Bellmont Man Faces Additional Charges

Additional charges have been filed against a Bellmont man already facing multiple felony counts involving child sexual abuse material.

Wabash County State’s Attorney Kelli Storckman filed eight new charges Monday against 28-year-old Gage Hoffman. The new counts are Class 2 felonies alleging child pornography offenses.

Hoffman now faces a total of 15 charges connected to the investigation.

As previously reported, Hoffman was originally charged on May 4th with seven Class X felonies related to child sexual abuse material. Court records allege several offenses occurred between July of 2024 and March of 2025. Five of those original charges allege victims under the age of 13, while two involve victims under the age of 18.

The investigation began after deputies with the Wabash County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant April 29th at a residence in Bellmont. Investigators reportedly recovered electronic evidence connected to the alleged possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse material.

The investigation remains active, with additional forensic analysis still underway. The Mt. Carmel Police Department and Illinois Attorney General’s Office assisted in the investigation.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Changes Announced To Smart Device Policy At MCHS

Mount Carmel Junior-Senior High School Principal Amy Duckworth presented details Monday night on a proposed smart device policy expected to take effect for the upcoming school year.

Speaking to the District 348 School Board, Duckworth said the policy would require students to leave backpacks, phones, smart watches, earbuds, AirPods, and other smart devices locked in their hallway lockers during the school day.

Duckworth said the goal is to create classrooms with fewer distractions and more meaningful engagement between students and teachers. She noted the new policy would bring the high school more in line with existing smart device rules already in place at the elementary, grade school, and junior high buildings.

Under the proposal, students would still have access to their devices during the high school’s open-campus lunch period, especially for those leaving campus during lunch.

Duckworth also explained that language allowing device use “at teacher discretion” would be removed from the handbook in an effort to improve consistency throughout the building.

Board members asked questions about possible exceptions for students with medical needs. Duckworth said accommodations would be considered on an individual basis through 504 plans or individualized education plans, commonly known as IEPs. She added that some students require smart devices for medical monitoring, including blood sugar tracking, and those needs would continue to be addressed appropriately.

Duckworth emphasized that the focus of the policy is positive engagement and classroom focus, with consequences aimed at non-compliance rather than simply possession of a device.

Search Continues For Mosquito Sprayer

The City of Mount Carmel is still looking for someone to operate the city’s mosquito spraying program this summer.

During this month’s “Ask the Mayor” program on WSJD, Mayor Joe Judge said the city has received applicants, but the main issue continues to be finding someone with the proper applicator’s license.

Judge says the city is willing to pay for the required training and licensing, but applicants must complete the process and pass the test before they can officially be hired.

At the moment, Judge says two individuals are currently working through the training and testing process. He added that recent weather conditions have helped keep mosquito activity from becoming too severe so far.

The possibility of having current city employees handle spraying duties has also been discussed. However, Judge noted that because city workers are union employees, the work would likely require overtime pay at time-and-a-half rates, and no employees have stepped forward expressing interest in the position.

At last week’s Mount Carmel City Council meeting, Commissioner Tom Meeks asked about the pay for the position. Judge responded that the wage would be negotiable based on experience, but would likely be around 20 dollars per hour.

PROJECT UPDATE: Traffic shift planned for U.S. 41 in Gibson County

GIBSON COUNTY Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces a traffic shift for U.S. 41 in Gibson County.

Beginning on or around Tuesday, May 19, crews will shift traffic on U.S. 41 from the northbound lanes to southbound lanes near Princeton. This shift will occur between County Road 300 S and County Road 100 W. Currently U.S. 41 traffic is utilizing the northbound lanes to retain access during a bridge replacement project.

During this traffic shift, the off ramp from U.S. 41 south to County Road 300 South will re-open to traffic. The on ramp to U.S. 41 north from County Road 300 South will close during this phase of the project. The official detour for this ramp closure is U.S. 41 southbound to County Road 550 to U.S. 41 northbound.

This traffic shift will allow the replacement of the northbound U.S. 41 bridge to begin. Work recently completed on the southbound bridge. This project is expected to last through the end of the year, depending on the weather. INDOT reminds drivers to slow down, use extra caution, and avoid distractions when traveling in and near work zones.

Irelan Pleads Not Guilty To Stalking/Harassment Charges

A preliminary hearing was held Thursday in Wabash County Circuit Court for 39-year-old Nicholas Irelan of Mt. Carmel, who is facing multiple felony charges connected to alleged threatening communications.

During the hearing, Mt. Carmel Police Officer David Houser testified about his investigation into claims made by Irelan’s ex-wife, who now lives in Nevada. According to testimony, the alleged victim reported receiving hundreds of threatening phone calls and text messages from Irelan.

