The goal of the bill is to make it easier for police to enforce criminal trespassing. State law does not explicitly give police the power to remove a person squatting in another person’s home without an eviction.
Photo: Juan Giraudo/Unsplash
Until new law that takes effect in January, removing squatters from a home meant homeowners would have to go through the eviction process in Cook County court, which can take months. New law makes it easier to kick squatters off an owner's property.by Ben Szalinski
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday will make it easier for police to remove squatters who are illegally staying at a residence.
Squatters are people who enter and occupy a place for a long period of time with the intention of staying there, rather than a trespasser who enters without intentions to stay.
Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1563, which clarifies that a court-ordered eviction is not required for police to remove squatters from a person’s home. The bill stipulates that police can enforce criminal trespassing charges against a squatter.
“Squatters are a problem, and no one should have to get an eviction notice to remove squatters from their home,” bill sponsor Sen. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago, said in a statement. “Law enforcement need to be able to do their job and return homes to their rightful owners.”
The bill passed through the General Assembly nearly unanimously, with only Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, voting against it.
Law enforcement, real estate and property owner organizations supported the bill.
Collins, who represents much of the West Side of Chicago, said the bill came from concerns her constituents expressed and said the goal was to make it easier for police to enforce criminal trespassing. State law does not explicitly give police the power to remove a person squatting in another person’s home without an eviction.
A lawmaker’s encounter
Pritzker signed the bill after Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, had a first-hand encounter with squatters this summer.
ABC7 Chicago reported last week squatters moved in next door to Evans’ Avalon Park home on Chicago’s South Side. The owners of the house had put the home up for sale, but last week found strangers living inside without buying or renting the home.
According to ABC7, Chicago Police told homeowners they couldn’t remove the squatters from the home and the homeowners would have to go through the eviction process in Cook County court, which can take months. Evans told ABC7 he would call Pritzker directly to ask him to sign the bill, which was sponsored in the House by Rep. Jawaharial Williams, D-Chicago.
“My community is full of hardworking, mortgage- and rent-paying citizens who believe in working, not stealing and scheming,” Evans said in a Facebook post Monday. “We don’t support crooks who prey on hardworking people.”
The law takes effect Jan. 1.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
The Consumer Federation of America describes Illinois’ current regulatory environment as “toothless” and ranks the state second in the nation for having the fastest-rising insurance premiums in the country.
Photo: CNI file photo
State Farm homeowner premiums will rise by roughly 27% in Illinois, prompting calls for greater regulation by residents around the state.
by Peter Hancock
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. JB Pritzker is asking state lawmakers for more authority to regulate the homeowners insurance market in Illinois.
His comments came after the Bloomington-based State Farm Fire and Casualty Company notified the Illinois Department of Insurance that it was raising premiums for residential property casualty insurance in Illinois by an average 27.2%.
In a statement July 10, Pritzker called on lawmakers to pass legislation in the upcoming fall veto session, “that prevents insurance companies from taking advantage of consumers through severe and unnecessary rate hikes like those proposed by State Farm.”
The veto session is scheduled to begin Oct. 14.
“Over the past six years, our state economy has flourished based on transparent markets and fair competition,” Pritzker said. “State Farm’s actions are antithetical to the core principles that the Illinois business community is built on.”
The increase will raise the average cost of a State Farm homeowners’ policy in Illinois to about $2,175 a year, up from $1,700 before the increase, according to State Farm.
The higher rates took effect July 15 for new policies and will go into effect Aug. 15 for renewals of existing policies.
Current regulations
Although Pritzker was not specific about what kind of increased regulatory authority he wants lawmakers to consider, some consumer advocates have called for giving the state Department of Insurance broad authority to review, modify or even reject proposed rate hikes.
Under current state law, companies are required to file their rates with the Department of Insurance, and the agency can review consumer complaints to determine whether the rates being charged are consistent with those filings.
The department also has the authority to conduct examinations to determine whether a company is paying out claims in a timely manner. It can also conduct examinations into a company’s financial condition and solvency.
But currently, according to the agency, Illinois is the only state in the country that does not prohibit rates from being “inadequate, excessive or unfairly discriminatory,” which means it has no authority to reject a rate filing on those grounds.
Douglas Heller, director of insurance for the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America, described Illinois’ law as “among the most toothless in the nation.”
“Almost every state in the country has a law that says for auto, home and most other lines of insurance as well, rates cannot be excessive,” he said in an interview. “Now, it doesn't mean that the regulators around the country do a great job or even have the tools to enforce that very strictly … but Illinois doesn't even have the language that prohibits excessive rates for homeowners insurance companies.”
In April, CFA issued a report that said from 2021 to 2024, Illinois ranked second in the nation for having the greatest increases in homeowners insurance premiums. Average premiums in Illinois rose 50% over that period, more than any other state except Utah, where rates went up 59%.
“At a minimum, Illinois should empower the Department of Insurance to reject or modify excessive rate hikes, which would represent a basic consumer protection that residents in almost every other state enjoy,” Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said in a statement in response to the report.
Even with those increases, though, the report indicated that rates in Illinois were relatively modest compared to some other states, particularly those that experience more frequent natural disasters. Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma ranked highest in average premiums.
In recent years, lawmakers have given the Department of Insurance broader authority to regulate premiums in the health insurance market.
Last year, Pritzker signed legislation giving the agency authority to review and reject proposed rate increases in large-group health insurance plans. That law also prohibited companies from engaging in certain “utilization management” practices that steer patients toward cheaper therapies and medications to lower payouts.
Also last year, Pritzker named a new director of the agency, former state Sen. Ann Gillespie, who had served on the Senate Insurance Committee.
But the agency does not yet have that kind of regulatory authority over property casualty insurance policies for homeowners, renters and condominium owners, a fact that consumer advocates say puts Illinois out of step with the rest of the nation.
Reasons for rate hikes
In his statement, Pritzker accused State Farm of raising rates in Illinois to cover losses the company has suffered in other high-risk states like Florida.
“These increases are predicated on catastrophe loss numbers that are entirely inconsistent with the Illinois Department of Insurance’s own analysis — indicating that State Farm is shifting out-of-state costs onto the homeowners of our state,” he said. “Hard-working Illinoisans should not be paying more to protect beach houses in Florida.”
