Illinois General Assembly

The E.D. Edwards coal plant in Bartonville is slated to become a battery energy storage site after it closes next year.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed a massive climate and energy plan into law — the last and hardest fought of his agenda items for his first four years in office as he gears up to run for a second term.

Expressing concern that the Illinois State Board of Education might have overstepped its bounds by threatening to withhold funding from school districts that do not enforce its mask mandate, a legislative panel on Tuesday urged the agency to put its policies into formal rules.

The Illinois Senate put the final legislative stamp on an energy regulation overhaul bill Monday, sending it to Gov. JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it.

Reverend Tony Pierce helped steer new energy legislation in Illinois toward a focus on equity.

The Illinois House approved an energy regulation and decarbonization bill Thursday, a major step forward for a wide-ranging omnibus bill that had eluded lawmakers throughout the legislative session and the governor’s three years in office.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill late last month to address what he called “local news deserts” in Illinois. The legislation pushes to ensure local journalism survives in Illinois’ small towns and mid-sized cities.

A proposal in the Illinois Senate would allow noncitizens to vote in local school board elections. But even supporters of the proposal say the legislation is not yet ready for primetime.

The law already passed the Senate on May 31 by a 40-17 vote and it passed the House Wednesday by a vote of 75-40.