Following the hearing, Judge Denton Aud found probable cause in the case.

Irelan, who is representing himself, was then arraigned on eight felony charges and entered not guilty pleas to all counts.

Judge Aud ordered that Irelan continue to be held in custody pending further proceedings.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 28th, with a final pretrial set for June 18th. Jury trial is scheduled to begin July 6th.

As previously reported, the charges against Irelan include stalking, cyberstalking, harassment through electronic communication, and harassment by telephone.

Illinois’ budget picture tightens in final stretch amid economic uncertainty

Deputy governor warns state has limited ability to increase spending

By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com

Article Summary

• Illinois’ new budget offices lowered revenue projections for the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday, citing growing economic uncertainty. 

• The news comes as lawmakers are looking to finalize the fiscal year 2027 budget with less than three weeks left in the legislative session. 

• Deputy Gov. Andy Manar warned the revisions show the state has little room for new spending beyond what Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in February. 

• Rising unemployment could limit growth in personal income taxes while rising prices are making consumers more cautious, which could lead to lower sales tax collections. 

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. 

SPRINGFIELD — Growing pessimism over the direction of the global economy is leading budget analysts for the governor’s office and Illinois’ legislature to temper revenue expectations less than three weeks before lawmakers are set to finalize a new budget. 

Both the governor’s budget office and the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability revised revenue projections for the current year and fiscal year 2027 down by less than 1%. While the change is small and generally keeps budget talks on track, it’s a sign that confidence in the economy is waning. 

Deputy Gov. Andy Manar, who leads budgeting for Gov. JB Pritzker, said in a statement “the revised revenue estimates show that the overall fiscal picture in Illinois has substantially remained the same since February, heading into the final weeks of this legislative session.” 

But he said it also “underscores the state’s need to remain focused on fiscal discipline as the entire country is forced to continue to grapple with economic and geopolitical uncertainty that the Trump Administration is creating.” 

The forecasters revised estimates downward after S&P Global’s April economic forecast came in less optimistic than the January report that was used to craft Pritzker’s budget. GDP is now expected to grow 2.1% in 2026 compared to 2.3% that was forecast in January. 

Citing the ongoing war in Iran, S&P increased the likelihood of its downside scenario, which would include higher energy prices and declining consumer demand.  

It all leaves Manar with a warning for lawmakers, including many Democrats who have sought spending increases. 

“The latest estimates shows that our ability to increase spending beyond the Governor’s introduced levels is limited,” he said. 

Estimate reductions

Pritzker’s budget office decreased its FY27 revenue projection by $173 million to $55.9 billion. The change leaves projected revenue $149 million short of the spending Pritzker proposed — provided lawmakers approve the measures Pritzker proposed in February to bring $728 million in new revenue. That includes a tax on social media companies based on how many users they have in Illinois. The other funds would come from adjustments to caps on operating loss deductions and table and electronic gambling games.

The reduction is a small amount in the context of the massive state budget but underscores how little flexibility lawmakers have in crafting a budget to take effect July 1. 

COGFA revised its FY27 projection down by $190 million to $55.3 billion. That doesn’t include Pritzker’s proposed revenues, meaning COGFA’s estimate is actually about $180 million more optimistic than the governor’s office.

COGFA notes that sales tax collections have slowed in recent months in the state, causing them to lower expectations by $67 million for the upcoming year. A state law passed last year to plug holes in public transit agencies’ budgets also requires that the state appropriate more sales tax revenue from motor fuel sales to public transportation, reducing the total amount of sales tax revenue available for General Fund spending. 

"I’m hearing from the retail industry, in fact just in the past quarter, sales are down – prices remain high, but actual volumes are down,” Sen. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights, said. “I looked at everyone’s forecast for next year’s sales tax – I still think they’re optimistic and so I would be concerned.” 

Year-over-year inflation rose to 3.8% in April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which is the highest rate in three years. COGFA Revenue Manager Eric Noggle acknowledged there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding sales tax revenue as prices rise and consumers adapt. 

"As prices rise, as inflation goes up, you’re going to bring in more sales tax revenue,” he said. “But if there’s fewer products being purchased, that’s going to start to offset.” 

COGFA is monitoring changes to employment levels that could impact how much the state receives from personal income taxes. Unemployment has been on the rise in Illinois, hitting 5.1% in March, according to the Department of Employment Security. S&P’s April forecast expects unemployment will peak in early 2027, rather than in early 2026 as was expected when Pritzker introduced his budget. 

