Illinois, the U.S. state with the worst credit rating, wants to use some of its $7.5 billion of federal aid from the American Rescue Plan to chip away at unpaid bills and short-term debt racked up during the pandemic, according to Deputy Governor Dan Hynes.

The state’s unpaid bills stand at about $5.74 billion, and Illinois still has to pay back about $3 billion of the $3.2 billion it borrowed last year from the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility. Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration has “basic principles” for paying down some loans and bills but is awaiting specific federal rules and restrictions attached to the aid, Hynes said during a state senate appropriations committee hearing on Tuesday.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday clarified statements from his chief of staff, a day after she said the state was headed for a full reopening this summer.

Illinois has been in Phase 4 of the governor’s 5-phased reopening plan for months. Restrictions include capacity limits for restaurants and sporting events.

A former Illinois state senator pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges of lying on personal income tax reports and failing to file tax returns for her lobbying and consulting firm.

Annazette Collins entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Collins, 58, allegedly filedfalse or failed to file corporate and individual income tax returns between 2014 and 2016.

Chicago children’s mental and emotional health has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

That’s the finding of researchers at Lurie Children’s Hospital, who surveyed more than 1,500 parents across the city—including all 77 community areas—about the impact of the pandemic on their child’s behavior.

The Illinois Supreme Court issued an order this week creating stronger safeguards for tenants seeking rent relief under the governor’s eviction moratorium.

The court’s revised order makes clear that landlords challenging a tenant’s eviction moratorium protections have to state the legal and factual basis for such a challenge, said Chief Judge Eugene G. Doherty, of the 17^th Judicial Circuit, which spans Boone and Winnebago counties.

The Chicago Teachers Union wants Chicago Public Schools to delay the tentative April 19 re-opening of high schools for in-person learning by one week, citing concerns about a spike in coronavirus cases and older students’ ability to transmit COVID-19 like adults. City officials quickly rebuffed that request.

CTU President Jesse Sharkey, speaking on a Zoom call with union leaders and reporters Wednesday, said he is concerned about a COVID-19 variant spreading in states neighboring Illinois. It is unclear, he said, if the variant is behind the recent spike in Chicago cases.

A prison watchdog group in Illinois is calling on the state to take a bigger role in scrutinizing Illinois’ 16 pre-trial juvenile detention centers.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker last summer called for getting rid of Illinois’ five state-run juvenile facilities and instead focusing on community-based rehabilitation and treatment services.

Chicago is throwing its largest recycling contractor to the curb as it works to overhaul a failed program long criticized for having one of the lowest recycling rates in the nation.

Waste Management, Inc. — the largest garbage hauling company in North America — lost its bid to keep the contract after the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation this week announced a competitor will take over the program.

Low-income people here spend a larger portion of their income on transportation than others, largely because they’re more dependent on cars and their higher costs.

The authors of a new study would like policymakers to keep that finding in mind as Congress decides how to deal with President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan.