal expert with a Chicago-based nonpartisan think tank said there is at least one aspect of the legislature that every Illinoisan can take to the bank: Taxpayers will pay . . . and pay . . . and pay some more.
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Graduated income tax proposal: How does the vote work?
Illinois voters who cast ballots in the 2020 General Election but elect not to fill whether the state should have a graduated income tax could be just as critical to passage - or not - of the controversial measure, according to information on a data driven website.
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Fate of bills in GA's final days of regular session rests with Madigan, Will County GOP says
As Illinois state General Assembly enters the final, hectic days of the current session, what gets done will depend on the whim of longtime, powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), according to a Will County Republican statement.
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Startup electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian sees no benefit, logic to punitive fee hike proposal
Michael McHale, director of corporate communications for an emerging electric truck and SUV manufacturer, cautions that there will be no winners if Illinois lawmakers’ follow through with their ill-advised attempt to hike registration fees for electric vehicles (EVs) nearly 60 times over.
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New bill would increase access to MAP funds
Students residing in Illinois illegally would be eligible to receive taxpayer funded grants under a bill proposed by a trio of Democratic House members.
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Property tax freeze 'a lame, transparent and phony attempt' to hoodwink Illinoisans, Glennon says
A tax package passed by the Illinois state Senate last week to push Gov. J.B. Pritzker's revenue-raising agenda includes a property-tax freeze and other "gimmicks" that are not what they seem, the founder of an online news outlet said during a recent interview.
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Ideas Illinois' Baise fears jobs tax will 'punish middle-class families' after they vote for it
Ideas Illinois Chairman Greg Baise finds it intolerable that middle-class residents stand to be the real losers in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax system, should it continue to move forward.
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Bill requiring state workers to be residents raises concern for GOP lawmakers, policy watchdog
Illinois State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) is convinced the Illinois Senate’s unanimous passage of a bill requiring all new state workers to reside within the boundaries of the state screams desperation.
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Bill to change local term limits passes Senate
A bill that changes term limits for municipalities passed the state Senate on Friday after failing earlier in that day's session.
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Pritzker pushes lawmakers to pass 'fair tax,' says critics are 'defending an unfair status quo'
Gov. J.B. Pritzker continues to urge lawmakers to pass legislation allowing Illinoisans to vote on a graduated income tax instead of the current flat-tax structure.