But State Farm strongly denied that suggestion, saying the increases were directly related to the cost of weather-related disasters in Illinois.
“For example, last year in the state of Illinois alone, we paid out more than $638 million in hail damage claims,” State Farm spokeswoman Gina Morss-Fischer said in an interview. “That was just in Illinois, and it was second only to the state of Texas. And this is the kind of thing that we've started to see more frequently.
“And of course, we're also seeing the increase in replacement costs, longer waits for replacement materials. And these are all things that contribute to the need to make this difficult business decision,” she said.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant” - first transparency report on solitary confinement in Illinois is just a start, say advocates. Mentally ill inmates in Illinois placed in solitary confinement nearly 500 times monthly, new state report shows.
CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) released its first quarterly report this week on the use of solitary confinement, as required under a new state law aimed at increasing transparency around the controversial practice. But advocates say the initial data, covering April and May 2025, falls short of offering the clarity and accountability promised under Public Act 103-1074.
Signed into law in March 2025, Public Act 103-1074 mandates that IDOC produce quarterly and annual reports detailing how solitary confinement—referred to as “restrictive housing”—is used, including who is subjected to it, for how long, and why. The legislation was backed by a coalition of civil rights groups including the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Restore Justice, and Uptown People’s Law Center.
Photo: RDNE Stock/PEXELS
Prison rights advocates argue that solitary confinement is not only ineffective but also harmful.
According to the report, 2,420 individuals were placed in solitary confinement in April, with a slight increase to 2,483 in May. The IDOC population stood at 29,029 as of March. However, the report offers no information on how long people remained in solitary, whether placements overlapped from earlier periods, or if individuals were counted more than once.
“This is a first step, but it is very limited in its scope,” said Nicole Schult, Legal Director of Uptown People’s Law Center. “We still have many questions about how solitary confinement is used in Illinois prisons. We fought for transparency in this new law, and we hope future reports will provide a clearer look into this torturous practice.”
Among the most troubling findings, the report shows that nearly 500 instances per month involved people classified as “Severely Mentally Ill” being placed in solitary confinement. The report does not clarify whether these were unique individuals or repeat placements.
Racial disparities also emerged in the data. In April, 63% of individuals placed in solitary confinement were Black; in May, that figure rose to 65%. Black individuals make up 55% of the total prison population, according to IDOC data. No use of alternatives to solitary confinement was reported in either month.
These findings alarm advocates who argue that solitary confinement is not only ineffective but also harmful. The United Nations’ “Mandela Rules” define prolonged solitary confinement—more than 15 consecutive days—as a form of torture. Illinois currently has no statutory limit on the length of time a person can be held in solitary.
“I’ve seen firsthand the devastating and long-lasting effects solitary confinement can have on a person’s mental and physical health,” said Brian Beals, a Future Leaders Apprentice with Restore Justice. “It’s critical that we get accurate data and reporting to bring to light what is really happening.”
The IDOC stated in the report that it is developing improved systems to offer more comprehensive data in future releases. Meanwhile, the same coalition of advocates is urging the Illinois General Assembly to pass the Nelson Mandela Act (SB 65/HB 1428), legislation that would limit the use and duration of solitary confinement statewide.
For now, the report marks a small but significant step in public accountability, even as advocates push for stronger oversight and reform.
GOP lawmakers call for IDOC Director Latoya Hughes to resign amid rising prison violence and drug smuggling scandals in Illinois correctional facilities.
SPRINGFIELD — Pressure is mounting on Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, Latoya Hughes, as Republican lawmakers demand her resignation, citing escalating violence, drug smuggling, and what they describe as a breakdown of leadership inside state prisons.
Photo: Karsten Winegeart/Unsplash
State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) is leading the charge. After visiting the Robinson and Lawrenceville Correctional Centers in October 2024, Niemerg sounded the alarm on what he called “dangerous working conditions” for correctional staff. He blames Hughes for ongoing assaults on prison personnel and unchecked flows of illegal drugs into the facilities.
“She’s been terrible,” Niemerg said. “We keep having Department of Corrections employees put in the hospital because of incompetent management and bad policies that favor the inmates over the safety and security of the corrections officers and employees.”
In October, correctional employees staged protests outside multiple Illinois prisons, demanding safer work environments. Reports from inside the facilities point to synthetic drugs entering through visitor deliveries and even the mail system. Niemerg claims he’s received calls from current and former staff for nearly a year, begging for help.
“I offered some solutions to the mail process to stop the drugs from getting inside our prisons,” he said. “The bottom line is Governor Pritzker’s hand-picked director is responsible for the proper administration of the Department of Corrections, and the assaults and drug smuggling are still unsolved problems. Ms. Hughes must go!”
In May, State Sen. Jason Plummer pressed Hughes during a legislative hearing on whether the department is using mail scanning technology to intercept contraband. Hughes declined to give a specific number of inmate deaths but confirmed seven drug-related fatalities so far in 2024. Plummer later told reporters Hughes is “not fit for the job” and criticized Governor J.B. Pritzker for what he described as failed oversight. He was joined by fellow Republican Senators Terri Bryant and others in calling for Hughes’ removal.
Despite the political firestorm, Hughes brings more than two decades of legal and public service experience to the role. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, she spent 15 years in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, where she supervised Community Justice Centers and partnered with law enforcement on public safety initiatives. Within the Department of Corrections, she previously served as Chief of Staff and Chief Inspector before being appointed Acting Director in April 2023.
Governor Pritzker has not yet responded publicly to the calls for Hughes’ resignation. Meanwhile, concerns over safety inside Illinois prisons continue to dominate the conversation at the Capitol.
If Pritzker decide to run for president, an announcement would likely come at some point in 2027 during what would be the first year of his third term if he’s reelected.
by Ben Szalinski
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. JB Pritzker began his third campaign for governor on last week, but much of the buzz around his 2026 campaign announcement focused on 2028.
Pritzker made four stops around the state to launch his campaign, fielding questions about any future interest in the presidency and what is driving him to run for what would be a historic third term. In his final stop in Springfield on Thursday evening, he was toasting personally branded “JBeers” – his own craft beer product he unveiled at last year’s Democratic National Convention – with a group of about 100 people at a small event venue just outside the Capitol and talking about his motivations.
