More than 250 new laws take effect in Illinois Jan. 1. As has become custom around here I like to use the last few columns of December to review legislation that might not have gotten proper attention earlier in the year.

As with facial scans and voice recognition, technology falling under the blanket descriptor of “artificial intelligence” is advancing far more rapidly that any legislation could hope to match.

Holmes argued there are 'over 20 guardrails in place' against coercion, abuse and forgery, including potential felony charges. No doctors, providers or pharmacists would be required to participate; some health systems have already announced they’ll abstain.

'What they have today is a joke compared to what we had in earlier years… and what we had was non-polluting.'

HB 3146 remains idled in the House Rules Committee, but Kennelly’s opinion ought to be a major wakeup call.

State officials have long discussed a KRM commuter rail line (Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee) but the new focus is on the MARK Rail project (Milwaukee Area-Racine Kenosha Passenger Rail).

That means ignoring thoughts about the federal minimum wage or Medicare for All but exploring ideas like tax incentives for home builders, tax credits for first-time buyers and broad zoning changes as the commercial real estate landscape changes.

Selfishly I enjoy retelling this story because I support any efforts to use the justice system to actually correct and improve lives and repair brokenness for the benefit of larger society.

It’s impossible to ignore the dichotomy of one school celebrating the infusion of federal cash while another demonstrates the possible peril if such funding streams are throttled.