Are you willing to lose out on restaurant loyalty rewards tied to your phone number or email address? Would you get a test your doctor recommended if you thought that might make your grandkids ineligible for basic medical coverage?

Kudos to all involved, including teacher Paul Ritter, and here’s hoping more students and lawmakers have productive conversations about a better future for everyone in Illinois.

It beggars belief how any lawmaker could sign off on transportation projects only necessary in the name of a private development in one tiny part of Illinois while broader efforts like the School Construction Grant Program have simply gone unfunded since fiscal 2004.

Where the government actively drives up prices, it’s possible (but not guaranteed) that changing a rule actually changes consumer costs. But in far too many cases, the underlying economic truth is that people struggle to afford things when incomes lag behind rising costs.

All these years later, I recall the lack of pretension or appearance of celebrity. That was just the work of Jesse Jackson’s life, the same as it was in Peru in 2021 or in Decatur in 1999.

Unsurprisingly, given his political leanings, Pritzker spoke to the importance of investing in state efforts as a means of mitigating long-term expenses. He also called for ensuring "we are focused on truly managing and measuring the real results of state programs."

A plan to give the state Department of Insurance new influence over rate increases passed the Senate in the fall veto session before falling four votes short in the House. But the proposal can resurface during the spring session.

The proposal resulted from "several issues" Joint Committee on Administrative Rules members discussed during their meetings.

"The report points out there are numerous ways well operators can avoid that responsibility, and it suggests IDNR has frequently been unable or unwilling to take strong enforcement action."

General election campaigns draw considerably more interest than primaries, but when facing crowded fields of candidates who carefully manage messages and appearances, bank accounts can be revealing.

The current process is enshrined in the state constitution, as the court reminded when announcing Tailor’s appointment in January.

A union coalition backing Tier 2 reforms has long argued Pritzker’s proposals don’t go far enough to deal with their concerns about how the reduced benefits for employees hired since Jan. 1, 2011, negatively impact recruitment and retention.

The argument is that using personal data is more invasive. But the business’s motives are the same: increasing profit margins based on factors aside from their costs.

Chances are good you know the name of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who has held the office since December 2016. Can you name her immediate predecessor? Or her 2018 or 2022 general election opponents?

The bill would amend the Illinois Insurance Code by requiring certain health care plans to fully cover an annual PET scan for clients age 35 or older, regardless of symptoms or a doctor’s order.

Those pushing Pritzker to opt in make the logical argument that federal tax credits don’t affect the Illinois budget. Opponents who have always stood against tax dollars funding private education challenge the new federal program on the same grounds.

Please think of the trees before choosing to print something like Chapter 6: System Reliability Investments (243 pages), but there is good information available for those willing to spend the time.

Counting all four-year public schools and nearly 50 community colleges, the state has a physical infrastructure presence geographically proximate to virtually its entire population.

"The back of the Will County property tax bills will include a warning to get ‘same day’ or ‘manual’ postmarks if sending payments on or near the due dates. I’m predicting more than usual payments considered ‘late’ due to the change."

Anyone running for governor now has about four weeks to craft their own budget proposal for the next fiscal year and can do so in the context of Thursday’s memo. That means going deep into details.

As the session continues, I suspect we’ll find McCombie correct. Not just on the push to increase revenue, a bit like guessing the sun will rise in the East, but in her other prediction: the toughest votes will wait until January’s lame duck session.

With the caveat that our state’s ballot access laws allow for changes before the November election, here’s a look at the current electoral math.

Those experienced with returning ballots are likely familiar with their county’s drop boxes, handing a sealed ballot to someone at the election official’s office and tracking their ballots online or through phone calls.

As noted in October following oral arguments, the opinion in Bost’s favor says nothing about the merits of his case but effectively sends us back three years and enables a federal judge to rule on the underlying constitutional question.

A judicial branch is separate from the executive and legislative but also equal: our judges and justices are, at least in some portions of their careers, politicians. They have to finance campaigns and occasionally face voters.

One thing that stuck out from the entire process was JCAR members strongly preferring IDOC had taken a more conventional approach to addressing a situation they hadn’t adequately shown to be a crisis.

There are already too many high school graduation requirements; not all districts can sufficiently hire staff to offer the courses. Integrating languages into elementary schools would be more logical from an educational and curriculum density standpoint.

If you hear a politician asserting concerns about administrative financial fraud or abuse, it’s important to listen closely to hear if that person offers the types of details that would be included in these publicly available documents.

Anyone who lived in Illinois during that campaign cycle remembers the advertising barrage – specifically glossy mailers – and it’s a safe assumption none but those who work in promotions and printing are eager for another round.

'It is only through early detection from attentive medical experts that my condition was diagnosed so early, and resolved so quickly and effectively.'

To be clear, lawmakers (and their staffs) are working far more often than between the gavels. If nothing else, they should be responding to the constituent calls and emails I urge readers to generate.

So while telling others what to do remains more satisfying than getting off my duff and making something happen, I’ll err on the side of practicality.

Turning bills into laws is only one step in a lengthy process. Money is usually required, and simply getting people talking about an issue is no guarantee those conversations will lead to action.

That we’re still on the improvement path seven years later isn’t the most encouraging, but it does show a commitment to actually addressing problems.

Some districts will seize these new opportunities. But not every Illinois school is equipped to offer such options.

In fiscal 2025 the state’s public K-12 spending was just shy of $11 billion. In fiscal 2026, it’s nearly $11.2 billion. Each figure constitutes roughly 20% of the General Revenue Fund.

'Giving public money to a professional sports franchise doesn’t crack the top 100 things the people of Illinois are asking for, expecting, or willing to tolerate right now.'

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.

The overwhelming majority of proposals involve framing maternal mortality as a public health issue and therefore wielding governmental resources in response.

When wading into the murky waters of how Illinois funds essential operations, it’s common to be only ankle deep before wondering if the confusion is intentional.

There’s room for a healthy debate about political considerations at play in the policy shift, but whether someone endorses or rejects underlying motives, the situation illustrates the perils of delivering state services with federal money.

Nine of the governments that did submit plans took note of a fundamental challenge: they don’t control their residents’ salaries.