"It’s not what you really want to see when you’re thinking about personal income tax growth,” Noggle said. “The saving grace that we’ve seen though is wages have been up.” 

Amnesty tax revenue the state used to balance the FY26 budget is also not expected to continue in FY27, Department of Revenue Director David Harris told a Senate committee on Wednesday. He said that brought in about $250 million to the general revenue fund this year. 

Lower expectations for transfers to the General Fund caused the largest decrease in COGFA’s expectations for the upcoming budget, in large part because the state expects to pay more in income tax refunds. Federal funding is also projected to decrease.

But with interest rates no longer expected to decrease soon, COGFA expects other revenue sources will collectively perform $133 million better than previously expected thanks to more revenue from interest. Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, also met the news cautiously. 

"Since it’s our job to have a sustainable budget moving forward, when I see a bunch of shifting, weakening numbers, and only one holding up the fort, I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket,” Ventura said. 

The impact of high gas prices remains a wild card.

"There’s a lot of uncertainty and we can’t pretend otherwise; we’re just going to have to take it day by day,” Department of Revenue Chief Economist Rubina Hafeez said. 

Alignment on current year expectations

Revenue has outperformed expectations in the current fiscal year. The budget lawmakers approved last year was expected to bring in $55.1 billion in new revenue, but the governor’s office now estimates that will land at $55.7 billion with COGFA even more bullish at $55.9 billion. 

Most of that has been driven by better-than-expected personal income tax revenue, which is up 4.2% through April so far in FY26. 

But even though sales tax receipts have been up 4% so far this year, COGFA sees signs of that slowing. The source has increased by only 2.1% since January and the commission now expects the state will receive $64 million less than expected in its March forecast. The governor’s office made a similar revision. 

Lawmakers are expected to pass a budget on May 31. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Revenue Director Eric Noggle, right, speaks to an Illinois Senate committee on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki

Advocates, accusing governor of ‘lack of engagement,’ urge passage of data center regulations by end of May

Advocates, accusing governor of ‘lack of engagement,’ urge passage of data center regulations by end of May

Members of both parties have shown a willingness to approve at least some regulations

Article Summary 

• Advocates are calling for the General Assembly to pass the POWER Act to regulate data centers before the legislative session ends on May 31. 

• The urgency, they say, is that data center projects continue popping up across the state, including three that were approved since the bill was introduced in February. But they’re critical of what they see as a “lack of engagement” by the governor’s office. 

• The bill has only had subject matter hearings so far and hasn’t received any official votes, but Democrats and Republicans have indicated a willingness to regulate data centers. Stakeholders say they’re open to negotiations.

• Illinoisans around the state have called for more transparency in the way data center projects are proposed and negotiated.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By NIKOEL HYTREK
Capitol News Illinois
nhytrek@captiolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD — Environmental advocates continue to pressure lawmakers to require more transparency about data centers’ water and energy use as the legislative session creeps toward the finish line.

The POWER Act is the primary vehicle for regulations that address concerns about the effects data centers have on communities, but it hasn’t seen any action beyond subject matter hearings since it was introduced in February. 

With less than three weeks left before lawmakers are slated to adjourn, however, it’s unclear whether the wide-ranging bill will come together and whether Gov. JB Pritzker will throw his support behind any specific regulatory proposal. 

“We are confused and concerned by the Governor’s lack of engagement on the issue of data centers this spring legislative session,” Kady McFadden, lead lobbyist on behalf of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition that has been behind several recent energy reforms, said in a statement. 

Pritzker mentioned data centers in his February State of the State address, calling for PJM Interconnection, the electric grid operator that covers all or part 13 states from Illinois to the East Coast, to require data center developers to pay for and provide their own energy. 

He also proposed a two-year pause on state tax credits for new data centers to compensate for rising demand and higher prices. Illinois has provided tax incentives for data centers since Pritzker signed bipartisan legislation in 2019. According to the state’s 2024 report, at least 27 data centers had received incentives totaling $983 million in estimated lifetime tax breaks and benefits.

But the advocates behind the bill say he’s been silent since, even as a vast array of stakeholders indicate they have at least some interest in regulation. 

“The Governor’s Office continues to monitor and take note of all legislation that requires additional state resources,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “As bills make their way to the second chamber, agencies and Governor’s Office staff will continue to educate members and budgeteers about the fiscal impact of bills.”

It’s not uncommon, however, for lawmakers to wait until the last minute to pass major legislation, including energy policy.

“Illinois has the opportunity to set real guardrails before even more projects move forward,” said Tyshianna Bankhead, executive director of Faith Coalition for the Common Good based in Springfield, at a House committee meeting on Tuesday. 

