* I really do like the direction Jeremy Gorner is taking the Tribune’s Statehouse bureau. That shop has produced yet another high-quality story…

While failing to get a budget done by its self-imposed deadline, the Illinois General Assembly passed measures addressing issues ranging from abortion rights to full-day kindergarten during its spring session, which this week goes into overtime.

It was the first full session since the November election, when Democrats won victories in every constitutional office and expanded their overall supermajority in the General Assembly. Despite the single-party control, legislators didn’t complete their work Friday as scheduled and will reconvene Wednesday to get back to work on a spending plan that became complicated by the spiraling costs of a health care program for immigrants.

Here’s a look at some of the bills heading to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk.

It’s a comprehensive look and well worth your read.

* Heather Wier Vaught…

The law that prohibited out-of-state donations to judicial committees and capped contributions at $500K was permanently enjoined on May 18. The order followed an agreement between the Attorney General and plaintiffs, in which the Attorney General opted not to appeal and the plaintiffs agreed not to file a motion to recover legal expenses.

* This is the very definition of “do-nothing.” From Block Club Chicago…

From the time buses full of migrants began arriving in Chicago last summer, city officials scrambled to find them places to stay. And even when they did, officials often failed to communicate their plans to alderpeople, advocates or other community residents.

Yet as the pace of arrivals built into a humanitarian crisis, the City Council committee responsible for overseeing immigration issues didn’t ask questions or propose solutions.

In fact, for more than a year, the council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights didn’t meet once, though it is tasked with making sure immigrants are treated humanely.

By the time the committee finally convened in late April, the migrant crisis was overwhelming Chicago’s social service systems. With nowhere else to go, families ended up sleeping on police station floors. City officials have turned shuttered schools and park field houses into makeshift shelters, and more migrants are on the way from border states.

But the committee still didn’t take any action.

Hilarious. Not.

* Illinois PIRG…

Legislation to phase out the use of single-use plastic polystyrene foam foodware in state facilities passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly last week and is being sent to Gov. Pritzker for his signature. Also last week, Oak Park became the first municipality to pass a ban on polystyrene foam foodware as part of a broader ordinance tackling single-use plastic waste.

The EPA estimates that Americans throw away almost 70 million plastic foam cups every day. Twenty-two million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year and just over half of that ends up in Lake Michigan alone. Already, eight states and roughly 200 cities and municipalities have enacted bans on polystyrene foam containers.

Under the state legislation passed last week, sponsored by state Sen. Laura Fine and state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, no state agency may purchase polystyrene foam foodware after January 1, 2025, and no vendor with a state contract may distribute any foam products to customers after January 1, 2026. Under the ordinance passed by Oak Park, restaurants may not sell or distribute polystyrene foam foodware after January 1, 2024.

The Coalition for Plastic Reduction, a coalition of more than 35 organizations across Illinois championed legislation that would phase out foam foodware statewide starting in 2024. That legislation passed the state House but not the state Senate. The coalition plans to push for the full statewide ban in next year’s legislative session.

* Appellate Justice Jesse Reyes has been gearing up hard to run for the Supreme Court. In the meantime, here’s the Illinois Latino Agenda…

The Illinois Latino Agenda (ILA) is calling on the Cook County Democratic Party to slate a Latino for the Illinois Supreme Court in the 2024 primary election when Justice Burke’s term officially expires. ILA and other networks believe that there are plenty of well qualified Latinos with experience in judicial matters to warrant slating a Latino candidate for the State’s highest court.

Last fall, more than 25 Latino leaders from the community, government, and private sectors, were unified in voicing their disappointment with the Illinois Supreme Court’s appointment to fill the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Anne Burke vacancy. The Court denied the historic opportunity to appoint Illinois’ first Latino Supreme Court Justice when it selected Justice Burke’s recommended nominee.

“The Illinois Supreme Court sorely lacks Latino representation in a state where Latinos make up 18% of the population and are one of the fastest growing demographics” Jose M. Muñoz, Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda, said. “We demand a fair opportunity to elect the first Latino Supreme Court Justice with the support of the Cook County Democratic Party.”

Cook County’s District 1, where the latest appointment was made, has a Latino population that is 26% and growing. The Cook County Democratic Party stands at the forefront of rectifying an inequity that has existed for far too long by slating a Latino candidate that would create a truly diverse elected Supreme Court

“The Illinois Judiciary has a growing number of Latinos, the most it has ever had in its 205 year history, yet a Latino has never sat on the Illinois Supreme Court,” said Juan Morado Jr., Chair of the Latino Leadership Council and Illinois Latino Agenda member. “There is undoubtedly a pipeline of Latino Judges that the Cook County Democratic party can slate for Illinois’ Supreme Court and we strongly urge them to do so.”

“If there was ever a time to bring true diversity and equity to the Illinois Supreme Court, the time is now,’ said Sylvia Puente, Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda and President and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum. “Latinos are embedded in Illinois, our communities contribute to our state’s economy and culture, and we deserve to be represented at all levels of government, the Illinois Supreme Court should not be an exception.”

