Gov. JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) met with farmers and agriculture officials in Taylorville, IL to discuss the impact of Trump's tariffs on beef and soybeans farmers. Photos by @nowickipress.bsky.social

Yesterday, @CapitolNewsIL published six stories on state government and court news. We've got an equally busy slate today. Check out our Capitol News Recap newsletter to follow along us11.campaign-archive.com?e=[UNIQID]&u...

Now’s a good time to note CNI & the Illinois Press Foundation (our parent org) separated from the Press Association a few years back. We’re 2 separate orgs & I’m as surprised by all this as anyone Don Craven remains our lawyer & ally — few have done more for press freedom than him.

Former Illinois governor Jim Edgar, who served two terms in the 1990s, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. He was 79. @hannahmeisel.bsky.social and @nowickipress.bsky.social report. https://loom.ly/_KDmmoI

Democrats unofficially began the 2026 campaign season at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday outlining the message they believe will help them win campaigns in 2026. Get the full story: https://loom.ly/Hl9HsXU

More Republicans are entering races for statewide office after an initially slow start in announcing candidates for the 2026 election. Get the story: https://loom.ly/1o8x8Ss

The 2025 Illinois State Fair butter cow is on display. @nowickipress.bsky.social has more from the unveiling. https://loom.ly/m_8JtMQ

Ted Dabrowski of Wirepoints announces he will run for Governor in 26

The 2026 campaign season is about to get underway, but very few Republicans are running for statewide office in Illinois. @benszalinski.bsky.social reports. https://loom.ly/sDqeKPg

Da butter cow

Gov. JB Pritzker is seeking a third term. Jerry Nowicki, Ben Szalinski and Public Affairs Reporting intern Jade Aubrey discuss the announcement and Aubrey's time at Capitol News Illinois. https://loom.ly/E4-fuT0

The CNI Statehouse team examines the major issues that didn’t make it across the finish line this session — including proposed reforms for energy policy and mass transit. Don’t miss this in-depth look at what passed, what stalled, and what’s next for Illinois. https://loom.ly/paL0wws

Lawmakers say they have time to pass a transit funding bill this fall. But officials at Chicagoland’s transit agency said “the negative impacts are here” as they prepare for cuts. Andrew Adams reports. https://loom.ly/RhQLng8

BREAKING: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison for his 10 convictions on bribery and corruption charges. @hannahmeisel.bsky.social reports. https://loom.ly/gMKRi-4

Here's a must-read, thoroughly reported story by @BenSzalinski on how the transit bill failed and what comes next: --All 4 legislative leaders and the two lead Dem negotiators weigh in. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/legisla...

Democrats pushed through a $55.2B budget for FY26, bolstering coffers with new taxes on sports bets, nicotine products and businesses. @benszalinski.bsky.social and @nowickipress.bsky.social report. https://loom.ly/Z0ITgrY

Illinois Democrats introduce a $55 billion budget with hopes to pass the plan on Saturday. @benszalinski.bsky.social and @nowickipress.bsky.social report https://loom.ly/JX5EdTA

With @BenSzalinski: Pritzker threatens to veto any budget containing ‘broad-based’ tax increase capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzke...

A bill to ban the sale of firefighter protective gear containing “forever chemicals” is gaining momentum in the #Illinois General Assembly. Reilly Cook and Grace Friedman report for @medillschool.bsky.social. Get the full story: capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinoi...

#Illinois | A bill to ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer needs only a signature from the governor to become law. Jade Aubrey reports. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/bill-ba...

#Illinois | The governor’s office reduced revenue projections for the coming fiscal year as lawmakers enter the final two weeks of budget negotiations. @benszalinski.bsky.social reports. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/governo...

“Our identity has been frozen in time & it’s going to stay frozen in time as long as we’re portrayed as mascots & things of the past,” -Matt Beaudet, citizen of the Montauk Tribe of Indians who advocates for a Native mascot ban. From Bridgette Fox: capitolnewsillinois.com/news/our-ide...

Full team budget story: capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzke...

The team will have more later today, but here's an initial look at the governor's spending plan. -HBIA funding cut. -No new income/service taxes -$469M in new revenue thru tax amnesty, casino tax changes & a pause on transfer of sales tax $ to road fund capitolnewsillinois.com/news/breakin...

Some back-of-the-napkin math shows @hannahmeisel.bsky.social wrote ~90,000 words -about 50 stories- on the Madigan trial since October for CNI. We've retooled our Madigan Trial in Review page to feature her work chronologically in one place. Give it a look: capitolnewsillinois.com/madigan-week...

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan took the witness stand this week in a risky and surprising move. Catch up on @hannahmeisel.bsky.social's coverage of the trial - which began in late October - here: capitolnewsillinois.com/madigan-week...

So long, Matt Eberflus.

The Illinois SUpreme Court has handed down rulings in two cases I've been following: -Charges against Jussie Smollett will be dropped; agreement w/ Cook Co. SA Kim Foxx is legally binding. -Mauro Glorioso can sue the Sun-Times for its reporting on property tax appeals on Trump Tower

The panel: @capitolfax.bsky.social, Bernie Schoenburg and Carol Marin

And the leadership folks

Tonight only. CNI office at 112 W Cook. Refreshments served. See you here!

From @benszalinski.bsky.social: A federal judge dismissed a BIPA lawsuit last week because damages weren't high enough to warrant a federal suit after the legislature's latest amendment was applied. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/judge-d...

I’ll christen this account with a coverage plug: Hannah Meisel’s in the courtroom covering the Madigan trial. It’s a slog so we’re recapping each week of trial here. Get up to speed quickly by reading our Madigan Trial Week in Review