Illinois General Assembly
State Government: Elected Officials | State Legislative Bodies
Recent News About Illinois General Assembly
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State asks judge to toss CPS school funding suit, says system not 'hidden proxy' for race discrimination
The state of Illinois again has asked a Cook County judge to dismiss a Chicago Public Schools lawsuit alleging racial discrimination underlies the way the state funds K-12 public education. -
Appeals court: No 'abstract right' to city retiree health insurance if no such contract guarantee
Expressing doubt its opinion will end legal hostilities, a state appeals court weighed in yet again on a lawsuit Chicago retirees have lodged against the city in hopes of preserving their “abstract right” to subsidized health insurance under the Illinois state constitution. -
District court tosses campaign-sabotage case against House Speaker Madigan for insufficient evidence
A federal judge has denied the attempt by a former challenger to powerful Ill. House Speaker Michael Madigan to resurrect his legal action against Madigan and several of his political allies, alleging the lawmaker and his political associates imrproperly conspired to sabotage his 2016 Democratic primary election campaign. -
Former state senator shouldn't expect to win his lawsuit asking for back pay, state constitution expert says
Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat who served in the Illinois state Senate for 10 years, has sued the state of Illinois, alleging his pay was illegally withheld during budget crises. However, an expert in Illinois constitutional law says his lawsuit has little chance of prevailing, particularly since the lack of funds was caused in part by legislation to cut lawmaker pay - legislation he, at the time, supported. -
Appeals panel: Social service agencies can't be paid without state appropriations
Noting the contracts they signed made their payments contingent on the availability of legally appropriated state funds, an Illinois appellate court has found a coalition of social service providers have no legal or constitutional leg to stand on to demand the state pay them without first securing the proper appropriations from the state’s legislature and governor. -
Federal judge: State can't keep skimping on Medicaid while fully funding worker pay, debt obligations
A Chicago federal judge has stopped short, so far, of ordering the state of Illinois to place a premium on paying the health insurance organizations, hospitals and others the $2 billion it is estimated the state owes under unpaid Medicaid bills. But the judge said she did not find it reasonable for the state to skimp on Medicaid payments while fully funding its monthly payroll and debt repayments. -
Ex-state senator sues IL over 'unconstitutional' skipped paychecks, years after supporting skipped pay
Ex-state Senator Mike Noland, D-Elgin, is suing the state of Illinois to force the comptroller to get the money he claimes was denied him during a decade in office - even though he voted for the measure he now claims is illegal. -
Illinois unclaimed property rules for gift cards, other securities, could soon change
A proposed new law could change the rules in Illinois concerning unclaimed property - and particularly, unclaimed gift cards and unclaimed property from business-to-business transactions, both of which may no longer be exempt from reverting to the state. -
Chicago Public Schools try again to persuade court to order fix of 'discriminatory' school funding
After their first attempt to obtain a court order to compel a rewrite of the state's education funding rules was rebuffed, the Chicago Public Schools have renewed their legal challenge, again asking a Cook County judge to force changes in a school funding system they call discriminatory. -
IL Supreme Court: IHSA may oversee public high school sports, but not a public body subject to FOIA
In an unanimous opinion, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed the Illinois High School Association – the organization which partners with high schools to oversee high school athletics across the state – does not need to share its documents with the public under the Freedom of Information Act. -
Judge dismisses CPS suit vs IL over schools funding; says demands would 'inject chaos,' not fix problem
Saying the demands sought by the Chicago Public Schools “would inject widespread chaos into the entirety of the State’s public education system,” a Cook County judge has denied the request by CPS and other plaintiffs to force the state to funnel more money into Chicago’s public education system, dismissing a lawsuit CPS said it brought to address systemic and illegal discrimination within the state of Illinois’ educational funding system. -
200+ retired Chicago firefighters accuse pension board of shorting them owed COLA boosts
A group of more than 200, 60-62-year-old retired Chicago firefighters have filed suit against their retirement pension board, accusing the board of wrongly interpreting a state law intended to give them retroactive benefits increases, shorting them the automatic 3 percent annuity raises they say they are owed every year under the law. -
State can deny FOIA'd documents under new law even though law changed after request filed: Panel
Illinois state regulators can use a state law shielding certain public records from disclosure to prevent a business owner from obtaining public records related to a regulatory complaint filed against his business, even though the state law was enacted after the business owner had tried, failed and then sued to force the regulators to give him the documents. -
Illinois Realtors opposes Illinois rent control bill to green light city rent controls
Illinois Realtors, a real estate advocacy group, has stepped out to oppose Illinois state legislation to repeal the state's Rent Control Preemption Act, a 1997 law prohibiting cities and other local governments from enacting rent control measures. -
Federal judge strikes down IL law banning med marijuana groups from donating to political campaigns
Libertarian political candidates won a free speech victory in federal court as a Chicago judge declared unconstitutional an Illinois campaign law barring medical marijuana businesses from making campaign contributions. -
IL Supreme Court gives hospitals win over property tax exemptions, but still not declared 'constitutional'
Hospital operators in Illinois have won a battle in the fight over a state law blocking local governments from making them pay property taxes, as the Illinois Supreme Court determined an appellate court had erred on procedural grounds in using the case to strike down the state law as unconstitutional. However, the high court did not go so far as to declare the 2012 law to be constitutional, setting the stage for more legal tussles to come on the question. -
Appeals panel: Cook County can go back three years to grab taxes for improper homestead exemptions
A state appellate panel has upheld a lower court ruling that the Illinois Property Tax Code allows the Cook County Assessor’s Office to reach back three years, to claim unpaid taxes on a south suburban house that had an invalid homestead exemption. -
Judge: No evidence Madigan, allies improperly used expunged records to smear 2016 primary foe
A man who launched an ill-fated primary election challenge of Michael J. Madigan, arguably the most powerful politician in Illinois, has again lost to the Speaker of the State House of Representatives, after a federal judge tossed out his lawsuit alleging Madigan and his political allies violated his constitutional rights by conspiring to smear his name and undercut his campaign. -
St. Clair Co. judge backs union, denies AG request to order state to stop paying workers amid impasse
St. Clair Co. judge denies AG Madigan's request to order state to stop paying workers amid impasse -
Judge rejects ex-Gov. Quinn's lawsuit challenging power of Chicago mayor to appoint school board
Saying nothing in federal law entitles Chicago residents to a right to an elected school board, a federal judge has tossed a lawsuit from a group of plaintiffs, including parents of Chicago Public Schools students and former Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn, who had asked the court to side with their contentions that a state law granting the mayor of Chicago the power to appoint members of the Chicago Board of Education was discriminatory and violated their voting rights.