Illinois
Editorial: Here are our views on new Illinois laws on everything from your health care coverage to your Netflix subscription
For those who mutter, “There ought to be a law,” when they see or experience something of which they disapprove, the Illinois General Assembly had their back in 2024. As always, there were dozens of new laws attempting to redress the irritations and injustices of day-to-day life, as well as to clamp down on practices few previously had considered nefarious.
One such law — the provision of small plastic shampoo bottles by hotels is (mostly) illegal in the Land of Lincoln as of today — we’ve already highlighted. But Gov. JB Pritzker signed nearly 300 new laws, most of which took effect Jan. 1. Democrats, enjoying super-majorities in both chambers, were mainly the authors of the new statutes by which Illinoisans will have to abide. Here now are several that caught our attention. And we’re never shy with our opinions.
House Bill 5395 and House Bill 2499: A landmark overhaul of health insurance practices in Illinois.
Many of the provisions in Pritzker’s top legislative priority last year won’t take effect until 2026. But a few are effective now, including the banning of short-term, limited-coverage insurance plans that supporters of the bill refer to as “junk insurance.”
For this year, the Department of Insurance and the health insurance industry will prepare for the many changes the law mandates beginning Jan. 1, 2026. They include the prohibition of step therapy provisions that require patients and doctors to try cheaper prescription alternatives before moving on to more expensive medications, which industry critics deride as “fail first.” The law will bar insurers from requiring prior authorization for in-patient psychiatric treatment. And the Insurance Department for the first time will have the authority to deny rate hikes sought by large-group insurance plans.
For all the criticism the health insurers get, and the industry is under a particularly intense microscope following the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s Brian Thompson, there’s a reason some of these companies put doctors and consumers through the hoops they do. Health care costs in the U.S. are out of control; this country spends far more per capita on health care than any other nation, and our outcomes lag most of the Western world.
Pritzker and fellow Democrats described their legislation as “common sense,” and indeed insurers are easy — and sometimes deserved — recipients of criticism for the crude steps they take to reduce costs. And to be clear, our health system is inefficient and makes too many of us miserable.
But if ever there were a subject where unintended consequences come into play, it’s access to health care. Are critics correct when they say elimination of short-term health plans simply will prevent some consumers who need stopgap coverage from getting it affordably? Would requirements for better disclosure of what consumers are getting — and not getting — with these short-term plans be preferable to an outright ban?
Time will tell, as they say. Whatever happens once these changes take full effect, we predict Illinois lawmakers will need to revisit this subject sooner rather than later.
Senate Bill 3649: Giving workers the right to skip “mandatory” workplace meetings discussing unionizing, politics and religion.
Organized labor has succeeded in convincing several states to bar employers from making workers sit through meetings where union organizing is discouraged. Illinois has joined this group — and taken this “captive audience” law further than most other states by including discussions involving politics or religion among those meetings workers can’t be compelled to attend.
The conservative Illinois Policy Institute has sued in federal court, claiming the law is an unconstitutional infringement on the free-speech rights of employers.
In practical terms, instances where legislative or regulatory actions directly affect a business fall under the umbrella of “politics.” It doesn’t make sense to us that employers subject, say, to a pending bill that would have a material impact on their business shouldn’t be allowed to compel staff to be updated on the issue and what their employers are doing about it.
This is overreach, plain and simple.
Senate Bill 508: Protecting workers whose immigration status comes into question.
This measure originally was described as close to an outright ban on employers using the federal E-Verify system to determine whether any of their workers or applicants are ineligible. The Illinois Labor Department in the fall clarified that employers still could use E-Verify but only if they followed the law’s detailed requirements on notifying affected employees of any problems and giving them a period of time to respond.
The bill’s chief sponsor, Democratic Sen. Javier Cervantes of Chicago, said, “Many immigrant employees have run into a problem where their documentation may have misinput their name with slight differences of dashes, spaces, letters with or without an accent, only to be flagged during the work verification process.” He said many employers simply terminate employees caught up in these misunderstandings rather than giving them time to clear up the confusion.
