Illinois State Senate
State Government: Elected Officials | State Legislative Bodies
Recent News About Illinois State Senate
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Left out of lawmakers' green energy package? Ordinary Illinoisans
The Illinois Senate adjourned last week without calling for a vote on the state’s controversial green energy proposal. -
Latino voters sue over Dem-created IL district maps, say use of flawed data violates 'one-person, one-vote principles'
A second lawsuit in as many days, this time filed by a prominent Latino advocacy organization, asserts the state's Democratic lawmakers used flawed data to make new legislative district maps, resulting in unequal districts that violate voters' constitutional equal protection rights. -
Dems' IL district maps challenged; GOP leaders: 'Population estimates' result in unequal, discriminatory districts
The lawsuit filed in federal court says the maps pushed through by Illinois Democrats wrongly rely on survey estimates, not actual Census data. -
Pritzker solidifies broken promises by signing flawed legislative district maps
Pritzker vowed on the campaign trail to veto maps that were drawn by politicians to benefit politicians. Instead, he signed a partisan map, drafted by his fellow Democrats, says the head of an organization pushing for reform in the way Illinois draws its districts. -
Lake County chief judge: No one 'made any requests' for lawmakers to redraw the county's judicial lines
The origin and purpose of new legislation to redistrict Lake County's court system remains shrouded in questions, as the county's chief judge says it wasn't needed to solve any problems. -
Politicizing courts is 'last thing we should be doing in dark of night,' GOP senator says; Meier says 'very bad bill' intended to pack St. Clair Co
SPRINGFIELD - A bill redrawing judicial circuits in the Metro-East and Chicago suburbs passed the Illinois Senate at 3 a.m. on June 1, without public hearing or input from stakeholders. -
Democrat remap solidifies court where high number of defendants strive to escape; St. Clair Co will be just like Cook Co - its own circuit
SPRINGFIELD – Democrat State Rep. Jay Hoffman (Belleville) proposes to lop Monroe, Washington, Randolph and Perry counties off the 20th Judicial Circuit and make St. Clair County a circuit unto itself. -
Pritzker signs law allowing prejudgment interest in personal injury cases; Biz groups warn of big costs
"You know it's a bad idea when they try & hide their actions," said Mark Denzler, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, about the signing of the law in the closing hours of business before holiday weekend. The law will allow trial lawyers to tack 9% interest on judgments, calculated from the moment a lawsuit was filed. -
Proposed new IL constitutional amendment a 'monstrous giveaway' to public worker unions
Illinois voters will decide in 2022 whether to enshrine 'unimagined' union power as a right, similar to that granted public worker pensions, in the state constitution, perhaps forever, says Wirepoints founder Mark Glennon -
IL Dems move to redraw state Supreme Court district lines for first time in decades, with eye on preserving their partisan majority
Illinois Democrats say the changes are needed to better balance the districts by population, but the redistricting move comes just months after a longtime Democratic Supreme Court justice lost his bid for retention in a district now considered solidly Republican. -
Pritzker has days to take action on pre-judgment interest bill opponents say will drive up costs of goods, services
Governor JB Pritzker has a May 31 deadline to take action on a bill that would allow plaintiffs in lawsuits accusing hospitals, health care providers and other businesses and defendants of personal injuries or wrongful death to collect interest calculated from the time the lawsuit was filed, not just from the time judgment was entered. -
Illinois is under 'extreme' threat of drawing another Madigan election map
Illinois is listed as one of the states under ‘extreme’ danger of partisan gerrymandering of its state legislative and congressional redistricting maps. Gov. J.B. Pritzker can stop that threat. -
'A constitutional amendment would do nothing…' IL Sen. President Harmon’s pension errors and falsehoods
Look to Arizona, Rhode Island, to see real world examples of public pension reform solutions beyond saying, "Just going to have to pay it," says reform advocate Wirepoints -
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP: The Comeback: Sports in a Worldwide Pandemic (Series)
One year ago, the fear of an emerging pandemic summarily shut down sports, and severely impacted the trillion dollar global sports business. -
Teachers unions using COVID to promote state bureaucratic power grab over private schools
Illinoisans should oppose efforts by teachers unions, who have led the opposition to reopening Illinois public schools, to pass a state law to prevent private schools from opening when public schools have been ordered closed by state public health officials, the Illinois Family Institute says. -
SHOOK HARDY & BACON LLP: Shook Partner Testifies on BIPA Bill Before Illinois Lawmakers
Shook Partner Melissa Siebert spoke before Illinois lawmakers in favor of a bill that would assist Illinois employers hard hit by a surge in lawsuits under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). -
Sandoval attorney wants deceased state senator's name nixed from SW suburb red light camera class action
An attorney for the late former state Sen. Martin Sandoval says the convicted politician should be dropped from a corruption class action over suburban red light cameras, saying the plaintiffs didn't swap Sandoval's estate for the deceased senator soon enough. -
BIPA reform would allow businesses to comply before ‘gotcha’ lawsuits filed, witness says
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois businesses pay employees $1,000 or more to settle claims that they violated data privacy law, according to statements at an April 12 hearing on a bill to change the law. -
IL lawmakers OK revised law allowing prejudgment interest in personal injury cases; Biz groups still fear huge costs
The measure establishes 6% prejudgment interest in personal injury lawsuits, and was still opposed by Illinois doctors, manufacturers and others who fear it will hammer businesses with inflated costs from lawsuits. -
Illinois legislature should strip Gov. Pritzker of his COVID emergency powers
The Illinois legislature’s biggest failure during the pandemic has been its complete abdication of responsibility over the management of the pandemic itself, Wirepoints argues in a new opinion piece.