The urgency comes from the increased interest of data centers to develop in Illinois. A representative from Commonwealth Edison said the northern Illinois territory has almost 100 large-load projects in the queue. Since February, data center proposals have been approved in Sangamon County, Joliet and Yorkville. 

“This is not something that we can solve one community at a time,” Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, said at a Wednesday news conference. “This is a statewide issue, and it demands a statewide solution.”

Bipartisan support for regulation?

Advocates say they don’t know why the bill has stalled, because Democrats and Republicans have aired concerns about water use, energy prices and the lack of transparency around proposed developments. As with all legislation with the scope of the POWER Act, however, the devil is in the details. 

Walling pointed toward a Republican representative’s bill to regulate data centers and said she was encouraged by the conversation that happened in the Tuesday committee.

“I think that that hearing just showed a large level of support for moving forward and doing something, and how interested people are and how much all lawmakers are hearing from their constituents,” Walling said.

Rep. Jed Davis, R-Yorkville, filed House Bill 5755 on April 27, which would require municipalities to provide public notice and hearings for proposed data centers. It would also allow residents to gather signatures to trigger a referendum vote on proposed projects.

He said the bill was inspired by constituents who felt Yorkville didn’t listen to them before approving several data center projects. 

“I'm really hearing the voice of my constituents back home and how they feel silenced,” he said. "And, through this piece of legislation, I’m trying to give them fresh breath, give them a voice again, to empower them to have change locally.”

Davis told Capitol News Illinois he’s “right on the fence” as to whether he’d vote for the POWER Act, and he’s heard similar from some of his Republican colleagues. He said constituents have emailed him since “day one,” asking him to support the POWER Act.

Republicans have called for regulations on data centers, but they don’t want restrictions to interfere with data centers’ economic benefits and many dislike the requirement that new data centers get their energy from renewable sources. 

What would the POWER Act do

Despite several recent committee hearings on data centers, lawmakers this week commented on how the bill feels like it’s still in its early stages. Many members of the House Energy and Environment Committee said Tuesday they were learning details about the bill for the first time.

“Clearly, there's a lot of conversation that needs to happen around the bill,” said Rep. Carol Ammons, chair of the committee. “I'll just put on the record that my major concern and protection area will certainly be the Mahomet (Aquifer), which is sole source, and utilization of water is a huge, huge problem in the either existing data centers or those coming online.”

The POWER Act would prohibit nondisclosure agreements between governmental units and data centers and would require data center developers to create community benefits agreements in the places they’re located.

It would also require public water-use reports, environmental impact assessments, and would make data center developers build their own renewable energy generation to power the facilities.  

The bill is meant to address concerns about the millions of gallons of water data centers can use and the power strain they’ll put on an already struggling grid. 

The ComEd territory in northern Illinois, for example, has enough large-load energy projects in its queue to more than double the amount of energy demand in the territory by 2040.

Even the data center industry has indicated its open to regulation — at least nominally. 

Brad Tietz, the Midwest policy director for the Data Center Coalition, acknowledged that data centers have impacts on communities but said data center companies can be useful too, especially as technology for water and energy use evolve. 

“We've been asking throughout the session now for formal stakeholder negotiations to begin,” he said. “While we do have concerns with the POWER Act, a number of the issues are not insurmountable, and we'd love a chance to talk through this.”

Tietz said the data center industry would like to change proposals requiring data centers to provide their own renewable energy and water use reports to make them voluntary instead of mandatory — a proposition that’s unacceptable to environmental advocates.

Similarly, Joe Duffy with Climate Jobs Illinois, said his organization supports the goals of the POWER Act and is open to negotiating with other stakeholders, but it has concerns about whether the renewable generation projects required in the bill will be held to union labor standards. 

Climate Jobs Illinois also opposes a pause on the data center tax credit. 

“Without it, there's no guarantee that these projects benefit Illinois workers or Illinois communities,” Duffy said. 

McFadden said the Clean Jobs Coalition has spoken with labor interests about the bill, but they have not been able to sit down with the Data Center Coalition. 

Calls for transparency

Across Illinois, proposed data centers have drawn hundreds of Illinoisans to city council meetings and town halls demanding more information about how data centers will impact their communities. Many have called out the frequent use of nondisclosure agreements between data center companies and municipalities and limited time for public input.

In some cases, like in Naperville and Pekin, the outcry has been able to halt projects, but several communities have moved ahead despite opposition from residents.

“When it comes to data centers, communities are struggling to get basic information, let alone meaningful involvement,” Bankhead said at a House committee meeting on Tuesday. 

The Sangamon County Board approved a data center in April on a 17-10 vote after limited public comment. Bankhead said the board did not openly discuss the project.

