The 2025 regular session of the Illinois General Assembly adjourned on June 1 after passing a total of 436 bills. Many significant measures, such as the FY 2026 budget package and other legislation with a July 1 effective date, were signed into law earlier in the summer.

As of August 14, only 161 of the bills that passed this year have been signed by Gov. JB Pritzker. The Illinois Constitution provides that the General Assembly has 30 days to send passed legislation to the governor, who then has 60 days to sign it, veto it, or issue an amendatory veto. If no action is taken within that 60-day window, the bill automatically becomes law.

Since the vast majority of legislation was passed during the final week of session, most of the 90-day review windows (30 days to send to the governor and 60 days for the governor to act) are set to expire in the last week of August. Gov. Pritzker must either act on all the remaining legislation or allow it to become law without his signature before the end of the month.

While summer tends to be a quiet period legislatively, two notable Senate committee hearings are scheduled for next week:

• Monday, August 18 at 2:00PM — The Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee will hold a hearing to discuss New Federal Energy Policy & Increasing Summer Rates.
• Wednesday, August 20 at 10:00AM — The Senate Insurance Committee will hold a hearing on Insurance Rates in Illinois.

These hearings will gather input from stakeholders ahead of the General Assembly’s fall veto session, scheduled for October 14–16 and October 28–30.

Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide

October 14-16 – Veto Session Week 1

October 28-30 – Veto Session Week 2

In the News

Illinois Republicans criticize taxes, gerrymandered map as they look to reclaim seats in 2026 – The Daily Line, August 15, 2025.

Illinois Republicans criticized Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois’ Democratic Party at the annual Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair Thursday. The party hopes to claw back some seats in the Illinois legislature in 2026, with the Democrats holding supermajorities in both chambers.

Governor signs bills preserving Illinois prevailing wage, worker safety laws despite any federal changes – The Daily Line, August 15, 2025.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a package of bills Thursday intended to preserve prevailing wage and worker safety laws in Illinois in the face of federal cuts. Prevailing wage is the minimum amount a worker on a public works project can be paid, consisting of hourly rate and any fringe benefits. In Illinois, all contractors and subcontractors working on a state-funded project must pay that prevailing wage, which varies by county and job type.

Illinois Republicans rally around President Donald Trump, but internal infighting continues – Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2025.

The state Republicans have routinely witnessed battles between far-right insurgents who in recent years have complained the party isn’t Trumpy enough and the financial institutional wing that has long been the GOP establishment and funded the party for decades. They will need to overcome this infighting to build on the gain in votes the party received in the 2024 presidential election.

New Republican to run for Illinois governor as election season begins – Capitol News Illinois¸ August 14, 2025.

Illinois Republicans held their annual events around the Illinois State Fair on Thursday, with former Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy launching a U.S. Senate campaign and Ted Dabrowski, the president of conservative research group Wirepoints, announcing he will launch a campaign for governor in the coming weeks. The men enter the 2026 race a week after the window opened for candidates to begin collecting signatures that are due to the State Board of Elections at the end of October.

Texas GOP chairman calls Illinois a winnable ‘purple state’ – Capitol News Illinois, August 14, 2025.

The chairman of the Texas Republican Party said Thursday that he thinks Illinois is winnable for the GOP in 2026, despite the party’s lack of success in recent elections. Speaking to a joint meeting of the Illinois party’s state central committee and county chairs, Abraham George pointed to the fact that Donald Trump won 43.5% of the vote in Illinois in the 2024 presidential election.

Texas House Democrats planning their departure from Illinois and back to Austin – Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2025.

Texas House Democrats who fled to Illinois and other northern states to block a Republican-led congressional redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump said Thursday they would return to Austin after lawmakers adjourn their current special session on Friday and California Democrats introduce their retaliatory map designed to neutralize the Texas GOP effort.

New law seeks to coordinate human trafficking response in Illinois – Chicago Sun-Times, August 14, 2025.

A bipartisan bill aimed at streamlining Illinois’ response to human trafficking was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday. The law lays the framework for a coordinated trauma-informed response across state agencies to better address the varied needs of victims of human trafficking, which includes crimes of sex and labor trafficking. “It is a modern form of slavery, that’s what it really is; you’re treating a human being like a piece of property, rather than a human being,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said.

