On this episode of Talk Line, state Sen. Li Arellano Jr. drops by to discuss what happened during the October veto session and what Illinois residents can expect in the 2026 spring session.

From Capitol News Illinois: Former Republican state legislator Darren Bailey is trying to improve on his 2022 campaign for governor by taking a new approach to voters in the Chicago area. Bailey has also echoed President Donald Trump’s calls for Gov. JB Pritzker to be arrested

Andy Williams Jr., candidate for Illinois Attorney General: The SAFE-T-ACT needs to be tweaked. Many parts of the SAFE-T-ACT are unconstitutional and should have been repealed. Read his full questionnaire here

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

Nolan Kemp on a top priority for the Illinois General Assembly: Protecting civil liberties — defending constitutional rights, privacy, and due process, and standing up for people when government overreaches. Read Kemp's full election questionnaire here

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois residents can face long delays in clearing their marijuana-related records even after judges approve expungement and sealing orders

The four Republicans running for Illinois governor support giving the federal government access to state voter rolls but had more nuanced responses when asked about President Donald Trump’s suggestion of nationalized elections.

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker is backing one of his longtime Statehouse allies, Rep. Margaret Croke, to be Illinois’ next comptroller

Illinois was unsuccessful in appealing FEMA's denial of a major disaster declaration from storms that caused damage around the Chicago area last August.

A Joliet man was a roommate of the woman he’s charged with killing and the woman was apparently holding her 4-year-old son in her arms when they were repeatedly shot by him, prosecutors said. 

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where Kane County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where DuPage County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where Will County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where Ogle County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where La Salle, Bureau and Putnam county voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

While we’ll be celebrating Kendall County’s 185th birthday this year and the nation’s 250th birthday, we ought to also keep in mind that by 1776, Illinois had already been settled for a century.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where Grundy County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

From Capitol News Illinois: A new report suggests Illinois could be on the hook for plugging and cleaning up thousands of inactive and abandoned oil and gas wells scattered across the state

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where Kankakee County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where Kendall County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

The law requires companies that sell batteries or products with batteries to pay into a battery stewardship organization to cover the costs of the statewide collection program.

From Capitol News Illinois: With Gov. JB Pritzker’s annual budget address less than two weeks away, a new report from his office is setting the table for a speech that’s likely to be bleak in tone

From Capitol News Illinois: Governor candidate Ted Dabrowski argues he is uniquely positioned to unite the fractured Illinois GOP, raise the funds needed to compete statewide and win back suburban voters crucial to a Republican victory

HIRE360 in Joliet was awarded $465,000 and Lewis University in Romeoville was awarded $550,000, according to a news release from Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Margaret Croke: As Comptroller, I will work to increase communication and efficiency between agencies, modernize outdated systems, and proactively identify risks before they become crises. Read Croke's full election questionnaire here

Stephanie Kifowit on a top priority: Stemming from my unwavering support of Labor and recognizing the National anti-labor movement, I am proposing expanding the current Prevailing Wage Division into The Labor Division. Read Kifowit's full questionnaire here

Holly Kim on a top priority for the Comptroller's office: First, timely and transparent payments. When the state delays payments, it is working families, nonprofits, schools, and small providers who pay the price. Read Kim's full election questionnaire here

Ernie Marcelain on fixing school funding: I feel individual property taxes that the counties impose are way out of control. We need to revise the PTELL to make property taxes fairer to homeowners. Read Marcelain's full election questionnaire here

From Capitol News Illinois: A federal judge on Friday granted a preliminary injunction in the case concerning the Trump administration’s freeze on $10 billion in child care and family planning funding to five blue states, including Illinois

From Capitol News Illinois: Marimar Martinez, the Chicago teacher shot five times by Border Patrol agents last fall, was granted permission Friday by a judge to release certain evidence from her case

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where McHenry County voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

Junaid Ahmed on local issues that would guide work in Congress: Rising housing costs, underfunded schools, and the real economic pressure facing immigrant and working-class families. Read Ahmed's full questionnaire here

Ricky Rivard: I will fight for real property tax relief by fixing our school funding system, ending the over-reliance on local property taxes and pushing the state to meet its obligation to fund education. Read Rivard's full election questionnaire here

From Capitol News Illinois: The attorney general’s office won the first-ever civil hate crime lawsuit brought by the state under a 2018 law. Two white residents of Carroll County were charged with intimidation and hate crimes against their neighbor, who is Black

Ben McAdams on a top priority for the district: Investing more in public healthcare and healthcare infrastructure to make it affordable for Illinoisans. Read McAdams' full election questionnaire here

Caroline McCree on top priorities: Regulation for data centers to protect residents, expanding services available through the county health departments or other local organizations to fill in healthcare gaps. Read McCree's full election questionnaire here

Adam Beaty: The SAFE-T Act warrants careful review and meaningful reform. Chief among the concerns is the limitation it places on judicial discretion. Read Beaty's full questionnaire here

Joe Sosnowski on the state's long-term pension obligations: We need to 1. move new employees to a 401K system; 2. continue to make full annual payments, and 3. increase the retirement age while not enhancing benefits. Read Sosnowski's full questionnaire here

From Capitol News Illinois: As the U.S. sheds manufacturing jobs, Illinois is accepting applications for $24 million in grant funding to establish training facilities at community colleges aimed at bolstering the state’s manufacturing labor pool

Jared Ploger: My three priorities are rooted in affordability: 1) Living Wages, 2) Affordable housing, 3) Fully Funding our education system, including our higher educational system. Read Ploger's full election questionnaire here

Saba Haider: As a small business owner myself, I am committed to fostering economic growth by supporting local businesses, helping families thrive through job creation, improving public services, and promoting financial security. Read Haider's full questionnaire here

Julie Berkowicz: As a member of the Will County and DuPage County Farm Bureau, I am actively engaged in the agricultural community and will continue to support efforts to grow and preserve these businesses

From Capitol News Illinois: The Chicago woman who Border Patrol agents shot five times last October called the incident an attempted “execution.” Court documents state Martinez’s vehicle collided with a federal agent’s although it is undetermined which vehicle initiated the crash

As the Seal of Biliteracy marks 10 years in Illinois, the number of seniors graduating with the distinction has climbed more than 2,000%.

From Capitol News Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker said he will push forward on his 2024 proposal to fully fund pensions and address other funding issues. Illinois remains a long way off from the 2045 target, but there have been small signs of progress in recent years

From Capitol News Illinois: JB Pritzker announced Illinois will join the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, allowing the state to receive information about diseases and how to respond to them

Itzel Huerta of Plainfield was crowned Miss Eco Teen International 2025 at the pageant, which was held in Egypt. But now her real work begins.

With the launch of the Kane County Circle of Care, community leaders have brought services that address mental health, early prevention, housing, food instability and childcare together.

Maria Peterson: This is a common-sense approach: modernize our tax system to create a dedicated funding source, honor our past commitments, and ensure the system is fair for our current and future public servants. Read Peterson's full questionnaire here

Martin McLaughlin: I will continue to vote against any tax increases, and I will support property tax relief. Read McLaughlin's full questionnaire here