“Every day I’m going to wake up going forward thinking about what I am going to do that’s going to help the people of Illinois,” Pritzker told reporters in Springfield when asked how many years of a third term he would serve. “So that’s the reason I’m running for reelection, it’s why I announced today, it’s what I’m going to do every day going forward no matter what decision I make.”
The 60-year-old Democrat’s national profile has grown significantly over the last year. He was a finalist to be former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last July, and weeks later, introduced himself to the country on the stage of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the months since President Donald Trump took office, Pritzker has emerged as one of his most vocal critics.
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Jade Aubrey
Gov. JB Pritzker takes a picture with Mike Lopez, mayor of nearby Jerome, after announcing his reelection campaign in Springfield on Thursday, June 26.
At news conferences throughout the state, Pritzker did not directly commit to serving a full four-year term if he is reelected and sidestepped questions about his rumored White House ambitions.
But while staying tight-lipped about what he thinks about his prospects in the 2028 presidential election, he said any decision he makes about his future would be Illinois-centric.
Speculation shows Pritzker ‘capable and competent’
In the meantime, Pritzker said he believed his inclusion in the national conversation is good for Illinois.
“When I ran for governor in the first place in 2017 and 2018, never, never could I have imagined that anybody would talk about me as the potential vice-presidential nominee or as a candidate for president of the United States,” Pritzker said.
While Republicans have frequently criticized the governor for his tendencies to criticize Trump rather than work with him to Illinois’ benefit, the governor spun his rising national profile as a positive.
“Having the state of Illinois’ leaders viewed as capable and competent and potentially able to run the entire country and being talked about in that way, allows us, I think, to get more for the people of Illinois because there’s an understanding that, you know, maybe in Illinois we’re doing the right things,” he said. “Maybe in Illinois we have leaders that can competently execute on what states really need.”
Pritzker said his experience last summer being vetted for the vice presidency has not played any role in the decisions he has made about his political career.
Should Pritzker decide to run for president, an announcement would likely come at some point in 2027 during what would be the first year of his third term if he’s reelected.
Pritzker’s goal: ‘Protect’ Illinois and his legacy
Pritzker said at his announcement Thursday that his goal in 2026 is to preserve his legacy and “protect” the story of Illinois that’s been written under his leadership. Pritzker didn’t outline a bold vision for his third term but rather pledged to build off what he has already accomplished.
He said his third term would focus on grappling with artificial intelligence, addressing the rising cost of living, continued spending on infrastructure and growing the state’s economy.
Pritzker reflected on his decision to seek reelection despite growing challenges facing the state.
“I don’t shy away from a fight, and we’re going to have to protect the people of Illinois,” Pritzker told reporters in Springfield. “And I feel like we’re in a moment when backing away from public service when things are hard doesn’t feel right. So that’s one of the reasons I chose to run for reelection.”
Pritzker was asked whether he would have run had Trump not been elected last year.
“I think I would, but I have to say that in this moment, it feels like walking away is the wrong thing to do given who is in the White House and given how this administration is attacking people all across this country,” Pritzker said.
The governor must also choose a new running mate as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has decided to run for U.S. Senate. Pritzker said he will choose one by the end of July so his campaign can start circulating nominating petitions in early August. Pritzker said in Chicago that he is looking for someone with enough experience to take over as governor if required.
Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, may be an early front-runner for the job. Pritzker specifically referred to Gordon-Booth as qualified at a stop in East Peoria on Thursday when asked about potential running mates, WGLT reported. The assistant House majority leader has been in the General Assembly since 2009.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Lawmakers in Springfield passed a slimmed-down Medicaid omnibus bill this year as state budget constraints and federal funding uncertainties loomed large.
by Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Nearly every year, Illinois lawmakers pass a package of measures dealing with the state’s Medicaid program, the joint federal and state health care program that covers low-income individuals.
Known as the Medicaid omnibus bill, it sometimes includes bold components, like a 2021 initiative that made millions of dollars available to local communities to help them plan and design their own health care delivery systems. Other packages have focused on smaller changes like guaranteeing coverage for specific conditions and medications or adjusting reimbursement rates for different categories of health care providers.
And most years, the packages receive bipartisan support because they are negotiated, largely behind closed doors, by an unofficial, bipartisan Medicaid Working Group.
This year, however, lawmakers passed one of the narrowest packages in recent memory, due mainly to the Trump administration’s vows to make sweeping cuts in federal funding for the program while state lawmakers faced their own set of budget constraints.
“There were many, many, very worthy program expansions, rate increases that we considered during this process that we were unable to include because of the uncertainty in Washington,” Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, the current chair of the Medicaid Working Group, said on the House floor Saturday.
The Illinois Medicaid program currently costs about $33.7 billion a year, according to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Of that, $20.9 billion, or about 62%, comes from the federal government while much of the state’s share comes from taxes levied on hospitals, nursing homes and managed care organizations – money the state uses to draw down federal matching funds.
The program covers nearly 3.5 million people in Illinois, or about a quarter of the state’s population. According to the nonpartisan health policy think tank KFF, the program pays for 40% of all child births in Illinois while covering 69% of all nursing home residents.
This year’s Medicaid omnibus bill, a 231-page amendment inserted into Senate Bill 2437, contains items that could be hugely beneficial to many Medicaid enrollees, but which don’t carry large price tags. In fact, the entire package is estimated to cost just under $1 million.
One of this year’s additions would make it easier for family members of medically fragile children who qualify for in-home nursing care to receive training to become certified family health aides, a designation that would enable them to administer medications, help with feeding and perform many of the same tasks as a certified nursing assistant.
Another provision would require all hospitals with licensed obstetric beds and birthing centers to adopt written policies that permit patients to have an Illinois Medicaid certified doula of their choosing to accompany them and provide support before, during and after labor and delivery.
Although those provisions enjoyed bipartisan support, another provision that extends coverage to certain categories of noncitizens drew Republican opposition Saturday, resulting in a partisan roll call vote.
The program covers noncitizens who meet the income requirements for Medicaid and have pending applications for asylum in the United States or for special visas as victims of trafficking, torture or other serious crimes. Those individuals can receive coverage for up to 24 months, provided they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Moeller said the language was not a new extension of health care benefits to noncitizens, but instead a “technical and administrative fix” to an existing program that had been requested by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
But for Republicans, the programs sounded too similar to the more controversial programs, Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors and Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults, that extend health care to a large category of people who are not U.S. citizens, including some who are in the country illegally.