At Illinois State Fair, Democrats celebrate state as a leader of the Trump resistance – Chicago Tribune, August 13, 2025.

Democrats used their day at the State Fair on Wednesday to celebrate Illinois as a leader of the resistance to President Donald Trump, lashing out at the Republican administration and its allies in Congress in an effort to regain party momentum for next year’s midterm elections.

Former GOP state chair Don Tracy enters Senate race – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 13, 2025.

Former Illinois Republican chairman Don Tracy is running for U.S. Senate to replace Democrat Richard Durbin, who is not seeking re-election. Tracy, 75, is a longtime Springfield attorney who was state party chairman until last year. He enters a race that has three high-profile candidates on the other side of the ballot: U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi as well as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is running with the endorsement of Gov. JB Pritzker.

‘We signed up for this’: Texas Democrats in Illinois vow to continue fight against GOP redistricting – Daily Herald, August 13, 2025.

Over 50 Democrats upended a Texas legislature special session by dispersing to Illinois, California and New York Aug. 3, contending the remap was a power play by President Donald Trump that would disenfranchise minorities. Asked if the group would fly back this weekend after the session ends Friday, state Rep. Donna Howard said at a Planned Parenthood of Illinois event Wednesday in Chicago that “there’s no plan at this point, we’re watching day by day what goes on.”

Illinois’ regressive tax structure is ‘crime of the century’ that needs to be solved, Chicago’s CFO says – Chicago Sun Times, August 12, 2025.

Jill Jaworski, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief financial officer, said the state’s tax inequities can only be solved by switching from a flat state income tax to a graduated tax, and by extending the state sales tax to professional services. For decades, Chicago mayors and their finance teams have been lobbying the Illinois General Assembly to broaden the sales tax umbrella to professional services.

Hanley officially kicks off bid for state senate – Evanston Now, August 13, 2025.

Winnetka’s Patrick Hanley officially launched his campaign to replace State Sen. Laura Fine in Springfield Tuesday evening. Hanley, an environmental activist, business owner and political organizer who co-founded Operation Swing State last year, announced Tuesday night his name will officially be on next March’s ballot after receiving enough signatures exactly one week after petitioning kicked off.

Jeffries, top Illinois Dems hope voters will punish Republicans in 2026 – Capitol News Illinois, August 12, 2025.

At one event, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski hosted the Democratic leader of the U.S. House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, for a roundtable discussion at a Head Start school to talk about cuts to early childhood education and the food assistance program known as SNAP. Jeffries and other Illinois Democrats have spoken about how best to deal with recent spending cuts and use them as speaking points for the upcoming midterm elections.

Illinois redistricting effort possible, but unlikely to yield more Democratic seats – Chicago Sun Times, August 12, 2025.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has hinted Illinois might try to make his party’s dominance of the state’s 17-member congressional delegation even more lopsided through a new round of redistricting. However, given the way Illinois’ current map was drawn four years ago, eking out another Democratic district could be a tall order.

State Rep. Moylan Gearing Up For 7th And Final Term – Journal & Topics, August 12, 2025.

Longtime State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-55th) will seek a seventh term in the Illinois House of Representatives and if he’s victorious, it will be his last. One of the primary reasons he wants to serve for another two years is to work on completion of the Chicago area’s mass transit funding bill.

Who is running on the Republican ticket for Illinois governor? Here are the candidates so far – The State Journal-Register, August 12, 2025.

Two Republican candidates have announced their intentions to run for governor against incumbent Democrat JB Pritzker. Current DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and small business owner Joseph Severino have thrown their hats in the ring.

Sen. Dick Durbin joins Texas Democrats in denouncing GOP remap try: ‘This is an American issue’ – Chicago Sun Times, August 11, 2025.

Texas Democrats who left their state to block Lone Star State Republicans from engineering a GOP-friendly remap joined Sen. Dick Durbin Monday in renouncing President Donald Trump’s remarks that the GOP was “entitled” to five more Texas seats in Congress. Durbin was scheduled Aug. 6 to speak alongside Texas Democrats, but that press conference was canceled after a bomb threat was reported at the St. Charles hotel some of the democratic lawmakers were staying at.

