SPRINGFIELD — After closing out a lame-duck legislative session tainted by internal strife, Illinois Democrats heralded a fresh start Wednesday as the latest class of the Illinois General Assembly enters a daunting budget season and prepares for the second presidency of Donald Trump.

“We meet here this afternoon at a critical moment in the history of our state and our country, and as the elected leaders from our communities, we have some difficult things to do in the days and months ahead,” Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said at his chamber’s inauguration ceremony at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

“Trying to build connection, compassion and community in a time fraught with division and discord — these are challenges created and exacerbated by many factors beyond our control,” Welch said, nodding toward a second Trump administration at odds with Illinois’ supermajority Democratic Party. “The people who sent you here, who gave us this moment, expect us to move forward as one.”

But the Hillside Democrat’s caucus saw discord of its own in a lame-duck session confrontation that enraged Gov. JB Pritzker.

Several House Democrats shouted down Pritzker agency heads during a Monday caucus meeting over a controversial hemp regulation bill, in a heated encounter that ended with at least one staffer in tears and one of Pritzker’s top legislative priorities tanked.

The governor’s office criticized Welch for allowing the berating to happen, while Pritzker publicly slammed Welch for not calling a floor vote for the bill that would have effectively banned most sales of hemp-derived THC products like delta-8.

Pritzker demanded apologies to his staff, and on Wednesday he said “a little of that has happened,” while downplaying the possibility of any bad blood transitioning to the new legislative session as lawmakers grapple with an estimated $3 billion budget deficit.

“Every day is a new day to do the right thing,” Pritzker told reporters after presiding over the Illinois Senate’s inauguration. “People can make mistakes, and certainly mistakes were made and behavior was improper during that caucus. But people can make amends and we can all get along.”

Senate President Don Harmon preached a similar message of unity as he was sworn in for a third full term at the helm of the upper chamber. He advised his colleagues to “treat your neighbors well, stay humble [and] be kind.”

“Your seatmates, the members of your caucus, are your neighbors in the Senate. Your time here will be much more pleasant if you are good to them,” Harmon said inside a newly renovated chamber. “The Senate is an active laboratory for coalition building. Forge those bonds and look out for one another.”

Neither leader, nor Pritzker, went far into specifics on their legislative agendas heading into the spring session. While lawmakers ended the previous General Assembly without advancing legislation intended to preempt policies from the incoming Trump administration, “we’re all going to have to be on guard for what the impact of that will be in the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.

He suggested Trump tariff policies and potential Medicaid cuts could exacerbate the state’s looming budget deficit.

“We don’t know what they’re going to do,” Pritzker said. “We know that we have a gap that we need to fill or that we need to manage in order to have a balanced budget, and I’m confident that we will do that. But it is true that there’s some unpredictable results that may come from Washington.”

The governor has until the end of May to hammer out a budget with lawmakers. He’ll deliver his initial proposal next month.

Other legislators floated their priorities for the upcoming session, including South Side state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, who highlighted the need for a broad transit funding reform bill to avert a fiscal cliff; and Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who wants to add safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence in health care.

Republicans, who remain relegated to superminority status in Springfield, voiced frustration with the Democrats’ iron grip on the State Capitol.

“Illinois is a great place to live, and Illinois has always been a state of possibilities, but one-party control has stifled that success,” said House Minority Leader Tony McCombie. Republicans have been outnumbered in the House since 1994, and the Senate since 2000.

“I, like many, was disappointed with our election outcomes, and the ability for us to secure more Republican seats to bring some balance to the General Assembly,” McCombie said. “However, this was not due to a lack of good candidates or hard work, but due to special interests and Illinois’s gerrymandered maps, the most outrageous maps in the nation.”

With over $600 million raised in campaign contributions across all political campaigns in 2024, neither party had much to show for their time and money. The state House and Senate saw no party gain or lose a seat, as Democrats held onto their bicameral supermajority for four straight elections.

Republican Senate Minority Leader John Curran offered a cooperative hand in his chamber, praising Harmon “for making the table more open to the minority party. I look forward to that continued inclusion in the upcoming session.”

Respiratory illness levels in Illinois have risen from moderate to high, according to the state’s health department, but what does that mean for masking and what should you know?

While several hospitals and health systems in the Chicago area have started implementing mask recommendations, there is no specific statewide mandate.

Still, the Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday urged healthcare facilities to “consider targeted steps to mitigate the circulation of seasonal illnesses,” including measures like masking, amid an “early winter jump in hospital admissions.”

