The Illinois House voted to use $2.7 billion in federal relief to partially refill the state’s depleted unemployment trust fund. Some lawmakers said it’s not enough.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker will end the statewide indoor mask mandate for most Illinoisans Feb. 28, joining the 39 other states who have already lifted COVID-19 restrictions on residents. Illinois will be the only state in the Midwest still mandating masks in schools at the state level.
Other states warned residents about small spaces inside haunted houses creating a risk for spreading COVID-19, but Illinois is all alone in outlawing them.
The contractor who revamped Illinois’ unemployment system to handle self-employed workers is being sued. One of the nearly 32,500 applicants who had private information exposed said it was used to access her bank account.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.