Illinois saw a decrease in new residents between July 2020 and July 2023, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau recently released its vintage population totals nationwide.

The new data reports the population of Illinois is sitting at 12,549,689. According to the same dataset, Sangamon County is floundering as well as other Illinois counties, but none compared to Cook County, which has the second highest rate of population decay nationwide.

A measure now in the Illinois House says the Illinois Emergency Management Agency would be able to do “all things necessary, incidental, or appropriate for the implementation” of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.

Opponents of Senate Bill 3434 said Illinois’ emergency authority continues under the Pritzker administration and giving more power lacks proper oversight. State Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills, said the bill grants extraordinary power to the department’s rulemaking authority and bypasses the legislature.

A divided City Council committee agreed Monday to slap another $70 million Band-Aid on Chicago’s migrant crisis after behind-the-scenes lobbying by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and others.

Preckwinkle was among those calling recalcitrant City Council members in recent days, urging them to support the $70 million in migrant funding Mayor Brandon Johnson promised months ago. Johnson then backed out of an agreement to match $70 million in Cook County funding to go with a $175 million commitment from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

More than 50 people were arrested on Monday in connection with protests that caused major disruptions and halted traffic in downtown Chicago and near O’Hare International Airport.

The pro-Palestinian protests in the Chicago area were part of a wave of demonstrations across the U.S., in which activists called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Amid the Monday deadline for Illinois municipalities to submit inventories of their lead service lines, Arlington Heights village board members agreed to use a $5.75 million budget surplus to help pay to replace the 4,200 known lead pipes in town.

The board’s action Monday night follows similar approvals last year, when $3 million worth of general fund surplus was transferred to the lead service line replacement fund, and $4 million the year before.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois could see their medical debt eliminated.

It’s part of a plan Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Illinois) unveiled in his budget address in February.