Illinois
Illinois Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot.
It’s a move that caused minority party Republicans to vote “present,” then walk off the House floor without even debating the measure, while four Democrats voted against the bill that would amend ballot laws for the election cycle that is already underway.
Republicans were particularly critical of a provision that prohibits political parties from appointing a candidate to a general election ballot if no member of that party filed nominating petitions for the primary.
Statewide election referendums beginning to take shape
The minority party also criticized Democrats’ hasty movement of the proposed changes from introduction to floor passage. Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, filed the amendment to an unrelated bill, Senate Bill 2412, Wednesday morning before it was quickly moved to committee for passage, then to the floor within hours. It now awaits action in the Senate.
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, noted at an impromptu news conference on a Capitol stairwell that the GOP has grown accustomed to legislation moving with little public notice – but it usually happens closer to the General Assembly’s end of May adjournment.
“But we don’t understand the sense of urgency right now, unless the goal – the end goal – is to stifle the democratic process through the changes on slating candidates,” she said.
At the same time the amendment was moving through the House, senators were being briefed separately on the proposed changes.
In the Senate Executive Committee, which meets one floor below the House chamber, Republican Leader John Curran, of Downers Grove, argued that changing the rules in the middle of an election cycle would be unfair to potential candidates who are operating under existing rules.
He also said such a move could add to what he called the public’s growing mistrust of the election system generally.
“There’s a lot of talk around the country about stealing elections,” Curran said. “And the faith in the democratic process has been shaken a bit around the country. I believe Illinois would be adding to that, really, national problem, if it took that step here and changed the rules midstream rather than just waiting to the next election cycle.”
But Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, noted there are other ways to get on the ballot after the primary has passed.
“A candidate who would want to run for General Assembly seat after the primary will have to run, as they can today, as an independent or a third-party candidate,” Harmon said. “They would no longer be able to appeal to the local party bosses to have them installed as the candidate of a major political party.”
Privately, GOP lawmakers said they believe the proposed change is designed to influence the outcome of one particular race this year – the 112th House District in the Metro East area, where incumbent Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, is running for reelection.
No Republican filed to run in that race in time for the March 19 primary, but party officials say one is currently being lined up.
Republicans believe that district is winnable for them. Stuart won reelection to that seat in 2022 by a 54-46 margin over Republican Jennifer Korte.
Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, was one of the four Democrats to vote “no” on the bill Wednesday afternoon, though others skipped the vote. She said she’s not opposed to eliminating the slating process beginning in the 2026 election cycle but said doing it now is “moving the goal posts” in the “final minutes of a ballgame.”
“That’s problematic for me because as an elected official in Illinois, I’m constantly trying to rebuild trust in Illinois government and politics that many of the people I represent…don’t have,” she told Capitol News Illinois after the vote.
The measure would also pose three nonbinding advisory referendum questions to voters on the November ballot, including asking whether health insurance plans that cover pregnancy benefits should be required to cover in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.
That mirrors legislation passed in the state Senate last month that would require IVF and other fertility coverage for insurance plans with pregnancy benefits that are sponsored by companies with 25 or more employees.
The other questions would ask voters whether they’d favor civil penalties for any candidate who “interferes or attempts to interfere with an election worker’s official duties” and whether the state should adopt an additional 3 percent tax on income over $1 million.
The extra revenue would be collected “for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief” – a perennial concern in a state with the second-highest property taxes in the U.S., just behind New Jersey, according to a 2023 report from The Tax Foundation.
Illinoisans were already asked a similar nonbinding referendum a decade ago, when nearly 60 percent of voters said “yes” to a question about a 3 percent tax on income over $1 million for the purposes of education, which is largely funded by local property taxes. Then-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s push for the so-called millionaire’s tax was seen as a poke at then-gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, a self-funded Republican who ultimately won the governor’s race and spent his four-year term fighting with the powerful Democratic speaker.
McCombie said Republicans had offered bills aimed at property tax relief on several occasions in recent years. She and state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, argued the referendums were a distraction.
“What you saw today was a phony attempt to solicit feedback from voters that was covering up the real intention to the Democrats’ bill upstairs, which is to eliminate competition in our elections,” Spain said.
As state law limits the number of questions on a statewide ballot to three, SB 2412 would also crowd out the possibility of any other citizen-initiated questions from making it to the ballot.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
A number of schools from Chicago and the suburbs were recognized as among the top elementary schools in Illinois, according to a new list.
The “2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools” list from U.S. News and World Report examined more than 79,000 public schools in all 50 states, a press release revealed. Editors used publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze mathematics and reading performance at the state and district levels — while accounting for student background and achievement in core subjects.
For a school corporation to receive a district-level ranking, at least two of the top performing schools must rank in the top 75% of the overall elementary or middle school rankings, according to the website. In all, 47,573 elementary schools and 23,861 middle schools were assessed.