“Information was difficult to access, and decisions seemed to move faster than the public process should, and many residents were left feeling like they were reacting to the process instead of being included,” she continued.

Joliet residents voiced similar concerns about the Joliet Technology Center, a planned 795-acre data center project that was approved in March on an 8-1 vote. 

“City officials were quiet or contemptuous, information was inconsistent and delayed, and technical analyses were either incomplete or unavailable to the public,” Noah Martinez, a member of Joliet Residents for Responsible Growth, said at a Monday news conference in Joliet. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Jen Walling, the executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, speaks about the POWER Act at a May 13, 2026, news conference. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Nikoel Hytrek)

Senate Democrats introduce bills to regulate artificial intelligence

 The eight-bill package tackles consumer protection, education, transparency

Article Summary

• With less than a month left in the spring legislative session, Senate Democrats introduced a package of bills aimed at regulating some artificial intelligence usage.

• The eight bills tackle consumer protections, chatbot transparency and how AI can be used in schools.

• The senators said the lack of federal policy was part of their motivation for introducing legislation, by banding together with other states to create a standard.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By JENNA SCHWEIKERT 
Capitol News Illinois 
jschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com 

With just two weeks left in the spring legislative session, Illinois Senate Democrats introduced an eight-bill package aimed at regulating some uses of artificial intelligence after a lack of federal action on the issue. 

Illinois lawmakers modeled their bills that address consumer protection, developer transparency and educational usage after legislation in California and New York to create a “de facto national standard,” Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, told Capitol News Illinois. 

In committee hearings, industry advocates voiced concerns about state-led regulations creating a “patchwork environment” that is difficult to do business in and encouraged lawmakers to wait for federal action. But no such movement has been made in Congress, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December discouraging states from “excessive” regulation.

“From our observation, not much is happening at all in Washington, so we felt it was necessary for us to act,” Cunningham said. “We also were motivated by the idea that two other big states have passed pretty meaningful AI regulation, California and New York, and together, we believe that our three states will cover about 40% of the AI market in the United States.”

Led by Cunningham, the senators said in a Wednesday news conference that they’re aiming to pass their bills before the chambers adjourn on May 31 — and they’re undaunted by threats from the federal government. 

Some of the bills include specific provisions about deferring to federal actions, if any come to fruition, and states are subject to federal law. But despite Trump’s threats, potentially including withholding broadband funding, Cunningham said lawmakers are dedicated to regulating AI.

“There are all sorts of threats happening right now about the federal government cracking down on states doing things that the Trump administration doesn't like,” Cunningham said. “We're going to do the right thing regardless of those threats, and that's what we're trying to do with this package.”

The bills are each aimed at specific, ongoing issues relevant to AI, and senators are looking to protect their constituents in those areas, Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, said. 

Transparency

Senate Bill 315 from Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville, aims to require more transparency from large developers like OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT. 

“Illinois needs to create a road map for responsible innovation to prevent catastrophic risks,” Edly-Allen said, comparing the technology to the “Wild Wild West.”

“This is not about stopping innovation, but rather about balancing the great promise of AI with its potential harms,” she continued.

The bill would require large developers — those with annual gross revenues greater than $500 million — to create, follow and publish a framework detailing how the company approaches incorporating industry standards, assesses the model’s capabilities and potential for catastrophic risk, and identifies and responds to safety incidents. It would also require developers to review this framework annually and advertise any significant modifications.

The bill defines catastrophic risk as a predictable and substantial risk that, by helping a person to create or release a weapon or conduct an attack, a model will contribute to the death or serious injury of more than 50 people or more than $1 billion in damages.

Further, developers would be required to publish a transparency report before launching a new or significantly modified model and employ a third party to conduct annual audits, although it includes protections for trade secrets and national security. 

Developers would also be prohibited from making false or misleading statements about its framework or potential for catastrophic risk, from retaliating against employees for whistleblowing, and subject to civil penalties for violations.

A representative from Anthropic, the Claude model developer, testified in support of the bill, which passed unanimously out of committee on Wednesday.

Chatbots

Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, is sponsoring Senate Bill 316 to ensure that AI chatbots provide resources to struggling teenagers after rising rates of suicide and self-harm linked to chatbot use.

“AI isn't necessarily trained in crisis response, especially as it relates to mental health,” Ellman said. “Due to a lack of proper intervention, the teenager can commit self-harm, and in some cases, dies by suicide after confiding with an artificial intelligence chatbot. That is unacceptable.”