Other stakeholders, including political leaders and bar associations, are expected to make their own statements in the upcoming days.

The Illinois Latino Agenda (ILA) is a coalition of 26 Latino leaders, most of whom head Chicago’s largest Latino-serving organizations.

* Harsh judgement on Proft’s part, but all HGOPs were individually asked to sign the letter and these did not…

32/40 House GOPers put their names on the line to extend privately-funded K12 scholarships for low-income families.

8/40 didn't–House GOP leader McCombie along w/ teachers' union toadies: Keicher, Severin, Meier, Hammond, Rosenthal, Marron, Elik.

ILGOP: a party w/o a point. pic.twitter.com/1FlXHtMbqJ

— Dan Proft (@DanProft) May 22, 2023

* And congratulations to all of us for surviving Mass Death Day!…

UPDATE: I'm still alive and Luc Montagnier is dead.

— 𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗝𝗮𝘆𝗘𝗺 (@akaMisterJayEm) May 22, 2023

Luc Montagnier is, indeed, still dead.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WCIA | Illinois may crack down on generic drug price gouging with proposal advanced in legislature: In the bill, price gouging is defined as “an increase in the price as 30% or more within the preceding year, 50% or more within the preceding 3 years, or 75% or more within the preceding 5 years.” It also must be found the price hike burdens consumers because of little to no competition in the marketplace. The bill does exempt if companies raise the price because of production cost increases.

* WTTW | Illinois Bills Look to Crack Down on Deepfakes and Doxing, Would Allow Civil Suits: Illinois lawmakers are working to catch up with artificial intelligence developments and social media by passing a pair of bills cracking down on deepfakes and doxing. Both measures give victims the ability to bring a civil lawsuit against an alleged perpetrator — a step that has raised alarm from civil liberties advocates and media groups like motion picture and cable organizations.

* Crain’s | New EV registrations: GM, Ford, Rivian chip away at Tesla’s share: EV registrations numbered 257,507 for an increase of 63 percent. Total industry registrations were just over 3.69 million, Experian said, an increase of 8.4 percent.

* Chicago Tribune | Threats of violence don’t belong in the state Capitol. Sen. Neil Anderson must apologize: Nonetheless, the language used by Republican Sen. Neil Anderson of Andalusia during the debate over a bill introduced by Democrat Rep. Katie Stuart was shocking, to say the least. Stuart’s bill, which was debated Thursday, provided (with certain conditions) that “any multiple-occupancy restroom may be identified as an all-gender, multiple-occupancy restroom and designated for use by any person of any gender.”

* Sun-Times | I’ve been riding CTA all my life. It’s time for a reckoning on public transit’s problems.: “I’ve been riding the CTA since my mother was pregnant with me,” Natalie Moore writes. “I don’t mind the peddling, whether it’s music, socks or incense sticks. … But when safety and cleanliness become problems, change must be afoot.”

* Crain’s | Aldermen revive effort to make COVID-era outdoor dining program permanent: The program was twice extended for a year, but when Lightfoot sought to make the program permanent, the effort fell apart amid pushback from the City Council that the ordinance would take them out of the decision making process and because powerful interests had lined up on opposing sides of the closure of a portion of Clark Street in River North.

* Sun-Times | University of Chicago’s new international police academy teaching policing successes of New York, Los Angeles, not Chicago: Homicide rates plummeted in those cities over the past 30 years. “We haven’t seen that same success in Chicago, where murder rates have remained stagnant for 30 years. That needs to change,” said Kristen Mahoney, director of the new academy.

* Sun-Times | From inside Cook County Jail, chess spreads across the globe: Chicago hosted an international conference on teaching chess to detainees in jails and prisons. Officials from the International Chess Federation and corrections agencies from around the world are exploring how chess can be used to help rehabilitate incarcerated people.

* Crain’s | CEO pay disclosures are getting weird: Michael Pykosz’s compensation as CEO of Oak Street Health dropped by $50 million to a “negative” $48.4 million last year. Anders Gustafsson did better at Zebra Technologies, but his pay was a negative $17.5 million. Dover CEO Richard Tobin finished $13.7 million in the hole.

* Community Voices | Springfield’s African American History Museum grows with addition of Executive Director Nalo Mitchell: Nalo Mitchell is the Executive Director of the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum. She sat down with Vanessa Ferguson on Community Voices to discuss how she plans to increase outreach in the community and provide inclusive exhibits. She also shared information about the many things to see in the museum and how her family history ties into one of the featured exhibits.

* County Herald | Illinois Law Enforcement Raises Record $1 Million at #CopOnARooftop Event for Special Olympics: The #CopOnARooftop event, which has become an annual tradition, brings together law enforcement personnel, Dunkin’ franchisees, and volunteers who camp out on rooftops of participating Dunkin’ locations. The purpose of the event is to raise funds and awareness for the Special Olympics Illinois.

* SJ-R | Budzinski, joining local Reps., banned from entering Russia: Following new sanctions from the Biden administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation released a new list of political and corporate leaders banned from entering the country. Joining former President Barack Obama and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, among the 500 added officials on Friday was U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield.