An amended version of House Bill 4273 prohibits home insurers from raising premiums by more than ten percent without at least 60 days notice, bans “excessive or discriminatory” rates and gives the Illinois Department of Insurance more regulatory authority.

State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Cherry Valley, said increased regulation has historically led to higher rates for consumers.

SMALL BIZ OPTIMISM REMAINS BELOW AVERAGE

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.1 points in April to 95.9, below its 52-year average of 98.0 for the second consecutive month.

The Uncertainty Index fell 4 points to 88, remaining well above its historical average of 68.

NFIB Illinois State Director Noah Finley said small businesses need tax and regulatory relief, not higher costs or regulatory burdens from Springfield.

CHICAGO MAYOR TO MEET POPE LEO XIV

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he is going to meet Pope Leo XIV in Rome later this month. NBC 5 Chicago reported that the mayor’s first visit with the Chicago-born pope is set for May 28. The mayor said he would thank the pontiff for his moral clarity.

After adding a second amendment to Senate Bill 714 on Wednesday, state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, said his legislation prohibits auto insurance rates from being excessive or discriminatory.

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office expressed support for the bill at a Senate Insurance Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Amy Williams, senior legal advisor at the secretary’s office, said more than 630,000 Illinoisans per year are driving without auto insurance required by law.

“Drivers in Illinois are facing hardships due to increasing automobile insurance rates, and they want oversight to ensure that their rates are not excessive or unfairly discriminatory,” Williams said.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched a campaign last summer to prevent insurers from setting rates based on age, credit score or zip code and to allow more state oversight.

“We’re going to treat this like a political campaign,” Giannoulias said at the time.

Jennifer Hammer spoke on behalf of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and said SB 714 increases the regulatory authority of the Illinois Department of Insurance.

“What we’ve seen is that when you increase the regulatory authority of a state department, you actually see an increase in premiums to those consumers,” Hammer said.

Hammer is a former director of the Illinois Department of Insurance.

Speaking on behalf of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, lobbyist Eric Madiar said Illinois auto insurance rates are 18% below the national average.

“In this sense, it’s been good to be below average. We’re not going to head in that direction any longer. We’re going to have higher costs, less affordability,” Madiar said.

Madiar said a rigid regulatory system will not result in lower costs.

The measure passed out of committee and was debated on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon.

State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said Illinois currently has the sixth-cheapest auto insurance rates in the country.

“Why would we want to do anything to spoil that?” McClure asked.

Villivalam said his bill would make the process a little better for Illinois residents.

The measure passed by a vote of 42-14 and now goes to the Illinois House.

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The program honors teachers who make a significant impact on students and their school communities through dedication, innovation, and classroom excellence. Students, parents, coworkers and community members are encouraged to nominate educators who go above and beyond.

“I am proud to once again launch my Outstanding Teacher program to recognize the amazing work educators do each and every day,” Turner said. “Our teachers play a critical role in shaping future generations, and this program is a small way to say thank you for all they do.”

Teachers eligible for nomination must currently work at an elementary, middle or high school within the 44th Senate District. Winners will be selected based on the quality of the nomination rather than the number of submissions received.

Nominations will be accepted through June 1. Selected teachers will receive formal recognition from the Illinois State Senate, including an official certificate, special acknowledgment in Springfield and a gift card.

“Teachers often go unrecognized for the countless ways they support, inspire and uplift their students,” Turner said. “This program gives us a chance to spotlight those everyday heroes who quietly make a profound difference in our schools and communities.”

More information and nomination forms are available at State Senator Sally Turner’s 2026 Outstanding Teacher of the 44th Senate District – Sally Turner

Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Collinsville, is the sponsor of House Bill 4767, which would create new requirements for banks and credit unions to report potential financial exploitation of elderly and disabled adults.

Reports under the legislation would be sent to the Illinois Department on Aging, the agency behind the bill.

IDoA Director Mary Killough said financial exploitation is one of the most common forms of elder abuse reported in the state of Illinois, and $4.9 billion was reportedly lost by adults over 60 in 2024 – according to FBI data.