The bill would require operators of AI chatbots designed for social or emotional interaction — exempting models like customer service chatbots — to develop and maintain protocols around expressions of suicidal ideation and self-harm, including preventing the model from encouraging such behavior. When the chatbot recognizes such expressions, it would need to direct users to resources like crisis hotlines. 

The bill would also require operators to disclose to users that they are communicating with an automated system at the beginning of interactions and at least every three hours during ongoing conversations, and to prevent chatbots directed toward minors from generating sexually explicit material or encouraging sexually explicit conduct.

Senate Bill 317 from Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, would require companies using customer service chatbots to disclose to consumers that they are speaking with an automated system.

“Automatic systems lack the empathy and human understandings that are essential,” Ventura said. “People deserve to know that they're communicating with a human or an AI system from the very beginning of interaction to increase transparency and accountability.”

The attorney general would have enforcement authority, unless a person experienced damages because of a violation, in which case they could bring a civil suit against the company.

Both bills passed unanimously out of committee on Wednesday.

Consumer protection

Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Caledonia, is sponsoring Senate Bill 318 to prevent bots from buying and reselling event tickets.

“For too long, ticket buying has felt stacked against everyday fans who are forced to use their hard-earned money to pay exorbitant prices, in large part because so-called bots are scooping them up and reselling them for outrageous prices,” Stadelman said.

The bill would prohibit users from using bots, multiple accounts or email addresses from making mass purchases of event tickets. It would also prohibit resellers from falsely representing affiliation with an artist, team, venue or organizer. Venues and ticket issuers would also have to disclose how many tickets are withheld when other tickets are up for sale.

The bill passed unanimously out of committee on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 340 from Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, would require tech companies to give consumers the ability to opt out of data collection for personalized ads or for sale to third parties. It would also prohibit the sale of personal data to influence life-changing decisions like loan approvals, job screening or insurance rates.

“Illinois needs to protect our consumers' personal data from being collected by these companies,” Murphy said. 

The bill is modeled after a 2025 Minnesota law restricting the use and sale of consumers’ data. While the bill does not directly reference AI, the technology is often used to analyze consumer data.

Sen. Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, is sponsoring Senate Bill 343 to prohibit landlords from using AI-driven platforms to collude on rental prices.

“Housing is a human need. It should not be manipulated by algorithms built to maximize corporate profits at the expense of our communities,” Guzmán said. 

The bill would ban landlords from indirectly coordinating prices for residential rental units through third-party services. A representative from Illinois REALTORS testified against the bill, saying the organization is concerned that the bill puts liability on landlords as the end user rather than the software.

Murphy’s and Guzman’s bills passed out of committee along partisan lines on Wednesday.

Education

Senate Bill 415 from Sen. Karina Villa, D-Chicago, would restrict schools from using facial recognition software on school cameras. 

“No child should be subjected to invasive surveillance or have risk of their sensitive personal data collected and misused,” Villa said. “When it comes to protecting children's biometric information, Illinois must be steadfast in securing student privacy and preventing discrimination.”

Villa introduced the bill after students in her district were concerned about the safety of their biometric data being captured, she said. But Republicans on the committee expressed concern that the bill would limit schools’ ability to keep their students safe, although they ultimately voted to pass it out of committee.

“Public policy is balancing priorities, and I would place a greater priority on the safety of the students in school, school security, over an individual visit,” Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said. “Maybe its technology is not completely developed and precise right now, but it's going to continue to get better.”

Villa said she plans to bring an amendment to clarify how schools should handle existing contracts and data, and who — between students, teachers and visitors — the bill applies to.

Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, is sponsoring Senate Bill 416 to regulate the use of AI in the classroom. 

The bill would prohibit teachers from using AI to assign grades and would direct school boards to adopt a policy requiring the boards to approve any use of AI in relation to students or student work by the 2026-27 school year.

“Education should be an interactive collaboration with human beings as we try to develop the young minds of our young students,” Martwick said. “It should not be AI grading based off of implicit biases that are built into the systems.”

Martwick’s bill passed out of committee unanimously on Wednesday.

Moving forward

The package comes a month after a Senate subcommittee held nearly 11 hours of subject matter hearings over several days on dozens of similar, bipartisan AI regulatory bills. The package is, in part, a product of those hearings, Cunningham said.

All but two of the bills in this package passed out of committee unanimously, signaling bipartisan support for the regulations. How far that goes is yet to be seen, with some technical amendments expected before the bills are called for a vote on the floor.

“I think there are definitely things that both parties agree on, we see the potential of AI, we also see some of the potential harm, and there is a bipartisan belief in that,” Cunningham said.

The House and Senate are in alignment with their goals on AI regulation, Cunningham said, after chamber leadership met to develop a plan earlier this week.

