SPRINGFIELD – Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker celebrated a pair of new laws Monday that expand the state’s medical marijuana program, including one that gives students more options for taking the drug at school.

CHICAGO — The new chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board said Thursday he has no illusions about how tough of a job lies ahead.

By JERRY NOWICKI

CHICAGO – Officials from several public universities in Illinois told a panel of state lawmakers Thursday they do not believe there is widespread abuse of court-ordered guardianships that have enabled some students from wealthy backgrounds to obtain need-based student financial aid.

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ top attorney is asking American video streaming services to avoid showing tobacco products in shows and movies to young viewers.

SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Tom Cullerton was replaced as chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, a move that came four days after he was indicted on federal charges of embezzling money from a labor union.

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois compared favorably to other states in a report by a national advocacy group evaluating cancer reduction policies in all but one area — funding for its cessation program.

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that people applying for Medicaid benefits in Illinois will see those applications processed more quickly, and health care providers will be paid more promptly, under a comprehensive reform bill now signed into law.

CHICAGO — An Illinois state senator has been indicted on federal charges that he took more than $250,000 in salary and benefits over a three-year period from the Teamsters while doing little or no work, prosecutors announced Friday.

SPRINGFIELD — Foreign language teachers in Illinois are being asked to update the way they teach those courses starting in the upcoming school year by putting more emphasis on world cultures and how to use languages across different academic disciplines.

By JERRY NOWICKI

SPRINGFIELD — Lack of affordable housing impacts many facets of family life — access to education and health care, for example — for Illinoisans throughout the state, Sen. Mattie Hunter and Rep. Delia Ramirez said.

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his first veto on Friday, striking down a bill that would have prohibited the state from applying for federal waivers from the Affordable Care Act in order to reduce protections or coverage offered through the state employee group health insurance program.

DANVILLE – With casino proposals due next week and "so many other things" on the city’s plate right now, Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said a decision on how the city will address the new recreational marijuana law is on the back burner right now.

SPRINGFIELD – Licensed foster homes in Illinois will likely have to comply with a host of new rules starting later this year, including strict vaccination and no-smoking policies, as well as rules governing kitchens, bathrooms, swimming pools and transportation.

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed two bills into law aimed at protecting immigrant children, just as the Trump administration announced plans to expand the use of “expedited removals” to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the country.

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois residents could be eligible for up to $20,000 in compensation for damages they suffered as a result of a massive data breach at the credit-reporting bureau Equifax under terms of a proposed global settlement announced Monday.

SPRINGFIELD – The president and CEO of Land of Lincoln Goodwill resigned Thursday, two days after backtracking on a plan to lay off several disabled employees.

SPRINGFIELD — State lawmakers are calling for a review of state contracts and funding awarded to Land of Lincoln Goodwill, a not-for-profit thrift store chain, after a news report revealed the company’s decision to lay off several disabled workers — a decision that will be reversed, accordin…

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ secretary of state is pursuing legislation to codify the office’s long-held policy of not giving federal agencies full access to its database of driver’s license photographs as a means to identify someone’s legal status, a spokesperson said Monday.

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office is urging Illinoisans to report any damages caused by recent flooding to their county’s emergency management agencies in order to increase the likelihood of the state qualifying for federal aid.

SPRINGFIELD — Every lawmaker who served in the General Assembly between 2009 and 2018 might be entitled to back pay, a Cook County judge decided. Former governors and other state office holders might also qualify for lost wages.

INDIANAPOLIS — Gun rights advocates celebrated the passage of House Bill 1284, which adds a protection for Hoosiers from legal action following a justified use of force.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Some members of the Vigo County business community are asking people to ante up in support of a casino.

Jury to consider death penalty in Chinese scholar killing

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker is seeking a federal agriculture disaster declaration for all of Illinois following the state’s soggy planting season.

SPRINGFIELD – Amid national uncertainty about whether a citizenship question will be included on the 2020 U.S. Census, advocates in Illinois are not changing their approach to ensuring all residents are counted.

Today in Illinois, the Fourth of July is a holiday for boating, barbecues and fireworks. In the state’s earliest days, the celebrations were more organized and formal — though the fireworks were a constant.

SPRINGFIELD — The interim director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education is hopeful a combination of added infrastructure and operations funding for state universities and colleges will help entice Illinois students to remain in the state for their college education.

SPRINGFIELD — Representatives of some of the state’s largest business associations are looking back at a historic legislative session as a “mixed bag” for businesses, which will see benefits from late legislative action.

SPRINGFIELD – Starting Monday, it will officially become illegal in Illinois for anyone to sell or provide tobacco cigarettes or other tobacco products to people under age 21.

With legalization of adult-use marijuana set to begin Jan. 1 in Illinois, the American Veterinary Medical Association is warning residents of the dangers marijuana ingestion can cause their pets.

SPRINGFIELD — For decades, getting caught with a small amount of marijuana could put Illinois residents in jail for up to six months and perhaps worse. The criminal record would follow them for the rest of their lives. Gov. J.B. Pritzker's signature this week on a law legalizing recreational…

The first wave of tax increases that will pay for the state’s $45 billion capital infrastructure plan will take effect Monday, July 1, pending Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signing of a pair of bills.

The Mattoon High School teacher who subdued a gun-wielding student at the school in 2017 was named one of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission's Carnegie Medal recipients.

PEORIA — Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before returning a guilty verdict Monday at the federal death-penalty trial of a former University of Illinois doctoral student who killed a visiting scholar from China after abducting her at a bus stop.

SPRINGFIELD – Nearly 40,000 state employees will receive long-awaited pay raises and many will receive back pay for raises they did not receive for the past four years under a new labor agreement that was ratified last week.

SPRINGFIELD – Republicans and Democrats agree that new state laws will make Illinois the strictest state in the nation for imposing limitations on cancer-causing ethylene oxide emissions.