“Our legislation allows financial financial institutions to temporarily pause suspicious transactions and contact trusted representatives when exploitation is suspected,” Killough said. “We have the responsibility to ensure older adults can age with dignity and security not fear, preventing financial exploitation before it occurs is one of the most effective ways to do that.”

Stuart said she thinks the bill is especially pertinent due to reports of fraud becoming more sophisticated.

“If they don't have a clear picture of everything that's going on, this fraud is getting more sophisticated, much easier to be duped, much more devastating, much more quickly getting more information and other things about vulnerable people,” Stuart said.

The children of two fraud victims spoke in support of the proposal as well.

One man named Tony – who did not fully identify himself at the request of his 83-year-old father, who wanted to avoid embarrassment – said his father fell victim to a phone scam that drained about $69,000 from his savings in a little more than a week.

He said the case involved the scammer impersonating a U.S. Marshal.

Lori Hendren with AARP Illinois said her organization sees devastation from such scams.

“This is not about money, it impacts individuals' independence, their health, housing stability, sense of security, and overall quality of life. For many older adults, their family and or their caregivers, losing hard-earned savings means losing control of their future,” Hendren.

The bill has some opposition in financial institutions.

Stuart said after a long negotiation process, she was able to add language to the bill that accounted for their concerns about who on staff would be responsible for reporting potential fraud.

Despite the negotiations, bank and credit union groups still oppose the bill over the new requirements that would be imposed on their operations.

As for the cost of implementing the fraud prevention plan, Killough said the department doesn’t expect to need more resources.

“We already spend a lot of money in that direction. I don't think it's going to add any more, but what we're hoping for is when we investigate for abuse, it's not for a crime, it's to ensure that the individual receives the services that they need so they won't be victimized,” Killough said.

The bill was introduced in early February, and currently awaits progress in the House of Representatives.

The national average is $4.51. Illinois imposes a fuel tax of 48.3 cents per gallon. The state tax is scheduled to rise to 49.6 cents per gallon on July 1.

BILL ADVANCES TO EXPAND SPEECH-DISORDER COVERAGE

The Illinois House Insurance Committee has unanimously passed legislation to expand health insurance coverage that includes rehabilitative and habilitative services for children under 19 that have an acquired speech-language disorder.

Senate Bill 2899 now heads to the House Floor for consideration.

CHICAGO COMMITTEE PASSES TEMPORARY WAGE HIKE FREEZE

The Chicago City Council Committee on Workforce Development has passed an ordinance to temporarily freeze higher wage mandates and the elimination of the city’s tip credit.

In March, Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed a measure to freeze the tipped wage phaseout.

MAN CONVICTED OF UNLAWFUL POSSESSION AFTER EAST ST. LOUIS STING

A man previously convicted of murder has been found guilty of possessing a firearm as a felon in East St. Louis.

Prosecutors say Anthony D. Bradley, Jr., 37, was observed with a firearm on October 28, 2024, during a proactive crime suppression detail. Bradley

had prior convictions for second degree murder and multiple state and federal charges involving illegal firearm possession.

ROCKFORD MAN ARRESTED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

Illinois State Police have arrested a Rockford man for ten counts of possession of child pornography.

ISP says Wayne R. Bouton, 42, was identified as a suspect after an online tip led to an extensive investigation. Officers arrested Bouton on Tuesday.

FIREFIGHTERS HONORED

Firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty are being remembered after the 33rd Annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial and Medal of Honor Ceremony in Springfield on Tuesday.

Chicago Fire Department Captain David Meyer was honored for his sacrifice. Meyer died while battling a fire in April 2025.

This year’s firefighter medal of honor recipients were firefighter/EMT Kevin McNicholas of the Chicago Fire Department and firefighter/paramedic Gino Casciola of the Addison Fire Protection District.

Justices heard arguments Tuesday in People of the State of Illinois v. Jesse Post, a case involving a man charged with sexually assaulting children and his argument against a circuit court’s decision to keep him detained.

Post was charged with three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in November 2023 and remained detained even after he said his circumstances had changed.

James Wozniak of the Office of the State Appellate Defender said the Pretrial Fairness Act mandates that a circuit court must address a defendant’s detention every time there is a motion or status hearing.

“Every single time the defendant comes before the circuit court, the court must find that continued detention is necessary,” Wozniak said.