 “I'm confident at the end of the day, we'll get bills out of both chambers that attack the problems we want to take care of,” Cunningham said.

And it’s not the be-all-end-all, Edly-Allen said: “This is not one and done. We're going to have to continue to come back and retool, but at this point, our most important job is to protect our constituency, and that's what all these pieces of legislation do.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

Sen. Bill Cunningham speaks at a news conference announcing the AI bill package on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Cunningham said the package came, in part, out of a lack of federal action to regulate AI. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jenna Schweikert)

IDOT targets young engineering talent with student loan assistance

The initiative aims to make IDOT more competitive for employment and tame a national engineer shortage 

By AIDAN KLINEMAN
Medill Illinois News Bureau
news@capitolnewsillinois.com

Article Summary

• The Illinois Department of Transportation announced this week it will soon repay up to $60,000 in student loans for up to 50 eligible employees over four years as part of an initiative to attract recently graduated engineers in an increasingly competitive job market.

• The Higher Education Student Loan Repayment Assistance for Engineers Pilot Program will reimburse engineers up to $15,000 annually after four years of service at the agency.

• State-employed engineers are needed to support the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program, initially passed in the first year of the Pritzker administration in 2019.

• Republicans are also working to assist the creation of new engineers for the state with a scholarship bill proposed by Senate Republican Leader John Curran. 

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Transportation announced this week it will soon repay up to $60,000 in student loans for eligible employees over four years as part of an initiative to lure recently graduated engineers in an increasingly competitive job market.

The Higher Education Student Loan Repayment Assistance for Engineers Pilot Program will reimburse 50 Illinois-educated engineers up to $15,000 annually after four years of service at the agency. IDOT hopes to incentivize young talent to remain in the state and the field, citing data from the American Council of Engineering Companies that shows a national shortfall of approximately 20,000 engineers per year due to retirements or departures from the field.

“At a time when workforce challenges continue to impact the engineering industry and public sector alike, this initiative will help attract and retain the next generation of transportation professionals needed to deliver critical infrastructure projects across Illinois,” Kevin Artl, president and CEO of ACEC Illinois, said in a statement announcing the initiative.

The student loan repayment program is the latest effort by Gov. JB Pritzker and the state to spur economic growth by retaining young talent. In February, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association launched an apprenticeship program for emerging Illinois retailers, and late last month, Pritzker announced public and private partnerships with computing giant IBM that will bring 500 apprenticeships to the company’s new innovation hub located in Chicago’s quantum park.

The program is funded by IDOT, with funds allocated as part of the Pritzker administration’s ongoing Rebuild Illinois efforts and paid out as bonuses. Rebuild Illinois has made significant investments in Illinois infrastructure projects since fiscal year 2020.

Massive infrastructure investments augment engineering needs

State-employed engineers are needed to support the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program, passed in the first year of the Pritzker administration in 2019 and continued since then. The latest six-year plan calls for investing $50.6 billion in infrastructure, including $32.5 billion for transportation projects exclusively: the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, public transit, freight and passenger rail, aeronautic facilities and ports.

This is not the first time IDOT has targeted young engineering talent. Last year, the agency implemented an “Intern to Hire” program meant to attract college students to civil engineering internships with the department by providing direct pathways to full-time employment.

The need to fill engineering positions at IDOT is also driven, in part, by federal legislation encouraging new projects. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocated over $17 billion to Illinois public works projects over five years.

“We have more projects than ever at IDOT right now, thanks to the capital program and funding at the federal level,” Guy Tridgell, director of communications for IDOT, said. “And we need engineers to do that work.”

According to IDOT data, the state has invested over $24 billion in Illinois highway projects through Rebuild Illinois since the 2020 fiscal year. The state hopes young engineers will take advantage of these new jobs incentives and meet the demand for continued infrastructure investment.

Public sector recruitment for the long term

In addition to helping accomplish what Rebuild Illinois set out to do, Tridgell hopes the student loan repayment incentives will inspire young engineers to pursue long-term careers in public service.

“We’re aggressively taking a look at a variety of strategies to get young engineers, in particular, to come and work for the state,” Tridgell said. “It’s a good career — you learn a lot about the profession and you can make a real difference in your community.”

Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, initially sponsored legislation calling for the program. He said he hoped the incentives would encourage students to pursue engineering careers with reduced financial pressure.

“We know that access to higher education is challenging,” Villivalam told Capitol News Illinois. “So making sure that young students and folks looking at different career opportunities understand that there are tools available to them to make it more affordable, make it more accessible to pursue a career in engineering.”