This law seems like a clear enough response to that problem, but it also (perhaps intentionally) risks employers shying away from using E-Verify at all for fear of not following all of the new rules. With a Trump administration committed to strict enforcement of immigration laws, that potentially puts employers in the position of running afoul of state or federal enforcement officials, whatever they decide to do. The law is the law, and immigration issues are the responsibility of the federal government. But let’s hope reason prevails in this sensitive area.
Senate Bill 2764: Helping consumers who want to cancel monthly bills before their teaser rates end.
Here’s a bill addressing an issue most of us can relate to. This measure, authored by Sen. Doris Tucker, D-Springfield, requires email notification of subscribers at least three days before their introductory rates convert automatically to higher rates.
It’s hard to argue with this consumer-friendly measure, since streaming services, websites, publications, broadcast channels and many other subscription-based services rely for their business growth in part on subscribers who forget they signed up at the teaser rate in the first place. That reminds us: Our New Year’s resolution is to comb through our unruly mess of monthly commitments and do some serious pruning.
House Bill 5408: No more camping on the shoulder waiting for O’Hare arrivals.
Anyone who’s picked someone up at O’Hare recently has seen long lines of cars parked on the shoulder just outside the airport. In one of the rare instances where a Republican-sponsored bill became law, this measure authored by Rep. Bradley Stephens, who also is the GOP mayor of Rosemont, was pitched as a safety act and won overwhelming support.
The law subjects anyone camped out on the shoulder within 2 miles of O’Hare to a $100 fine. C’mon, people. The cellphone lot at O’Hare has plenty of space.
Stay on the right side of the law, and Happy New Year to all!
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Illinois
Johnson scores 14, UIC takes down Southern Illinois 70-57
Thursday, January 8, 2026 4:14AM
CHICAGO — – Andy Johnson’s 14 points helped UIC defeat Southern Illinois 70-57 on Wednesday night.
Johnson had five rebounds for the Flames (6-10, 1-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Ahmad Henderson II added 13 points and Elijah Crawford scored 11.
Damien Mayo Jr. led the way for the Salukis (8-9, 2-4) with 17 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Jalen Haynes added seven points for Southern Illinois. Rolyns Aligbe had six points and two blocks.
UIC took the lead with 14:56 left in the first half and did not trail again. Henderson scored nine points in the first half to help put the Flames up 31-21 at the break.
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.br/]
Copyright © 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
Illinois
Illinois Democrats express outrage, seek full investigation into ICE fatal shooting of Minnesota woman
Illinois Democrats are demanding a full investigation into the death of a woman at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, with some calling it a “murder” and an “execution.”
The woman was fatally shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood just south of downtown Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “an act of domestic terrorism” by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”
Noem said an officer “acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
Videos taken by witnesses show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him, according to the Associated Press. It’s unclear whether the vehicle made contact with the officer.
The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, is at least the fifth death linked to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Silverio Villegas González died on Sept. 12 after being shot as he allegedly tried to flee from ICE agents in suburban Franklin Park. Body camera footage first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows the federal agent telling local police he was “dragged a little bit.” Speaking over the radio, his partner relays the agent suffered “a left knee injury and some lacerations to his hands.”
Villegas González had no criminal history, but DHS has said he had “a history of reckless driving” and was in the country without legal status.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said he is “heartbroken and outraged” by what he called a “murder.” U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson called it “an execution in our streets.”
“This tragedy occurred less than a mile from the hallowed ground where George Floyd was murdered during Donald Trump’s first term,” Jackson said in a statement. “It is a chilling and devastating reminder that the cycle of state-sanctioned violence against our communities has not only continued but has been weaponized under this administration’s ‘Operation Metro Surge.’”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling for an immediate investigation into the ICE officer who fired the shot. She wrote on X, “ICE is clearly not making us safer. This needs to stop.” And Sen. Dick Durbin called the death “tragic, heartbreaking and enraging” but urged protesters to “remain peaceful.”