Wozniak outlined the defendant Post’s argument, saying he should be released because he would be under constant supervision by his parents, because he agreed to electronic monitoring and because of his inability to secure information that would help in the preparation of his defense if he were to remain detained.

This, Wozniak said, was a change from the “original agreement.”

Illinois Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Bays said the case is not meant to be relitigated with every hearing.

“There’s no indication that the legislature indicated that there is supposed to be an entire new hearing at every status hearing having to do with detention,” Bays said.

Wozniak said an appellate court was mistaken when it found that Post had not demonstrated a change of circumstances to revisit his detention, as mandated by the Pretrial Fairness Act.

Bays said the defendant alleged a change in circumstances, but the court said it was not enough to change its mind.

“Because there was no material change in circumstances in this case, because defendant presented such a danger to the community, this court should affirm the appellate court’s judgment and the circuit court’s judgment,” Bays said.

Wozniak asked that the case be returned to circuit court.

Justices said they would take the case under advisement.

On May 11, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly declared Cook County to be liable for potential compensation owed to at least hundreds of people whose homes were auctioned off under Cook County's so-called tax sale system, even after the U.S. Supreme Court had declared such systems to be unconstutional.

In the ruling, Kennelly said it was obvious Cook County officials knew — or should have known — for years that the county's tax collection process was unconstitutional and they likely owed tens of thousands of dollars to people whose homes they sold off to satisfy tax debt. And yet, Kennelly said, the evidence shows the county essentially ignored those concerns, and pressed ahead with seizing and auctioning off the homes, unconstitutionally seizing homeowners' equity in the process.

"... The County continued to conduct tax sales knowing the absence of, and without providing, an adequate means for a property owner to obtain compensation for lost excess equity," Kennelly wrote in the ruling. "This created an obvious risk that property owners who had their property taken without just compensation would suffer a violation of their constitutional rights.

"By failing to address this issue and consider any possible solution, the County disregarded an obvious need. The Court concludes that the evidence shows the County was deliberately indifferent to the obvious risk of constitutional violations when it failed to act to address property owners' loss of equity when a tax deed was issued."

Kennelly's ruling that Cook County, Illinois' largest county and one of the most populous counties in the U.S., should be on the hook for a potentially large payout comes about five months since the judge ruled that Cook County's property tax collection system was unconstitutional.

In that December 2025 ruling, Kennelly determined the county's "tax sale" system amounts to violations of property owners' rights to just compensation under the Fifth Amendment and to protection against unjust and excessive fines under the Eighth Amendment.

And Kennelly's rulings mark yet more wins for a group of plaintiffs and their lawyers, as they continue efforts to force counties in Illinois to adapt their property tax collection processes and rules to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The lawsuit against Cook County was filed in 2022 in Chicago federal court.

A separate action has been lodged against a group of other county governments, including Illinois' second and third largest counties, DuPage and Lake counties.

And yet another lawsuit is pending in federal court in southern Illinois.

The cases all center on one common accusation: That Illinois and its county governments have all but illegally ignored a recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision and continued to seize homes over unpaid property taxes.

In the decision at the heart of the cases, the 2023 ruling known as Hennepin v Tyler, the Supreme Court sided with a homeowner in Hennepin County, Minnesota, whose $40,000 condominium was seized and sold by the county over $2,300 in unpaid property taxes, plus $12,700 in penalties and interest. Hennepin County then kept the surplus from the sale, in a practice dubbed by critics as "home equity theft."

In a unanimous ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said the county's tax sale went too far, and the county should only be allowed to collect what is owed, with the homeowner retaining the surplus.

Some justices also said such "equity theft" also amounts to violations on the Eighth Amendment's ban on "excessive fines."

In Illinois, homeowners have for decades similarly lost their homes over thousands of dollars in unpaid property taxes under the state's Property Tax Code tax sale system.

Under the "tax sale" process, the unpaid taxes - known as tax debt - is sold by the county, typically to a real estate investor seeking to profit by either selling the property or keeping it and renting it to others.

Illinois law gives homeowners 30 months to redeem the property by paying off the tax lien. Throughout that redemption process, however, the debt continues to grow through the addition of interest and fees. Ultimately, the investor and county can choose to seize the property, evict the residents and sell the property for full market value, potentially reaping massive profits.