“The New Year has arrived, and Illinois is experiencing the expected winter surge in seasonal respiratory illnesses,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement.  “It is now more important than ever to use the many tools at our disposal to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”

Vohra urged vaccinations for the viruses spreading most across the state — flu, COVID and RSV — but noted that “other effective tools to prevent exposure to respiratory illnesses include enhanced ventilation, good hand hygiene, and a well-fitting mask.”

He reminded those with symptoms of a respiratory illness — such as fever, runny nose, sore throat or cough — should isolate to avoid spreading germs, or wear a well-fitting mask if they are unable to isolate.

Already this winter virus season, Illinois has recorded four pediatric deaths due to flu, COVID-19 and RSV, the health department reported.

In December, multiple Illinois health systems implemented full or partial mask mandates due to the continuing uptick in respiratory infections across the state.

Rush University Medical Center, in a note on its website, said visitors and staff must wear hospital-approved masks in some areas, citing increased levels of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu and RSV.

“Effective Dec. 2, 2024, Rush is requiring patients and visitors to wear hospital-approved masks when they are in clinical offices, waiting areas and patient registration,” the hospital stated. “The policy coincides with the respiratory virus season, when the spread of flu, RSV and COVID-19 rises.”

The above requirement took effect at all of the health system’s hospitals – Rush University Medical Center, Rush Copley Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital. OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, meanwhile, will begin requiring masks on Tuesday due to “widespread respiratory illnesses,” including COVID-19, influenza and RSV. In addition, the hospital is implementing a temporary restriction of only two visitors – 18 years old and above – per patient.

Other area health systems, such as Endeavor Health, required masks for visitors and patients experiencing respiratory symptoms, citing ongoing virus transmission, according to its website. University of Chicago Medicine, meanwhile, mandated staff members members wear masks for “all patient care and patient facing activities,” according to a spokesman.

OSF St. Francis Medical Center said it was recommending both patients and visitors wear masks in its hospitals, hospice home and clinic. The healthcare group also said it would temporarily limit hospital and hospice home visitors to two adults per patient at a time, with certain exceptions.

The uptick in Illinois follows surges in flu and whooping cough cases across much of the country.

Dr. Whitney Lyn, a family medicine physician with Cook County Health, said the hospital admission rate typically picks up a week after the holidays, but this year, hospitals are already “bursting at the seams.”

For those who contract an illness, there are effective anti-viral treatments available for COVID-19 and the flu, but they must be started quickly. Even with the nation experiencing a rise in illnesses and the holidays winding down, doctors insist it’s not too late to get vaccinated.

Lyn said it’s “really, really important” to consider getting vaccines to decrease your chances of becoming seriously ill.

“But what’s really the important thing about it is [the] majority of these viruses that we are seeing do have vaccines that can either lessen the symptoms or don’t have the symptoms at all,” she stated. “The more people that we really get vaccinated for the flu, RSV, COVID, those are the things that are really going to decrease the transmission from person to person and not have your whole household sick.”

While it takes about two weeks for vaccinations to provide their full level of protection, getting shots now will offer protection through the cold and flu season that lasts into the spring.

Anyone experiencing common respiratory symptoms – such as a cough, sneezing or a fever – should wear a mask anytime they are around others, doctors assert.

“…If you’re having that cough, that sneezing, please wear a mask because you don’t know what you have,” Lyn said. “And if, you know, you have elderly people that you’re around or people who are immunocompromised that have chronic diseases or even children, those things can actually make things worse for them.”

Associated Press

Penn State Nittany Lions (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) at Illinois Fighting Illini (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten)

Champaign, Illinois; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -9.5; over/under is 163.5

BOTTOM LINE: Penn State takes on No. 13 Illinois after Nick Kern scored 21 points in Penn State’s 77-71 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Fighting Illini are 7-1 in home games. Illinois is second in the Big Ten scoring 87.6 points while shooting 46.1% from the field.

The Nittany Lions are 2-2 against Big Ten opponents. Penn State is ninth in the Big Ten giving up 68.5 points while holding opponents to 42.6% shooting.

Illinois makes 46.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than Penn State has allowed to its opponents (42.6%). Penn State averages 7.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 more made shots on average than the 6.1 per game Illinois allows.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kasparas Jakucionis is shooting 49.6% and averaging 16.4 points for the Fighting Illini.

Adrian Baldwin Jr. is scoring 14.8 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists for the Nittany Lions.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 8-2, averaging 87.2 points, 41.2 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 5.2 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points per game.

Nittany Lions: 7-3, averaging 81.1 points, 31.9 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.