Nearly two months after Illinois launched a major change in the way it provides health care to children in foster and adoptive homes, state lawmakers are hearing mixed reviews about how well the new system is working.

A court decision involving an appeal from a convicted sex offender who attempted suicide before trial has surfaced in the race for the state Supreme Court’s southern Illinois district between two sitting justices on that same court.

Region 1 of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation plan will see a new tier of virus mitigations as Gov. JB Pritzker warned Thursday that “we are now headed into a peak that is beyond, potentially, where we were in March and April.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported another 69 COVID-19 related deaths Wednesday, a new single-day high since June 17, when there were 84.

More than 2,000 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Illinois as of Thursday night, a high not seen since June 12.

For the second time this week, the National Weather Service has issued a "red flag" for Saturday, citing "dangerous conditions" for burning from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. until 7 p.m.

With just three weeks remaining before the Nov. 3 general election, more than 660,000 voters in Illinois have already cast ballots either through mail-in or early in-person voting, shattering previous records for advance voting, according to state election officials.

The state Senate Criminal law Committee and Special Committee on Public Safety held a joint hearing Tuesday, calling on experts to provide evidence-based recommendations for enhancing public safety and making prisons more equitable and humane.

The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is drawing attention to national and statewide health disparities between Black and white Americans in an effort to educate fellow lawmakers and build consensus for action ahead of the fall veto session.

Black-owned businesses in Illinois face significant barriers to growth and opportunities that would enable them to compete with their white-owned counterparts, a problem that many Black leaders say is directly tied to Black unemployment rates and the deterioration of Black neighborhoods.

The top Republican in the Illinois House on Thursday called for Democrats, including Gov. JB Pritzker, to either demand that Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan answer questions before a Special Investigating Committee or resign immediately.

State officials announced Friday that they are lifting the enhanced restrictions that have been in place for more than a month in the Metro East region after the area’s COVID-19 test positivity rate fell below 6 percent.

Region 4 of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation plan saw its test positivity rate dip again Thursday, putting it one day away from having mitigations lifted if the downward trend continues.

Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton unveiled a $4.5 million initiative Tuesday that is meant to foster dialogue and promote racial healing in the state.

The Metro East area on the Missouri border could be two days away from seeing stricter mitigations lifted if its COVID-19 test positivity rate stays where it is or decreases.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced seven “guiding principles” Tuesday to “build a more equitable criminal justice system,” a series of policy recommendations the governor says are priorities for his administration as it works with the General Assembly.

Redlining and gentrification were the latest topics discussed Thursday in a series of committee hearings spurred by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus as its members lay the groundwork for its veto session agenda.

State officials on Tuesday urged Illinoisans to get their seasonal flu vaccinations as a way to conserve medical resources for COVID-19 patients.

The state announced another 2,126 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 25 virus-related deaths Thursday as new unemployment claims climbed from a week ago.

SPRINGFIELD – The longest-serving state legislative speaker in U.S. history will have a challenger from his own party in January.

More than 2 million Illinois voters have requested vote-by-mail ballots and more than 26,000 such ballots have already been returned, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Illinois House Republicans on a special committee investigating House Speaker Michael Madigan’s role in a bribery scheme involving Commonwealth Edison sought to tie the longtime leader directly to the $1.3 million in payments over nearly a decade made by the utility giant to his associates.