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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

SPRINGFIELD — 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 Senate honored a police officer who stopped a school shooting May 16 in Dixon, a bipartisan Higher Education Working Group announced reforms, and the

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,”

State Senator Dave Syverson released the following statement after Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner announced the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) new 6-year road plan: “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

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

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.  Budget negotiations continue Budget negotiators from both sides of the aisle, and

State Senator Dave Syverson released the following statement regarding the US Supreme Court ruling on sports betting: “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, we can’t wait and miss out on this revenue

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

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

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