Critics in Illinois have noted this process has typically victimized those least able to absorb such a financial hit, including elderly and black homeowners living in low-income communities.

As of 2026, nearly a full three years since the Supreme Court's Tyler ruling, Illinois remains the only state in the country to take no action to reform its property tax collection system to come into line with that decision.

Instead, the Illinois Attorney General's office has argued in court that the fault doesn't lie with the state law that created the "tax sale" process, but rather with the county governments for refusing to properly pay homeowners the equity they still held in their seized homes.

While Cook County and other county governments have argued the law forces them to conduct unconstitutional tax sales, the state has argued there is nothing in state law that forces the counties to repay taxpayers for their lost equity.

In his ruling, Kennelly agreed with that position, saying Cook County can't escape liability by essentially arguing that it was only following orders under state law. Since Cook County conducted the tax sales, and should have known it was behaving unconstitutionally, the judge said, the county should be liable for the homeowners' financial losses.

The judge further rejected Cook County's argument that such financial liability would be "impractical because the 'hundreds of millions of dollars' that it would be required topay would 'ruin one of the largest counties in the country.'"

The judge, however, called this "a wild overstatement."

In the decision, Kennelly noted an expert witness for the plaintiffs estimated more than 1,700 homeowners had lost their homes through Cook County tax sales since 2020, losing an average of about $70,000 in equity. When multiplied against each other, those figures could mean Cook County could be on the hook for more than $119 million in lost equity repayments owed under the lawsuit.

However, Kennelly also estimated county's ongoing liability would amount to about $15 million a year.

He noted Cook County already spent that much in 2025 on one-time payments of $1,000 each "to Cook County residents who are experiencing financial hardship based on property taxes and meet elibility criteria."

"This action, at a minimum, shows that the County could allocate $15 million in a particular year to address property tax relief without facing financial ruin," Kennelly wrote.

"It failed to do so."

Plaintiffs have been represented by attorneys Brian D. Roche, of the firm of Reed Smith, of Chicago; Charles R. Watkins and David Guin, of Guin, Stokes & Evans, of Oak Park; and John Bouman, Lawrence Wood and Daniel Schneider, of Legal Action Chicago.

Watkins and Guin also served as co-counsel in the Tyler case before the U.S. Supreme Court and are co-counsel on the other pending "tax sale" lawsuit against DuPage County, Lake County and six other Illinois counties.

In 2024, the sports franchise and United Center owners proposed a $7 billion private investment in The 1901 Project to develop the area around the teams’ home arena with a 6,000-seat music hall, an elevated park, hotel and retail programming.

Jeffrey Cohen, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Economic Development in the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, told the City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development the tax breaks would apply to phase one of the project.

“If granted, the Class 7b property tax incentive, it is estimated the applicant will pay $66.7 million in property taxes over the 12-year period and will be abated $54.7 million over the same period,” Cohen said.

Cohen said the project will create 1,982 temporary construction jobs, 592 full-time positions and 179 part-time positions.

Alderman Walter “Red” Burnett said he hopes future megaprojects have the kind of community engagement that United Center owners have in his ward.

“Let’s talk about what those parking lots produce in taxes currently. It’s a fraction, if not minimal, to what could be utilized on this land,” Burnett said.

Several aldermen expressed concerns about minority representation for the project.

A number of union representatives and workers spoke in favor of the tax incentives during the committee’s public comment period, but Mary Rivera, who works for Levy Restaurants at the United Center, said her property tax bill is a source of worry

“When the United Center proposed The 1901 Project, we heard a lot about transformative $7 billion private investment in the West Side of Chicago. I was surprised to find out a couple of months ago that the private investment came with strings attached,” Rivera said.

Rivera said she doesn’t see why a wealthy private company should get special treatment while ordinary homeowners suffer uncertainty.

Geraldine Blevings, a union steward who works at the United Center, urged the committee to vote no.

“This looks less like a private investment and more like a public handout,” Blevings said.

The committee approved the tax incentives, and Alderman Derrick Curtis, who chaired the hearing on Tuesday, expressed hope that the full council would approve the deal at its next meeting May 20.