Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Associated Press: Illinois will wake up Jan. 1 to more than 250 new laws
Illinois lawmakers completed the state’s 100th General Assembly in its bicentennial year, and will ring in 2019 with 253 new laws on the books .
The youngest children in cars will be required to ride in rear-facing seats, blaze pink will be acceptable for hunters’ wardrobes, opioid abuse and school safety take center stage and a Route 66 centennial planning commission will convene.
Daily Herald: Differences in Tobacco 21 villages could mean headaches, fines for young smokers
Starting New Year’s Day, smokers will need to be at least 21 to buy — or even possess — tobacco products in Lake Zurich, making it the latest town to join a move aimed at reducing the number of young smokers and keeping cigarettes out of high schools.
State lawmakers voted this year to raise the age statewide, but failed last month to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto.
Peoria Journal-Star: New rear-facing child car seat law goes into effect Tuesday
Children 2 years of age and younger will have to ride in rear-facing car seats when a new Illinois law takes effect Tuesday.
The state’s Child Passenger Protection Act, signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner on Aug. 3, mandates a $75 fine for first-time violators, with the fine going up to $200 for the second violation.
State Journal-Register: Now-legal hemp could be Illinois’ next big cash crop
Hidden in a cornfield in western Illinois last summer, 1,200 stalks of cannabis grew tall and bushy. But these plants won’t get anyone high.
They make up the first crop of hemp to be grown legally in Illinois in decades. And in the new year, the seeds from the plants will help sow the first modern widespread commercial hemp harvest.
State Journal-Register: Mayor’s proposed budget: no major cuts, no new tax increases
After years of revenue shortfalls leading to tax increases and cuts, Mayor Jim Langfelder says the city is on solid financial footing and he will propose a “status quo” budget, with money set aside for equipment upgrades and homelessness initiatives.
“Thanks to the council we have taken the corrective action and we’ve had a rebound in sales tax,” Langfelder said. “We are in a lot better position.”