“For us on this side of the aisle, that is the poison pill,” said Rep. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, the deputy House minority leader. “So in spite of the fact that we have article after article in here, that is very worthy of a yes vote, I would urge a no vote.”
At Gov. JB Pritzker’s request, the budget bill lawmakers passed Saturday night cancels the program for immigrant adults, which had covered about 31,000 noncitizens age 42-64. But it provides $110 million over the next year, all in state funds, for the immigrant seniors program, which covers about 8,900 noncitizens age 65 and over.
The Medicaid bill passed the House late Saturday night, 76-39. It then passed the Senate shortly after midnight, 36-19.
It next goes to Pritzker’s desk for his consideration.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
New bill would allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities.
Photo: Cheng Xiao/Unsplash
Drivers 87 and older will have to take an annual driver’s test says new bill waiting for the Illinois governor's signature. by Jade Aubrey
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - A bill unanimously passed by the Senate on Thursday and on its way to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk will increase the age that senior drivers in Illinois are required to take an annual driver’s test.
Currently, if a driver renews their driver’s license between the ages of 79 and 80, they are required to take a driving test. Drivers between 81 and 86 are required to take a driving test every two years, and drivers 87 and older have to take the test annually.
If Pritzker signs House Bill 1226, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, only drivers 87 and older will have to take an annual driver’s test. Illinois drivers between 79 and 86 won’t be required to take a driver’s test to renew their license; instead, they’ll only have to take a vision test, and if they have a driving violation, a written test.
The bill would also allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities. Currently, only medical officials, police officers and state’s attorneys can submit such information.
HB 1226, also called the Road Safety and Fairness Act, has garnered bipartisan support. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced his support for the bill in January alongside lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. The bill was conceived by a constituent of Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, last year.
The bill has 86 cosponsors in the House and 35 in the Senate.
Illinois is the only state that requires seniors to pass a driving test solely due to their age. But state data indicates that older drivers tend to have lower crash rates.
In 2023, the crash rate for drivers aged 75 and older was 24.61 per 1,000 drivers, which was lower than any other age group, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The low crash rate has been consistent since at least 2018, according to the Secretary of State’s Office’s 2023 Study on Age-Related Driving Abilities.
The crash rate is more than double for many of the other age groups.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Jade Aubrey contributed to this article.
Price hike due to lack of energy supply comes alongside rocky transition to renewable power. “We cannot allow these power-hungry facilities to drive up costs for consumers who are already struggling to pay their bills,” says Gina Ramirez.
Photo: Hans Isaacson/Unsplash
Downstate Ameren Illinois says customers can expect an 18% to 22% increase in their monthly bill, or about $45 per month depending on usage. Long-term underlying issues affecting the rising costs could lead to even higher prices or rolling blackouts.by Andrew Adams
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - Customers around Illinois will see significantly higher prices on their electric bills next month.
The average residential customer of northern Illinois’ Commonwealth Edison will pay about $10.60 per month more this summer, according to a company statement. Downstate Ameren Illinois says customers can expect an 18% to 22% increase in their monthly bill, or about $45 per month depending on usage. Prices will likely decrease in October once winter electric rates go into effect.
Increasing energy prices are causing alarm among some consumer advocates and state policymakers, who worry that the long-term problems underlying the rising costs could lead to even higher prices or rolling blackouts.
Clara Summers, who advocates for consumer-friendly energy policy on behalf of the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board, said the ComEd price increases were for two reasons: increasing demand from data centers and large manufacturing as well as procedural issues slowing down new renewable projects.
CUB officials said the issues underlying Ameren’s increase were similar, while noting that both were due in part to the way grid regulators structure pricing.
The price hikes are a major undercurrent of escalating tensions over a package of energy reforms making its way through Springfield as lawmakers race toward their scheduled May 31 adjournment.
Extreme weather events are “likely” to cause shortfalls in energy reserves.
“We’re trying to keep prices low while combating climate change,” Jen Walling, head of the Illinois Environmental Council, told Capitol News Illinois. The IEC has been heavily involved in advocating for parts of the bill.
In December, federal officials at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation — the nonprofit oversight agency for grid operators — designated the grid for central and southern Illinois as “high risk” for not having enough electricity to meet demand on hot days in the summer and cold days in the winter over the next five years. The grid that stretches from central Canada to the Mississippi river delta is the only power grid in the nation to have that designation, with much of its risk stemming from power plants closing.
Illinois’ northern grid, which includes parts of 13 states and Washington, D.C. from Illinois to the east coast, faces “elevated” risk. That means extreme weather events are “likely” to cause shortfalls in energy reserves.
The increased demand stems from data centers, increasing adoption of electric heat pumps and the rise of electric vehicles, according to NERC.
David Braun, an executive at the energy technology company Intelligent Generation, said demand on the electric grid is the highest it’s been in the 30 years he’s worked in the energy sector.
“We haven’t seen this in a long time,” Braun told Capitol News Illinois. “So, it’s catching planners by surprise, and it takes a long time to build power plants.”
Shrinking supply
That demand, according to NERC’s December report, is coming at the same time supply is going down — increasing pressure on the grid.
Downstate Illinois’ grid might run out of energy reserves as soon as 2034...
Around the country, fossil fuel plants are closing as states move to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. While Illinois exports energy overall, plant closures elsewhere in the country can affect the price of energy, raising prices for Illinoisans. Grid operators nationwide, meanwhile, face yearslong red tape-induced backlogs on new renewables.
Downstate Illinois’ grid might run out of energy reserves as soon as 2034, per NERC. Northern Illinois’ grid has more reserves but will face decreased levels throughout the next decade. If nothing is done to either reduce demand or increase supply, this means prices could continue to increase or blackouts could become necessary to stabilize the grid.
To address these issues, lawmakers in Springfield are weighing sweeping energy legislation. The bill’s proponents say its provisions to incentivize new developments are the only way to prevent serious problems without walking back the state’s climate goals.
Republican critics contend that the main reason for the legislation is to fix problems with the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. Gov. JB Pritzker’s marquee climate policy, they say, is a major cause of the supply shortfalls because it requires fossil fuel-burning power plants to shut down by 2045.