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit joins growing Democratic field running for Illinois comptroller – Chicago Tribune, August 11, 2025.

Stephanie Kifowit, a 12-year state lawmaker from Oswego, entered Monday the still-growing race to become the Democratic nominee for state comptroller, a post incumbent Susana Mendoza is retiring from for a potential bid for Chicago mayor. A former financial planner and Marine veteran, Kifowit’s tenure in the Illinois House has included serving on legislative spending panels, and she currently is chair of the House Personnel & Pensions Committee.

Joe Cervantez launches bid for Illinois Attorney General – The Southern Illinoisan, August 11, 2025.

Former Jackson County State’s Attorney Joe Cervantez is making his first statewide run, announcing his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General as a Republican. He will formally kick off the campaign on Thursday during Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

Which Republicans are seeking statewide office in 2026? So far, hardly any – Capitol News Illinois, August 11, 2025.

Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi is also hoping to capitalize on Trump’s performance in Illinois in 2024, in which he cut down 17-point losses in 2016 and 2020 to about 11 points, largely due to a falloff in Democratic votes. However, very few candidates have announced their intentions to run for statewide office.

Governor JB Pritzker set to sign police reform bill named for Sonya Massey – Illinois State Bar Association, August 12, 2025.

The new legislation, also known as Senate Bill 1953, creates stricter hiring practices for law enforcement in Illinois by requiring departments to thoroughly investigate a candidate’s history including disciplinary records and misconduct before hiring them.

‘What more could the governor do?’: Illinois lawmakers doubt state’s districts could be more gerrymandered – Daily Herald, August 9, 2025.

While Gov. JB Pritzker last week repeatedly said he and his allies in the General Assembly might pursue gerrymandering Illinois’ congressional districts to benefit Democratic candidates even more than they already are, legislators on both sides of the aisle doubt it’ll happen.

Illinois newsrooms receive $4 million under new state law aimed at retaining journalism jobs – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 8, 2025.

Forty Illinois local news entities operating 120 outlets are receiving $4 million in state tax credits under a new law designed to encourage the retention and hiring of journalists, according to documents released this week.

South Loop residents weigh in on Chicago Fire stadium plan – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 14, 2025.

As City Council members prepare to vote on Chicago Fire FC owner Joe Mansueto’s plan to build a $650 million soccer stadium in the South Loop, many nearby residents are giving it a thumbs-up — with a few caveats. While most residents are supportive of the plan, some worry about its affect in the local community.

County announces $8.27M in grant funding for nearly three dozen transportation projects – The Daily Line, August 15, 2025.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the county Department of Transportation and Highways on Thursday announced $8.27 million in grant funding would be awarded to multiple organizations through the Invest in Cook program to fund myriad transportation projects. The funding will be used toward 32 projects — including four transit, eight pedestrian, six bicycle, one freight and 13 road projects, according to the county.

Chicago Public Media taps Pulitzer winner as new editor-in-chief – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 14, 2025.

Chicago Public Media has named Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kimbriell Kelly as its next editor-in-chief, effective Sept. 2. She will oversee the combined editorial operations of WBEZ, Vocalo and the Chicago Sun-Times, which CPM unified earlier this year.

David Greising: Without more political finesse, the mayor’s revenue ideas will never become reality – Chicago Tribune, August 15, 2025.

With Chicago facing a mounting budget deficit, president of the Better Government Association David Greising is worried that the mayors revenue ideas are not confident enough to address the situation.

Chicago’s commercial property taxes spike to twice national city average – The Center Square, August 14, 2025.

Chicago business owners are now being forced to pay some of the highest commercial property taxes in the country at more than 4% of their properties value, or more than double the national average of 1.81%. The sobering numbers are highlighted in a new Lincoln Institute of Land Policy study that also outlines how the rising rates are taking a toll on the city across the board, including leading to fewer overall businesses and growing inequalities in various communities.

CPS budget plan hedges on city pension payment, but some board members are insisting it be paid – WBEZ Chicago, August 13, 2025.

