* Tribune…

With enrollment plunging at many of Illinois’ regional universities, state leaders are again pressing a sweeping overhaul of higher education funding — one that would steer more money to smaller campuses despite firm opposition from the state’s flagship system, the University of Illinois.

The proposal, years in the making, stalled in the General Assembly last year. Now lawmakers hope a revised version could gain traction this spring and direct more support to universities that serve larger shares of low- and moderate-income students, even as Gov. JB Pritzker cautioned last week that a final agreement remains far from certain. […]

The concept has won support from every public university system in the state except the University of Illinois, whose leaders have argued the proposed formula fails to account for fiscal nuances among universities, especially large institutions like U. of I. […]

If passed, the bill would instruct the Board of Higher Education to determine who qualifies as underserved every three years by identifying demographic, geographic and income gaps in “enrollment, retention, or completion” compared to the average.

* HB5024, filed by House Speaker Chris Welch, has been assigned to the Executive committee. Michael McLean…

Legislation has been filed in Illinois by the speaker of the house to ban detention centers around a lot of common land uses

www.ilga.gov/Legislation/…

— Michael McLean (@mclean.bsky.social) 2026-02-22T21:52:21.532Z

* Center Square…

A bipartisan effort is underway to eliminate the option of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines in Illinois.

Carbon sequestration advocates say the process of storing carbon dioxide could benefit the environment and provide future energy options. Getting the industrial byproduct to storage locations requires pipelines. […]

“We just want to pass a simple bill. No eminent domain. Just like South Dakota, just like Iowa was trying to pass. Just like Minnesota. And that’s all we want,” [property rights advocate Kathleen Campbell] said.

With bipartisan support, Illinois Senate Bill 2842 has been assigned to the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee.

* Sen. Graciela Guzmán…

Together with advocates, colleagues and constituents, State Senator Graciela Guzmán spoke about the importance of establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in Illinois to keep costs of essential medications down for working families and her plans to champion legislation establishing this board during spring legislative session. […]

A Prescription Drug Affordability Board is an independent board responsible for assessing which prescription drugs present affordability challenges to a state’s health care system. Senate Bill 66 would establish a Health Care Availability and Access Board in Illinois, which would be required to conduct cost reviews of specific prescription drugs to determine which are high-cost drugs and inaccessible to patients, as well as to impose maximum payment limits on purchases or payment plans on prescription drugs in the state. This will ensure prescriptions are not too expensive for working Illinoisans to afford them.

“Research shows we are able to keep costs down—we just need the courage to stand up to the large corporations interested in lining their wallets with working people’s money,” said Guzmán. “It is long past time to hold them accountable and deliver on our promises for everyday Illinoisans, and this measure is the first step.”

Senate Bill 66 awaits assignment to a legislative committee.

* Home for Good…

The Home for Good Coalition will host a press conference Wednesday to unveil legislation to create safer, stronger communities by improving housing and support services for people returning from prison to prevent homelessness, while increasing public safety and saving taxpayers money.

WHO:
Ahmadou Dramé, Director, Illinois Justice Project
Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove
Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford
Maria Garza, Co-Founder of Challenge II Change
Andre Ruddock, Outreach Coordinator at the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance and Founder of Returning Citizens in Memory of Henry Dee

WHERE:
Illinois State Capitol Blue Room
401 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois

WHEN:
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026
9:30 a.m.

* WGEM…

For anyone looking to take a passenger train from Quincy or Macomb to Chicago, or vice versa, making it to the station on time requires an early start or a late night. A new bill in Illinois aims to change that.

If adopted, the Passenger Rail Planning Act (H.B. 4279) would require the Illinois Department of Transportation to plan for increased frequency of passenger train departures at stations across Illinois as it outlines future investments.

“We would like to have the state create a long-range plan for every route in the state, including a train departing every four hours from Quincy and Macomb to head toward Chicago,” said Rick Harnish, executive director of the High Speed Rail Alliance (HSRA).

Harnish said the bill could bring six train departures a day to and from Quincy and Macomb, up from two (one in the morning, one in the evening).

* Rep. Rick Ryan…

State Rep. Rick Ryan, D-Evergreen Park, is holding a press conference to announce filing a bill to name the Italian beef sandwich as the official state sandwich of Illinois on Friday, Feb. 27 at 11:30 a.m. at Pop’s Beef, located at 10337 S. Kedzie Ave. in Chicago.

“The Italian beef sandwich has long been a staple of Illinois meals,” Ryan said. “It’s our most well known sandwich, and I’m excited to see this officially named as our state sandwich. It really represents a part of Illinois culture that so many of us enjoy.”

Ryan sponsored House Bill 4669 to officially name the Italian beef sandwich as the state sandwich. The measure received bipartisan support and passed unanimously out of committee. It awaits a full vote in the House later in the spring.