Others say provisions aimed at reducing data centers’ energy demands on the grid will hurt businesses in the state.
Lawmakers and advocacy groups are currently reviewing draft language for the bill, which has not been made public. Even with complex procedural maneuvering to avoid long-passed deadlines, lawmakers face a tight turnaround to reach an agreement before the legislative session ends.
The process could have become more complicated, some suggest, after the U.S. House passed a wide-ranging bill early Thursday that could drastically alter federal energy incentives if it becomes law.
Higher prices
Bills for customers of private electric utilities — most notably ComEd and Ameren — will go up in June.
The increase was determined at two recent capacity auctions, which are how grid operators set energy prices for years into the future. High prices at these auctions can indicate low supply relative to demand.
Consumer watchdogs at CUB estimate that the policy cut the increase for ComEd customers by about 17%.
PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for northern Illinois, saw a roughly eight-fold jump in its most recent capacity auction compared to the year prior. Downstate’s energy grid, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, saw more than a 20-fold year-over-year price jump at its capacity auction in April.
Representatives of the state’s two largest electric utilities stressed that these increases occurred beyond their purview.
“ComEd does not profit from this increase, was not part of the auction, does not supply capacity, and does not retain any proceeds of the capacity charge payments,” ComEd spokesperson John Schoen said in a statement.
An Ameren spokesperson echoed the sentiment, noting that the state requires utilities to pass this type of cost to customers “dollar-for-dollar, without markup.”
The price is lower for ComEd customers than it could have been due to a provision in CEJA, which credits customers when energy generated by nuclear power plants is above a certain level. Consumer watchdogs at CUB estimate that the policy cut the increase for ComEd customers by about 17%. Customers in the Ameren area, which has much less nuclear power, are not eligible for the credit.
Other energy providers
While millions of Illinoisans get their power from ComEd and Ameren, some get their electricity through other means, including alternate retail suppliers, municipal utilities and electric cooperatives. Many of these energy suppliers are not affected directly by the capacity auctions.
Municipal customers in towns like Naperville, St. Charles and Rantoul are largely insulated from the spike, according to Staci Wilson, the head of government affairs for the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. The IMEA is a private entity that provides electricity to 32 of the 42 municipal electric systems in the state.
IMEA sometimes participates in capacity auctions. But Wilson said the agency tends to secure energy through other means, such as having ownership stakes directly in power plants.
“IMEA member municipalities have rates that are currently lower than private utilities and our ownership model continues to gain value as we transition to a carbon-free future in an affordable and reliable manner,” Wilson said.
But other municipal utility officials, including those at Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power, are less optimistic about future prices.
“Regulations are forcing plant retirement a little too soon,” CWLP spokesperson Amber Sabin said. “And the grid operators that are here, they have resources that they can't connect to the grid. They're waiting, or they don't get financing or ever developed. They have supply chain issues, workforce issues, right? There's a cost to all of that.”
CWLP didn’t participate in the recent MISO auction, although it could have. The utility shut down several coal-fired generators over the past five years but continues to operate one coal-fired power plant on the southeast side of Springfield. That plant will need to shut down permanently at some point in the next two decades under state law.
“In the future, all the costs are going to go up,” Sabin said. “We do expect that capacity auction prices will affect our customers.”
That echoes what some state officials expect as well. Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, has worked on energy legislation for years and said that there is “nothing we can do” to reduce prices for this summer as capacity auctions have concluded, but he said lawmakers should do what they can to address the root causes of the spike.
“We think this is going to be the new normal,” Cunningham said.
Legislative moves
Negotiations over energy reforms in Springfield have included lawmakers, the governor’s office, and interest groups including environmentalists, organized labor and business associations. The process is sparking heated debate.
Over the past week, a draft of legislation began circulating among lawmakers and advocates, many of whom discussed portions of the bill with Capitol News Illinois.
“I don’t think, by any stretch, you’ll see a bill the size and scope that CEJA was, that we passed four years ago — certainly won’t see that,” Cunningham, who was involved in the negotiations, said.
Potential provisions deal with incentives for renewable power, energy efficiency regulations, nuclear power, data centers and more.
We cannot allow these power-hungry facilities to drive up costs for consumers who are already struggling to pay their bills.
Environmental groups clashed with business and labor this week over a provision meant to lower the energy burden brought by data centers. That proposal would require large energy consumers to build their own energy generation through renewable sources like wind or solar power or pay the state to do so.
The pitch sparked fierce pushback from business and labor groups, which sent a collective letter to Pritzker, urging him to oppose the specific provision. The letter was co-signed by groups including the AFL-CIO, Climate Jobs Illinois, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Constellation Energy — the last of which operates all the state’s commercial nuclear power plants.
The proposal is being pushed by environmentalists, who say they want more accountability from data centers and other large consumers.
“We cannot allow these power-hungry facilities to drive up costs for consumers who are already struggling to pay their bills,” Gina Ramirez, director of Midwest environmental health at the National Resources Defense Council, said at a Wednesday rally.
Other issues are less controversial, largely because they’ve been negotiated for months.
Cunningham, a prominent player in the passage of CEJA, has his own proposal in the current draft: incentives for the energy storage industry. The current draft of that provision closely parallels recommendations made by the Illinois Commerce Commission. That agency was directed by a bill passed earlier this year to study how to handle energy storage projects.
While legislative Republicans have largely been shut out of negotiations over the bill, some of their ideas are being considered.
Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, put out a pitch to ease the pressure on electric demand earlier this year by expanding nuclear energy. She was the architect of a bill two years ago that eased the state’s moratorium on new nuclear power plants, lifting it for next-generation, small generators.
This year, Rezin introduced a bill that would eliminate the remaining state restrictions on new nuclear power plants. Language similar to Rezin’s was included in draft legislation circulated this week.
Rezin, who leads several energy-related groups of lawmakers as part of her involvement at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said all states are facing similar issues around electricity.
“All energy buildout will take years because of the regulatory process,” Rezin said. “That's why it's important now. The state of Illinois needs to send positive messages to companies that are looking to invest in technology — whether it's nuclear or any other kind of energy producing plant — that we are open for business.”
