Articles filed under Capitol News Illinois
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Pritzker executive order bars state employees from using insider info in prediction marketsApr 21, 2026 8:00 pm - Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order Tuesday barring state employees from using insider information to place bets on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.
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Illinois Democrats still weighing budget options as strong revenue mixes with uncertain outlookApr 21, 2026 6:44 pm - Illinois Democrats are waiting to see April revenue numbers before making final decisions ahead of their May 31 adjournment deadline. Revenue in the current fiscal year is performing better than expected, which could give lawmakers more flexibility in the upcoming fiscal year 2027. Democrats are also considering asking voters to approve a millionaires tax amendment in November, but it’s not clear if they will be able to pass that resolution before a May 3 deadline.
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Bill would give Illinois EPA greater oversight of manufacturers’ plastic pellet runoffApr 21, 2026 10:56 am - A bill that cleared the Illinois House would give the state’s EPA emergency rulemaking powers to address plastic pellet spills and their effect on stormwater runoff. Plastic pellets are small round objects; the building blocks of plastic manufacturing, shipped from pre-production plastic manufacturers to production facilities then melted and molded into common plastic products. Unintentionally spilled pellets can end up in the state’s waterways when blown by the wind or carried by stormwater, potentially harming birds, turtles and fish.
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‘We cannot afford to get AI wrong’: State lawmakers debate best path to regulate AI boomApr 20, 2026 1:55 pm - As the artificial intelligence industry rapidly expands, state legislators appear poised to continue imposing regulations on the technology.
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Barbara Flynn Currie, 40-year veteran of Illinois House, trailblazer for women in Springfield, diesApr 17, 2026 6:49 pm - Former Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, who served 40 years in the General Assembly, died Thursday at 85. Currie was first elected to the House in 1978, at a time when women made up only a small minority of the legislature. After 18 years in Springfield, Currie was promoted to House Majority Leader, the first woman to hold the second-in-command role. Currie retired from the General Assembly in 2019 but was then appointed to head the Illinois Pollution Control Board, a post she held until her death.
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GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey moves into Chicago apartmentApr 17, 2026 4:42 pm - Darren Bailey isn’t just trying to win over voters — he wants this year’s campaign to be an impressive experience for Chicago residents. The Republican nominee for governor said he’s moved into an apartment on Chicago’s near South Side that will serve as a sort of “headquarters” for his Chicago-area campaign operation.
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Energy demand in ComEd territory could double by 2040, in part driven by data centersApr 17, 2026 3:44 pm - A House committee got an overview this week of how data centers are driving up energy demand and threatening potential shortfalls in the second of three planned hearings on the matter.The fundamental issue is that data centers have created a sudden and massive spike in demand for electricity, and Illinois doesn’t yet have the supply to accommodate it.
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Will this be the year the state legislature approves a cellphone ban in schools?Apr 17, 2026 11:21 am - Illinois is one of only eight states that have no statewide restrictions on the use of cellphones in public schools. That could change this spring.
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Device that helps make space travel possible named ‘Coolest Thing Made in Illinois’Apr 16, 2026 3:07 pm - Chemring Energetic Devices, a Downers Grove-based company that engineers and manufactures devices for NASA, won the title of Coolest Thing Made in Illinois as part of the annual Makers Madness competition held by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. The devices, NASA Standard Initiators, have been used in space flight going back to the 1970s and are crucial to maneuvering, separation and staging. The NSIs triumphed over a field of more than 100 entries and after nearly 167,000 votes were cast.
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Bailey moves into Chicago apartment as GOP candidate courts city, suburban votesApr 15, 2026 3:45 pm - Darren Bailey isn’t just trying to win over voters — he wants this year’s campaign to be an impressive experience for Chicago residents.