Chicago Public School leaders on Wednesday presented a budget proposal, wiping away a $734 million deficit by a combination of mechanisms: cuts to operations and central office, refinancing debt, using $65 million from a reserve fund, counting a philanthropic donation in the budget and expecting $379 million from the city from a TIF surplus.

Johnson, firefighters reach tentative deal after 4-year standoff – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 12, 2025.

The agreement does not lower the minimum-staffing requirements for fire trucks, which the city has pushed for to save money and redirect resources into paramedics, but has become a third rail in city politics, according to sources families with the deal. Johnson confirmed the tentative agreement during his weekly press conference.

CPS budget won’t include contested city pension payment – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 12, 2025.

Interim Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King is planning to propose a $10.2 billion budget to the school board Wednesday that doesn’t include midyear cuts to schools or a reimbursement to the city of Chicago for a highly-debated pension payment covering the retirements of city workers and CPS staff.

Johnson rules out proposed $1.5B corporate payroll tax – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 12, 2025.

Johnson had directed his administration, including the Law Department, to explore ways to craft the tax to pass legal muster, but city attorneys determined that, like other progressive revenue ideas, the tax exceeds the city’s so-called home rule authority and would first require state approval, according to sources familiar with budget discussions. The tax would impose a 5% tax on all payroll expenses for employees making over $200,000 for companies with at least $8 billion in global payroll costs.

Trump kills union contracts for Chicago EPA workers – Chicago Sun Times, August 12, 2025.

When hundreds of Chicago employees of the Environmental Protection Agency showed up at work Monday, their union protections were stripped by President Donald Trump. A local union official said she believes Trump’s motive is to actually remove workers’ rights as his administration begins to dismantle the government agency charged with keeping air, water and land protected from polluters.

Mayor, governor respond to Trump’s threats to deploy troops to Chicago following federal D.C. takeover – The Daily Line, August 12, 2025.

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy the National Guard to Chicago after the president’s announcement that he’d take over the police department in the nation’s capital. Trump also said during a press conference Monday that Chicago could be the next city to receive a National Guard deployment before calling out Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker.

Equality Illinois civic engagement director enters open Cook County District 12 board race – The Daily Line, August 12, 2025.

On Monday, José “Che-Che” Wilson, the civic engagement director at Equality Illinois, announced his run as a Democrat for the open seat in the district next year. Two other county commissioners, Comms. Kevin Morrison (D-15) and Donna Miller (D-6) are also not seeking reelection next year and running for congressional seats instead in Illinois’ 8th and 2nd districts, respectively.

Editorial: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pension working group slinks away without a word – Chicago Tribune, August 12, 2025.

The mayor acknowledged last week that the group was dissolved without producing a report, a damning indictment both of the internal operations of City Hall and how this mayor doesn’t take seriously the cost side of Chicago’s ledger while obsessing over finding more revenue to feed the government beast.

Pritzker: Taxpayers shouldn’t be ‘propping up’ Bears stadium plan – The Daily Herald, August 11, 2025.

During a public appearance Monday in Wheeling, Gov. JB Pritzker put free market capitalism ahead of his desire to see the Bears remain in Chicago by defending the team’s plan to relocate to the Northwest suburbs. The Bears are a privately owned business, Pritzker said, and if its owners want to move the team to its 326-acre property in Arlington Heights, he’ll support it.

Joe Ferguson and Daniel Anello: Chicago Public Schools can’t afford to bail out City Hall – Chicago Tribune, August 12, 2025.

Closing the gap was already a herculean task when it stood at $529 million, before the interim CEO added $175 million in the form of a pension reimbursement that City Hall has been attempting to strong-arm CPS into over the last year.

Government job cuts take a bite out of Chicago’s economy – Crain’s Chicago Business, August 11, 2025.

With above-average pay and solid benefits, federal employment has provided a path to the middle class not just for Black workers but for women and other disadvantaged groups. The government’s commitment to equal opportunity dating to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has made public service an attractive sector for career advancement that may be less accessible in the private sector. The Trump administration’s purge of offices that promote equal opportunity and diversity and inclusion has particularly affected the employment of Black Americans.