The feds’ ‘big, beautiful bill’
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday morning passed a bill containing many domestic policy priorities of President Donald Trump that many fear could upend state energy policy.
The bill contains provisions rolling back several clean energy tax incentives. Several key solar company stock prices fell sharply Thursday morning in response, including NextEra Energy, FirstSolar and Enphase Energy among others.
Photo: American Public Power Association/Upsplash
The solar industry has been a key part of Illinois’ renewable energy plans and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Lesley McCain, the head of the Illinois Solar Energy & Storage Association, said that the bill could “cause solar energy companies of all sizes to cancel projects, and many will be forced to shut their doors.”
Environmentalists were quick to criticize the federal bill, which still requires negotiation and an eventual vote in the U.S. Senate before it can become law.
“It strips funding for climate programs, guts clean energy manufacturing, kills good union jobs, drives energy prices up, and abandons farmers and small business owners,” Walling said in a statement.
Illinois Republicans, meanwhile, expressed optimism that some of the bill’s provisions could help the fossil fuel sector in the state.
“If the federal government is going to help us to, you know, power up coal, power up gas — we want all energy,” Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said at a news conference. “We want solar, we want wind, we want nuke, we want coal. We want all of it.”
Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, noted that the federal bill should not “be used as an excuse to rush forward” on the energy legislation under consideration in Springfield.
A bill in response to Massey’s death that would give Sangamon County residents the power to recall an elected official, like the sheriff. Cook County already has the power to hold recall votes. Here are other Illinois laws in the works.
by Ben Szalinski & Bridgette Fox
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - A long-awaited bill to reform the Prisoner Review Board will soon go to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk after receiving approval in the legislature Tuesday.
The House voted 74-37 to approve Senate Bill 19, which contains a series of reforms designed to include victims’ participation in Prisoner Review Board decisions. The measure now needs only a signature from the governor to become law.
The bill would give victims the right to file victim impact statements ahead of hearings, provide them with additional notice when their offender is granted early release, and allow them to seek an order of protection against an offender who is incarcerated.
It would also create the Office of the Director of Victim and Witness Services, which would ensure the board complies with victims’ rights, and mandates the board provide victims with contact information for the State Victim Assistance Hotline.
The bill also extends the terms for PRB members from six to eight years.
“The bulk of this bill is focused on ... making sure that victims, survivors, are more engaged in the process at PRB because unfortunately, too often, we’ve heard from victims and family members that they simply haven’t been given a voice in this process,” bill sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said.
Reforms pushed by the General Assembly last year failed to advance to the governor’s desk despite nearly unanimous support from the legislature. Pritzker opposed a requirement in the bill that board hearings to be livestreamed, and the bill was never called for a vote in the final days of last year’s session.
WINDHORST
Guzzardi said the bill passed Tuesday includes many of the portions lawmakers agreed on last year, but many Republicans have expressed concerns the latest version was too weak compared to the previous version.
The reforms come after Crosetti Brand allegedly murdered an 11-year-old Chicago boy in 2024. That February, the board voted to release Brand, finding there was not enough evidence he had violated his conditions of release. His ex-girlfriend, Laterria Smith, was denied an emergency order of protection by a Cook County judge while Brand was imprisoned at Stateville in Crest Hill.
Brand was charged with attacking Smith the day after his release and killing her 11-year-old son, Jayden Perkins, who attempted to protect his mother. Two PRB members, including the board chair, resigned in the wake of the incident.
Response to Sonya Massey’s death
Another bill needing only the governor’s signature to become law would change hiring practices for law enforcement agencies after it passed through the House on May 15.
Senate Bill 1953 would require all law enforcement agencies in the state to obtain all of the investigations, examinations and records about a potential hire from all entities that previously employed them. Previous employers and law enforcement agencies are required to release the information within two weeks of receiving such a request.
Photo:Nikhil Mistry/Unsplash"
Senate bill requires all law enforcement agencies in the state to obtain all records about a potential hire from previous employers to weed out bad actors.
Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, has been pushing for legislation in response to the death of Sonya Massey, a Springfield resident who was shot and killed in her home by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy in July 2024.
The former sheriff’s deputy, Sean Grayson, was originally called to Massey’s home in Springfield about reports of a prowler. After not finding anything outside, Grayson and his partner spoke with Massey inside her home.
Grayson was disciplined at a previous job for disobeying orders from superiors, general aggression and posting about drug busts online. Grayson was also found to have lied about being honorably discharged from the Army.
The deputies stood in the living room while Massey, with permission, removed a pot of boiling water from the stove in the adjoined kitchen. Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” after comments from deputies about the hot water, then Grayson threatened to shoot her. Body camera video showed Grayson shooting her seconds after the threat as Massey apologized.
Grayson is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Following Massey’s death, Capitol News Illinois unearthed documents showing Grayson was disciplined at a previous job for disobeying orders from superiors, general aggression and posting about drug busts online. Grayson was also found to have lied about being honorably discharged from the Army.
The measure passed through the House on a vote of 101-12.
JAMES WILBURN
“We can't legislate for judgment,” said the bill’s House sponsor Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, during a news conference last week. “What we can do is make sure that the answer that we got from the Sangamon County Sheriff's Department was that they did not know. That will no longer be the case when we pass this bill.”
Turner sponsored another bill in response to Massey’s death that would give Sangamon County residents the power to recall an elected official, like the sheriff. Cook County already has the power to hold recall votes.
Senate Bill 1954 passed through the Senate but hasn’t made its way through a House committee, meaning its passage could be an uphill battle.
“It's not done for this year,” Buckner said. “We just need to figure out what's going to happen in these next couple of weeks.”
Tornado-safe warehouses
A mile-wide EF3 tornado tore through St. Louis on Friday afternoon before crossing into Illinois and inflicting more damage in parts of Madison County. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado passed less than a mile from a complex of warehouses where a man was killed when a similar strength tornado demolished an Amazon warehouse in December 2021.
In response to the 2021 tornado, Illinois lawmakers convened a task force to issue recommendations on how to make warehouses safer in a tornado. In response to those recommendations, the House voted 83-28 Tuesday to pass House Bill 2987, which creates a series of new requirements warehouses must follow to protect their employees during a tornado warning.
The tornado first impacted the west-facing wall, causing it to collapse. That caused other structural failures, including the roof to collapse.