“A full investigation must be completed so the truth can be revealed,” Durbin said in a statement. “Video of the incident starkly contradicts DHS’s narrative, and the fact that DHS has jumped to characterize this shooting in ‘self-defense’ is rushed, at best, and a lie, at worst.”
Three top Democrats vying to replace Durbin in the March 17 primary all said they would push for answers about the death.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will be “demanding full answers and accountability from the Trump administration” over a “horrific loss of life.”
“This is Donald Trump’s America: a woman is dead because ICE is operating with impunity in our neighborhoods,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “…When federal agents are unleashed without restraint or oversight, the consequences are deadly — and the responsibility for this killing is on their hands.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly evoked Villegas’ death in commenting on the Minnesota shooting.
“The city of Chicago knows all too well that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem only lies. After the deadly shooting of Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop, Secretary Noem tried to hide the truth, but bodycam footage disproved injuries sustained by the ICE officer,” Kelly said. “The Minneapolis Mayor has already said that video disputes Secretary Noem’s claims. It’s clear that to achieve public safety, ICE must leave our cities immediately.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the shooting “horrific.”
“Rejecting authoritarianism should not be a death sentence in the United States of America,” Stratton said. “We need answers and we need ICE out of our communities.”
Rep. Brad Schneider called the fatal shooting “a stain on our entire nation.”
“Sending strength to the Minneapolis community. Chicagoland knows all too well the trauma and terror Trump’s chaotic immigration operations bring to otherwise peaceful communities,” Schneider said. “Our President should be making America and Americans safer. He is failing.”
Illinois
Illinois Inexplicably Drops in ESPN’s Updated Bracketology From Joe Lunardi
Illinois’ win over Penn State at The Palestra was anything but flawless. A horrid shooting night and a stagnant offensive performance – specifically when freshman guard Keaton Wagler was off the floor – characterized the whole affair.
Defensively, the Illini were fairly stout, but they gave up far too many second-chance opportunities to the Nittany Lions – who parlayed 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
But to steal a win on the road – technically, the game was played in neutral-site Philadelphia – against a Big Ten opponent is an accomplishment in itself. (It was just lowly Penn State, you say? Tell that to Michigan, which squeaked by the Nittany Lions by two on Tuesday night.)
In a college basketball season of more than 30 games, it’s inevitable that a two-hour window will overlap here and there when the shots simply don’t fall – no matter how open the looks are. That happened on Saturday, yet the Illini still triumphed.
That’s glass half full. The glass-half-empty perspective goes something like this: putting up 73 points on 39.3 percent shooting against a Penn State team that entered the game outside of the top 200 in defensive efficiency (per KenPom) is embarrassing. And as a team that prides itself on controlling the glass, giving up 14 offensive rebounds to the Nittany Lions is entirely unacceptable.
Where Illinois landed in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology
Perhaps ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is a pessimist, as that latter line of rationale could be the only possible explanation for his decision in Tuesday’s edition of Bracketology. In it, he dropped the Illini a seed line, moving them down from a three seed to a four seed.
Since Lunardi’s previous update, Illinois has played exactly one game – against Penn State. Were the Illini really exposed that badly in Philly? In any case, they have two full months to bolster their resume, and the Big Ten schedule provides plenty of prime opportunities: In the next 32 days alone, the Illini have road meetings at No. 19 Iowa, No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska – a key chance at vengeance – and No. 12 Michigan State.
Split those contests and Illinois may find itself sitting firmly as a three seed. Win three out of four and the Illini are suddenly a borderline two seed. But until they prove themselves with a few more statement victories, it appears they will be stuck as a four – an excellent “consolation” prize for the time being.
Every Big Ten team in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology for ESPN
Ohio State (No. 11 seed)
Indiana (No. 10)
UCLA (No. 9)
USC (No. 8)
Iowa (No. 6)
Michigan State (No. 4)
Illinois (No. 4)
Nebraska (No. 3)
Purdue (No. 2)
Michigan (No. 1)
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