Government - State

SPRINGFIELD – House and Senate Democrats have agreed on a proposed Illinois budget that would keep education funding at the same level and increase human services spending.

CHICAGO – Virtual charter schools in Illinois are being placed on temporary hold.

County’s 2 lawmakers vote to OK legislation

SPRINGFIELD – Gun owners in the only state still banning concealed weapons would win that right under a plan approved by the Illinois House on Friday, but the governor and other powerful Democrats oppose the plan because it would wipe out local gun ordinances — including Chicago's ban on assault weapons.

SPRINGFIELD – A compromise plan on concealed weapons heading for a House floor vote drew swift opposition Thursday from Gov. Pat Quinn, whose office called it a "massive overreach" because of the way it would curb local firearms regulations.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois legislation allowing public possession of concealed guns would wipe out local firearms ordinances.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois public schools that teach sex education will have to include information about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases instead of a curriculum focused solely on abstinence, according to a plan that cleared the state Senate on Wednesday.

The Illinois Virtual Charter School at Fox River Valley will be delayed for a year if Gov. Pat Quinn signs into law a moratorium on charter schools like it.

SPRINGFIELD – A groundbreaking deal to regulate high-volume oil and gas drilling in Illinois cleared a top House committee Tuesday, setting up a floor vote on a measure that supporters say would bring tens of thousands of jobs to struggling areas in the southern part of the state.

CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn said Illinois lawmakers have a chance to make history on two fronts this month by approving a plan to fix the state’s decades-old pension crisis and legalizing same-sex marriage.

CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn says he's reviewing a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana.

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois General Assembly has just two weeks left in Springfield before it adjourns for the summer, leaving lawmakers with a tight deadline for action on issues including tackling the state’s pension crisis, gay marriage and how guns will be allowed to be carried in public.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Senate Democrats want to boost general education funding by $156 million next year, not cut it, key budget negotiators said Friday, but acknowledged the increase would only keep per-student funding level.

DeKalb County's state senators split their vote

SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois Senate panel approved a measure Thursday allowing the carrying of concealed weapons, but the committee's move followed sharp questioning from Republicans concerning whether packing a gun in Chicago should require special permission and how authorities would determine who is fit to carry.