"It’s very timely that I’m calling this today as I spent part of my Friday and the last three weekends hunkered down in the basement with a tornado coming through my area,” Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, said.
The bill now heads to the Senate. It requires warehouse operators to work with local first responder agencies to craft safety plans for severe weather. New warehouses would need to be built with shelter spaces compliant with building codes for tornadoes and other types of natural disasters.
The 2021 tornado hit as the Amazon warehouse was bustling ahead of the holidays. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado traveled through the south half of the building. The tornado first impacted the west-facing wall, causing it to collapse. That caused other structural failures, including the roof to collapse.
An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into Amazon did not find any violations, according to the task force report. OSHA recommended the company review its severe weather procedures, ensure employees are provided training and participate in drills, have site-specific information about severe weather plans, and ensure audible warning devices are accessible. The warehouse was rebuilt and reopened in September 2024.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Jade Aubrey contributed to this article.
One in 31 children in the U.S. is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.
by Judith Ruiz-Branch Illinois News Connection
CHICAGO - Illinois is the first state to block the federal government from accessing state data on autism.
The order, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last week, is in response to federal efforts to create a mass data collection on autism.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to use Medicare and Medicaid data to create an autism registry with the goal of finding the cause of what he called an "autism epidemic." Pritzker's order prohibits the collection in Illinois without consent from an individual or guardian.
Federal agencies said they would protect sensitive health information.
Jeff Chan, associate professor of special education at Northern Illinois University, said along with concerns about accidental disclosure of protected health information, right now there is no single cause or cure for autism and he is skeptical a database could change it
"I don't even know if we will ever find that one, single cause," Chan acknowledged. "There's a variety of factors in play on the genetic side and the environmental side that are all affecting parents and mothers and children, which eventually lead to the expression of those symptoms."
Federal agencies said they would protect sensitive health information. More than a dozen autism organizations and advocates are pushing back against the planned database and any rhetoric claiming autism is "curable" or is caused by vaccines.
One in 31 children in the U.S. is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Chan noted in Illinois the rate increased from one in 333 children in 2002 to one in 51 children in 2023. He added while cases are rising, the numbers are also influenced by earlier diagnosis and improved data collection.
Chan emphasized the importance of oversight of data and interpretation and cautioned about the potential for drawing conclusions from incomplete information or cherry-picking evidence.
"Anyone could collect data and they can interpret it differently, and they can spin it differently," Chan stressed. "That happens all the time. And that's happened in the past, especially about the causes of autism."
Chan advised caution regarding individuals with extreme theories. He acknowledged the difficulty parents and caregivers face in evaluating information and the importance of institutions to help navigate the evidence.
"There's people out there that, for whatever reason, are true believers about a particular narrative about autism," Chan explained. "You have to be a very careful consumer about what you take in and what evidence you choose to believe."
Uphill battle for legislation this session comes as Israel faces protests for its war in Gaza.
Photo: Mohammed Abubakr/PEXELS
Protestors demonstrate for Palestinian human rights. Lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians have increasingly signed on to legislation opposing the decade-old anti-boycott law, penalizing companies that boycott Israel to protest its policies toward Palestinians.
by Simon Carr & Sonya Dymova Medill Illinois News Bureau
SPRINGFIELD - A growing number of state lawmakers are moving to repeal a 2015 Illinois law penalizing companies that boycott Israel to protest its policies toward Palestinians.
Amid concerns about Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians have increasingly signed on to legislation opposing the decade-old anti-boycott law. But so far, these bills have stalled.
Illinois’ 2015 law prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies engaging in the Boycott, Divest, Sanction, or BDS, movement against Israel, making Illinois the first U.S. state to enact such legislation, with dozens of other states following suit. The measure, signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, was modeled after similar post-9/11 measures restricting Illinois’ pension funds from investment in companies that engage in business with the governments of Iran and Sudan.
Medill Illinois News Bureau/Simon Carr
Students at DePaul University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment face counterprotesters in May 2024. This encampment was one of at least 130 similar campus protests last year, which highlighted concerns that Israel was engaging in human rights violations.
When boycotting Israel became grounds for blacklisting, Illinois lawmakers established the Illinois Investment Policy Board, tasked with investigating companies' investment choices. Opponents of the laws have warned they curtail free speech. Israel is the only country for which boycotting is penalized in Illinois by the board.
To repeal this policy, Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, introduced House Bill 2723, and Sen. Mike Porfirio, D-Bridgeview, introduced Senate Bill 2462 earlier this year. Since then, some 22 co-sponsors were added in the House and Senate, while two of those later had their names removed.
“This is about the right for people to advocate for what they believe — in this particular case, for human rights advocacy — without the state telling you what you have to believe and how you have to act,” said Rashid, the first Palestinian-American to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives. “It is a matter of making sure that Illinois is on the right side of history — not participating in the oppression of the Palestinian people – but it is also about making sure the Illinoisans and companies that do business in Illinois are not being forced and bullied and retaliated against because they chose to stand for human rights.”
Thirty companies are currently on the Illinois Investment Policy Board’s prohibited entity list for boycotting Israel.
In 2021, Unilever, for example, was added to that list after its subsidiary — ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s — announced it would stop selling its products in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as defined by the United Nations. While remaining a supporter of Israel, the company said it did not support “an internationally recognised illegal occupation.”
Thousands of bills, the vast majority of those proposed, get stuck in the Rules Committee every year for various reasons.
Chicago-based investment firm Morningstar narrowly avoided state divestment in 2022, when the Illinois Investment Policy Board accused the firm’s subsidiary, Sustainalytics, of having an anti-Israel bias. The company then commissioned an independent report that found evidence of anti-Israel bias in Morningstar’s standalone product, Human Rights Radar.
Morningstar agreed to accept a series of recommendations, including discontinuing the Human Rights Radar and no longer taking input from the United Nations Human Rights Council, in order to avoid state divestment.
Wavering support
While President Trump-supporting Republicans and right-wing activists rail against a bipartisan national bill that would toughen penalties for boycotting Israel’s government, Illinois’ Democratic supermajority legislature appears hesitant to put an end to its 2015 anti-boycott law, which passed unanimously in both houses.
