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One of the state's oldest bills, backpay due for many state employees, could soon be getting paid. Meanwhile, Senators are calling for additional ethics reforms for the Illinois General Assembly, and new data shows that Illinois experienced a record number of visitors last year...

As the second year of the 100th General Assembly wrapped up last week, lawmakers left Springfield having passed more than 600 bills and a balanced budget. Gov. Bruce Rauner didn’t waste any time before signing the budget into law on June 4. Also this week, special emphasis was placed on the authorization of critical funding for the Veterans Home in Quincy, and $241 million toward projects to improve mobility of freight throughout the state were announced this week...

After months of bipartisan negotiations, the Illinois General Assembly came together to overwhelmingly approve a balanced budget that cuts spending and does not require a tax increase to implement Also during the week...

The State of Illinois is just a step away from having a balanced budget—on time, according to State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). A budget package passed the Illinois Senate on May 25 and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. "This is a big deal for a state that has been passing out of balance budgets for decades...

"I’d like to thank Governor Rauner and his team for their work to develop a plan for our roads that maximizes the amount of available federal dollars while taking advantage of cost-effective long-term maintenance strategies. This is great news for several local projects, including the US 20 Rockford Bypass....

Lawmakers could soon be developing new tools to combat the seemingly endless, and still growing, issue of robo-calls, thanks to legislation filed by State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) that passed the Illinois Senate on May 25. "These calls aren’t about sales or capitalism, they are pure harassment," said Syverson. "This legislation will allow us to put together new methods of combating the constant menace of robo-calls...

With about week and a half left in the spring legislative session, lawmakers remain hopeful a balanced budget, without a tax increase, will be approved by May 31. Meanwhile, Governor Rauner introduced his public safety initiative and the U.S. Supreme Court announced a major decision on sports gaming...

"This ruling should be great news for Illinois. We have the ability to simultaneously increase revenue while offering people a safe, legal opportunity to wager on sports. We need to act right now however...

This week, Illinois received federal approval to launch a sweeping $2 billion behavioral health initiative designed to deliver better outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders. Meanwhile, two measures are moving through the General Assembly that would boost education opportunities for high school students. Additionally, students from more than 100 schools across the state traveled to Springfield as part of TECH 2018 to share their technology projects with state lawmakers. Also during the week...

This week in the state Capitol, police departments from across the state came to Springfield to remember their fallen comrades, a task force recommended building a new facility to house the 300 veterans at the Quincy Veterans Home, Illinois Senate Republicans pushed a bill to prohibit cost-of-living increases for lawmakers, and the Senate passed legislation that lets motorists register their vehicles for more than a one-year period...

As state lawmakers continue budget discussions in the Capitol, Senate Republicans are calling for Democrats to work with them on developing a revenue estimate for the upcoming fiscal year and pass legislation putting a cap on state spending. Republicans say the initiatives are critical pieces that will help with crafting a balanced budget and making sure taxpayer dollars are appropriated responsibly... Hundreds rally in support of Second Amendment at Statehouse The streets of Springfield and inside the Capitol saw hundreds of supporters of the Second Amendment April 25...

Rockford, IL– State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) says the budget process just keeps getting more frustrating, as Democrats continue to pass new spending bills, including more than $1 billion in the last week. "Last year, they passed a budget more than a billion dollars in the hole, we’re facing a massive shortfall for the next fiscal year, and we have $7 billion in unpaid bills," said Syverson. "But you wouldn’t know it from the actions of the majority party as they’ve passed more than a billion in new spending just this week..."

Illinois Senate Republicans returned to the Capitol this week where the focus remained on the need for the General Assembly to pass a balanced budget that doesn’t put any additional tax burden on Illinois residents. Also this week...

Senate lawmakers return to Springfield April 10, and will continue their efforts to finalize a state budget and finish legislative business for the spring session by a scheduled adjournment date of May 31. This week, the Senate Gaming Committee met to discuss legalization of sports wagering in Illinois, while the Senate Appropriations II Committee met on budget requests for a number of state agencies. In other legislative news...

The Joint Senate/House Task Force on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment is continuing to meet as part of a comprehensive review of the legal and social consequences of sexual discrimination and harassment in the public and private sectors. In other news...

State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) is pushing legislation to battle the seemingly non-stop barrage of robo-calls and scam calls that keep cell phones ringing around the clock. "These calls aren’t part of any upstanding sales methods, they are a form of harassment," said Syverson. "We need to empower state government to effectively combat this growing problem...

Gov. Bruce Rauner laid out his Fiscal Year 2019 budget plan this week to the General Assembly during his annual budget address. Most notably, the plan, presented in a joint session on Feb. 14, was balanced and included several cost-saving reforms. Also during the week...

"Governor Rauner delivered exactly what he promised, a proposal for a truly balanced budget. The current spending plan, passed by the Democrats last year, left us more than a billion and a half dollars in the hole. I applaud the Governor for his work to reduce that deficit. Some tough choices will have to be made, but that is the reality of the budget process in a state that has been spending beyond its means for years...

Lawmakers returning to Springfield for the second week of the Legislative Session heard testimony in the Veterans Affairs Committee about the previous Legionella outbreaks at the Quincy Veterans’ Home and began advancing legislation through Senate Committees...

Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered his fourth State of the State Address Jan. 31, highlighting several accomplishments over the past few years and laying out a roadmap of what he’d like to see Illinois achieve in 2018. Also during the week...

"Governor Rauner did a good job of laying out some of the recent successes we’ve had in state government. We’ve been able to work together to pass a complete rewrite of how we fund schools, passed significant criminal justice reform, and we’ve also had some success in reducing unnecessary regulations and red tape while reducing the size of government. We’ve recently seen some growth in manufacturing and a few other small signs that we are about to turn a corner...

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) informed Senate Republicans this week that implementation of the state’s new school funding law will occur; a new measure would bring high-speed Internet access to rural school districts; a new proposal would give Illinois motorists the option to register their vehicles for more than one year; and Chicago makes Amazon’s top 20 list as they look to build a second headquarters. ..

Illinois residents can expect to see improved safety measures for children and Internet users in 2018 with new laws that help protect children in the foster care system, at day care and at school; as well as shield children and adults online. On Jan. 1, more than 200 bills covering a wide variety of issues became law. In addition to child-protection and on-line protections, 2017 was an active year for passing proactive measures pertaining to physical and mental health, and laws that focus on

As Illinois residents get ready to ring in a new year, they can also expect to see more than 200 new laws going into effect on Jan. 1. Here are all the new laws taking effect at the beginning of the new year.

As 2017 winds to a close, legislative action for the year may have wrapped up, but Illinois citizens will begin 2018 with more than 200 new laws taking effect. From bills to help veterans and reduce government waste, to a controversial law expanding taxpayer funding for abortions, legislation covering a wide variety of issues will become law at the turn of the year. Another measure that will take effect on Jan. 1 was signed by the Governor on Dec. 13 to combat fraudulent opioid prescriptions