In Illinois, a total of 3,421 schools were ranked. Seven of the top 25 schools in the state were Chicago Public Schools, including the top school, Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center.
Almost all of the top 25 schools were in either the city or suburbs — except for No. 10 – Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Rockford and No. 22 – Congerville Elementary School in downstate Woodford County.
Following behind Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center was Hinsdale’s Oak Elementary School and Naperville’s Meadows Glen Elementary School at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, a Chicago Public School, and Brook Forest Elementary School rounded out the top five.
Here’s a look into the top 25 elementary schools in Illinois, according to the report.
- Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
- Oak Elementary School – Hinsdale
- Meadows Glen Elementary School – Naperville
- Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
- Brook Forest Elementary School – Oak Brook
- Elm Elementary School – Burr Ridge
- Forest Hills Elementary School – Western Springs
- The Lane Elementary School – Hinsdale
- Eisenhower Academy – Joliet
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary School – Rockford
- Skinner North Elementary School – Chicago
- Greenbriar Elementary School – Northbrook
- Westmoor Elementary School – Northbrook
- Ellsworth Elementary School – Naperville
- Prospect Elementary School – Clarendon Hills
- Walker School – Clarendon Hills
- Lincoln Elementary School – River Forest
- Highlands Elementary School – Naperville
- Bronzeville Classical Elementary School – Chicago
- George B Carpenter Elementary School – Park Ridge
- Madison Elementary School – Hinsdale
- Congerville Elementary School – Congerville
- Decatur Classical Elementary School – Chicago
- Lincoln Elementary School – Chicago
- Hawthorne Elementary Scholastic Academy – Chicago
Redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dedrick Navarro’s gutsy decision win over No. 27 Blake West set the tone for Northwestern’s statement 29-8 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday.
NU entered its dual season opener with a point to prove, having lost to Northern Illinois 18-17 to start last year.
“After dropping a match to them that stung for a whole year, it was nice to go out there and not just win, but to really put it on them and win in dominating fashion,” coach Matt Storniolo said.
The night got off to a flying start as Navarro pulled off a stunning upset over West. An escape and a takedown by West put Navarro in a 0-4 hole entering the third period, but he battled back, scoring a takedown of his own before a trip with seconds left vaulted him to a 7-6 decision win.
Navarro said he tried to push the pace in the moment, and it felt good to get his first win of the dual season.
“We’ve only got a few years of this, so I’m just soaking it in and being grateful, having fun and putting on a show,” Navarro said.
The Huskies notched their first team points of the night in the 133-pound bout as redshirt sophomore Markel Baker won by major decision over sophomore Massey Odiotti. Three Baker takedowns in the first period cemented his 14-3 victory.
Graduate student 141-pounder No. 10 Chris Cannon made his NU homecoming with a 9-3 decision win over NIU’s Charles Curtis.
A two-time All-American for the Wildcats, Cannon transferred to Michigan before the 2024 season but missed nearly all of it after suffering a head injury in his dual season opener exactly one year ago Sunday. Storniolo said Cannon was not back to full strength yet, but that didn’t stop him from competing and winning.
“It was good for him to know that he’s still got that fight inside him,” he said.
No. 20. redshirt freshman 149-pounder Sam Cartella’s 15-0 win by technical fall put the ’Cats in the driver’s seat, and they didn’t look back from there. Dominant decision wins by No. 12 graduate student 157-pounder Trevor Chumbley and No. 16 redshirt senior 165-pounder Maxx Mayfield ran up the team score. Then, redshirt sophomore 174-pounder Joseph Martin secured his first dual meet win of his career, lasting nearly a minute underneath NIU’s Jake Evans without conceding a takedown and holding onto a narrow 4-0 lead.
Graduate student 184-pounder Jon Halvorsen secured extra team points by scoring a late takedown in his match, upgrading his victory from a decision win to a major decision win. He said his feelings after the win were unexplainable.
“The guys around me believe in me, and the coaches I have believe in me,” he said. “It’s just a reflection of my team and how awesome these guys are.”
A professional 19-4 win by No. 25 redshirt junior 197-pounder Evan Bates put the finishing touch on the NU rout.
Redshirt freshman 285-pounder Dirk Morley lost his match with NIU’s Jacob Christensen to end the night. An initially strong defensive performance unraveled in the third period, ending the night with a 12-2 loss by major decision.
In its return to the mat nine months after posting a 1-9 record, NU matched last season’s win total in one night. Storniolo attributed the team’s improvement to Cannon’s return to Evanston, Cartella’s continuing dominance in the 149-pound weight class and new faces like Navarro entering the lineup.
“Guys are hungry this year,” Storniolo said. “They feel like they really have something to prove after last year. They want to let the rest of Division I wrestling know that we’re a strong program, and last year doesn’t represent who we are as a team.”
The ’Cats are back at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday at 2 p.m. to take on Little Rock.
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