Rashid’s and Porfirio’s bills have stalled in committee despite the initial support from about one-fifth of the Democratic caucus, including the leaders of the Latino, Black and Progressive caucuses.
Thousands of bills, the vast majority of those proposed, get stuck in the Rules Committee every year for various reasons. In HB 2723’s case, the holdup can be attributed in part to the political costs of supporting the bill, advocates said.
Deanna Othman ... said HB 2723 is urgent, citing both a humanitarian crisis and a crisis of free speech.
Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey, was listed as a cosponsor on March 20, and Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, signed onto the bill on April 2, but both had their names removed on April 8. Neither senator responded to a request for comment on their reasoning.
Porfirio, the Senate bill’s chief sponsor, said “I will continue to discuss the measure with my colleagues, to ensure that our pension system is well-informed, equitable and responsible” in an email. Its chief cosponsors — Karina Villa, D-West Chicago; Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, and Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet — all declined or failed to respond to requests for comment.
“Even though it had quite an impressive list of sponsors and cosponsors, it's a controversial piece of legislation that is likely to engender a lot of debate that most legislators don't want to vote on, because they either have Jewish or Palestinian constituents, or both,” said Dick Simpson, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and former Chicago alderman. “Why should they vote on something that isn't going to pass and then cause some constituents to be mad at them?”
But Deanna Othman, member of the Chicago chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, said HB 2723 is urgent, citing both a humanitarian crisis and a crisis of free speech.
“Unfortunately, it's more relevant now than ever, because we've seen all of the crackdown on student protesters and people who engage in boycott and people who are just voicing their First Amendment rights,” Othman said. “If I cannot stand up for the rights of my fellow Palestinians, whose rights can I stand up for?”
‘It’s impossible to tell if this bill will ever pass’
Activists say they are hopeful a repeal of the anti-BDS law will pass in 2026 if it continues to stall this year. But it remains an uphill battle, even as they point to a steady decrease in American popular support for Israel.
About 53% of Americans express an unfavorable opinion of Israel, according to a Pew Research Center study conducted last month. This is an increase from March 2022, when that figure was 42%.
The survey found the share of Americans with little or no trust in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do the right thing for global affairs” increased significantly from 2023 to 2024. Since Oct. 7, over 52,000 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. An estimated 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and around 250 Israelis were taken hostage.
The pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group J Street does not oppose boycott initiatives “that explicitly support a two-state solution and recognize Israel’s right to exist,” according to a statement of its policies. “It is critical to maintain the distinction between boycott efforts that work against the interests of Israel, and initiatives which are limited to opposing the occupation. We neither oppose nor call for these initiatives,” the group said in a statement.
But J Street does oppose the broader Global BDS Movement, which advocates for three tenets: That Israel should stop policing the border on and occupying legally Palestinian land, that Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel should have full equality with Jewish citizens and that Palestinians be allowed to return to their homes, as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
Lesley Williams, an activist with Evanston Ceasefire who has been lobbying to repeal Illinois’ anti-BDS law, said the three tenets don’t mean “Israel needs to stop existing.”
“That doesn't mean that non-Palestinians should be forced to leave Israel,” she said. “It just says the Palestinians should have equal rights in that territory and that Israel should be following United Nations resolutions.”
Pritzker is going to try to run for president in 2028, and he doesn't want anything to happen in the GA that could be used as an albatross on his neck ...
The original sponsor of the 2015 anti-BDS law in the House, then Rep. (now Sen.) Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, declined several requests for comment. However, when a 2022 Crain’s Chicago Business op-ed criticized Feigenholtz’s legislation, arguing it was “raising the specter of McCarthy-like scrutiny.” Feigenholtz issued a statement defending her law.
“Israel is the singular democracy in the Middle East that has historically been a consistent ally to the United States,” Feigenholtz said at the time. “Boycotts of Israel, like Ben & Jerry’s/Unilever, are intended to harm and weaken Israel.” She added, “No one’s free speech is curtailed.”
Ben and Jerry’s co-founders Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who no longer run the company, denied the boycott was anti-Israel or antisemitic in a 2021 op-ed. They said it was merely a rejection of Israeli policy, and that Ben and Jerry’s was in fact advancing justice and human rights, both “core tenets of Judaism.”
Given the controversy surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian divide, many political obstacles to these current bills passing will probably remain next year. Politicians are less likely to discuss controversial issues like the BDS movement when there’s a supermajority of one party — in Illinois’ case, Democrats — for fear of factionalizing, said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University.
Even if a repeal of the anti-BDS law makes it through the legislature, Gov. JB Pritzker may still be an obstacle, Burge added.
“Pritzker is going to try to run for president in 2028, and he doesn't want anything to happen in the GA that could be used as an albatross on his neck when he runs for the primary in a couple years,” Burge said. Should anti-BDS legislation reach Pritzker’s desk, “The Governor will carefully review this piece of legislation,” the governor’s press secretary, Alex Gough, said in an email.
“It’s impossible to tell if this bill will ever pass, and the reason for that is it's impossible to predict where the Israeli and Palestinian war will be next year,” Simpson said. “I don't know, if Israel does carry through on its threats to move all the Palestinians out of Gaza and to permanently take control, that might provide enough anger to cause it to pass. But it is just predicting.”
Simon Carr and Sonya Dymova are students in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and are fellows in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Editor's Note:
This story has been updated to include a comment from Sen. Mike Porfirio that was received before publish and inadvertently omitted from a previous version. Capitol News Illinois regrets the error.
Avoiding holiday acid reflux is a cinch; Dr. Greg Ward explains how
The advice from Greg Ward, MD, is sure to raise some eyebrows.
But he’s serious. It’s one way to prevent reflux, an ailment that’s painful and annoying in mild cases and can necessitate surgery in advanced instances. And it's something to be aware of during holiday eating.
Learning by leading: Building teen entrepreneurship and real-world business know-how
Already on Tiktok or Instagram? Teens can get real-world skills by blending business and their social media platforms into a unique venture this summer where they can learn valuable business experience as entrepreneurs.
Rybak wins state track title, next stop Notre Dame
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Father McGivney's Elena Rybak and St. Anthony's Isabella Keller embrace after running in the Class 1A 1600m Run on Saturday at the Illinois High School Association's Girls Track & Field State Finals.
by Ben Szalinski
