Although the governor’s latest indoor dining ban has been lifted in all areas of the state, some lawsuits brought by restaurants challenging the ban remain active.

Among those are the cases filed by Tom DeVore, a southern Illinois lawyer who represents Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, and advises hundreds of other business clients who are staying open during the pandemic.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she has run out of patience with the Chicago Teachers Union and wants an agreement to reopen schools “today,” setting up a make or break day in negotiations with Chicago Public Schools aiming to bring students back to classrooms next week.

“The ball is in the CTU’s court,” the mayor told reporters Thursday morning. “Despite a series of productive exchanges between CPS and the CTU leadership on Monday and Tuesday that should absolutely have led to a comprehensive agreement, we are deeply disappointed to announce we still have not reached a deal. Yesterday, there were a series of steps backwards that were simply not productive.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded Thursday that the city’s teachers union reach agreement on COVID-19 safety protocols by the end of the day and bring students back to the classroom, but did not say what she would do if that doesn’t happen.

Speaking during a news conference, Lightfoot was visibly angry at the Chicago Teachers Union, saying she thinks the union is giving her the runaround and is refusing to give her office and school district officials a straight answer on its demands.

State officials say it’s now OK to dine-in at restaurants in southwestern Illinois, though some limits remain.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Thursday it is easing COVID-19 restrictions on the metro-east, also known as Region 4, effective immediately.

Republican state lawmakers — who are in the super-minority in the state legislature —introduced a package of election-focused bills aimed at making it easier for citizens to be involved in revising the state’s constitution, repealing legislation, and removing public officials from office.

In a combined press conference Wednesday, GOP leaders in the Illinois House and Senate expressed frustration with the difficulty their party has had in getting their priorities on general election ballots in the form of constitutional amendments

Illinois businesses can accept their forgiven pandemic loans without worrying about paying federal taxes, but it’s not yet clear if they’ll owe the state.

In Illinois, 225,409 forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans valued at approximately $22.85 billion were approved, according to the Small Business Administration. After the IRS decided that the forgiven loans were taxable as with other forgiven loans, Congress passed legislation in December making the change explicitly tax exempt.

An omnibus criminal justice bill passed by the General Assembly last month would, if signed by the governor, mandate all Illinois law enforcement agencies to use body cameras.

The legislation, contained in House Bill 3653, would amend the state’s 2015 Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act from affecting “any law enforcement” that may use body cameras to mandating “all law enforcement agencies must” use body cameras for “all law enforcement officers” by 2025.

Joliet officials insist they are making progress on body cameras, although they are not include them in a proposal to spend $2.2 million in the next four years on new Tasers and other technology upgrades in the police department.

Advocates for body cameras have regularly criticized the city for not committing to them yet.