Republican Leader proposes scholarships amid delay

In addition to the Pritzker administration's IDOT loan repayment program, Republicans are also working to assist the creation of new engineers for the state. 

Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, is a lead sponsor of Senate Bill 3855, which would create scholarship and living stipend incentives for engineering students attending Illinois public universities at the front end of their higher education careers. Curran supports the student loan repayments in addition to his own proposal, but noted that the repayments have been delayed.

“I’m glad they’re moving forward with it. It’s well past time,” Curran told Capitol News Illinois. “We are behind on capital.”

Similar to the student repayment plan, Curran’s scholarship bill requires eligible students to commit to working for IDOT for at least three years. He argues that scholarships would unlock more opportunities for students and help assuage financial concerns that arise from college decisions sooner.

“It is a way to help not only lock them in early, but also a pathway to pay for school,” Curran said. “It’s a win-win.”

Curran’s bill was assigned to committee and is currently awaiting a hearing, with a deadline of Friday.

Aidan Klineman is an undergraduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications, and is a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

A truck drives on Illinois roads. (Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Jacques Abou-Rizk)

School choice option at standstill as legislators weigh benefits, political fallout

Illinois takes cautious approach on whether to opt into federal tax credit program

By MARISA GUERRA ECHEVERRIA 

Medill Illinois News Bureau 

news@capitolnewsillinois.com

CHICAGO — Diverse interest groups — from public school activists and downstate voters to state officials and school boards — have pushed Gov. JB Pritzker to finally make a decision about the Trump administration’s Education Freedom Tax Credit.

Yet, there has been mostly silence from the Governor’s Mansion as Pritzker considers opting into the controversial school choice tax credit, an initiative that has also stalled in a bipartisan state Senate Bill 3776 due to scarce conversations with colleagues, according to chief sponsor, Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove.

The tax credit, passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, is a dollar-for-dollar non-refundable federal tax credit for donations of up to $1,700 a year to authorized scholarship-granting organizations. Scholarships under the tax credit do not have a cap and are decided by the donor organizations. 

The organizations then distribute scholarships to eligible families, whose income must be below 300% of their area’s median income, leaving a wide eligibility range. Families can then decide to spend their scholarships on expenses for private, public and charter schools, including private school tuition, tutoring and uniforms, according to a January 2026 fact sheet published by the U.S. departments of Education and Treasury.

Read more: Lawmakers decline to extend private school scholarship tax credit program

As a federal initiative, any taxpayer can take advantage of the tax credit — but students can only receive the scholarships if their governor or legislatures opt them in.

So far, 31 states have planned to opt into the program, most led by Republican governors, according to a tracker from Education Week. 

The Treasury Department and IRS have yet to promulgate federal regulations to implement the program, causing some states to pause before deciding. 

In a statement on May 8, a spokesperson for the governor’s office confirmed the governor's team is reviewing the federal tax credit.

“We will evaluate the issue through a lens focused on affordability for working families and what best supports Illinois students, families, and public schools,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to CNI. 

As the states await federal guidelines, Pritzker and state legislators in Illinois are measuring the costs, benefits and political calculus behind the decision to opt into the program. 

A ‘voucher’ in disguise?

Public school advocates have rallied against the tax credit, arguing it is a voucher program, in which the state directly funds students’ private school tuition. They argue that the tax credit will ultimately siphon funds away from public schools to pay for private education. 

Proponents of the tax credit, on the other hand, make the distinction that private funds power the scholarships, and that the initiative does not interfere with local or state tax dollars funding public education.

Paul Bruno, assistant professor of education policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, maintains that the debate is “a distinction without a difference.”

“What we call it is mostly people trying to score rhetorical points and doesn't actually make a big difference from a normal person point of view,” Bruno said. 

In addition, Cassie Creswell, executive director and president of Illinois Families for Public Schools, argues that public schools will face increased disenrollment and higher fixed costs as a result, posing a key risk for already-underfunded schools.

The sentiment is shared on the House side by Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, who said in a statement to CNI that opting into the tax credit may also “incentivize privatization over investment in public education.”

“Our responsibility is to strengthen the public systems that serve the vast majority of students across this state,” Ammons wrote. “Policies that create parallel systems of funding risk deepening inequities rather than addressing them.” 

However, Bruno points out that funding outcomes largely depend on school districts’ and local governments’ response to declining enrollment, a crisis that Illinois public schools already face. 

He said that decreased enrollment could actually incentivize greater per-student-spending, which has steadily increased since fiscal year 2020 despite declining enrollment dating back to 2018, according to the 2024-2025 Illinois Report Card.

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, who has sponsored corresponding legislation to opt into the federal tax credit in the House, maintains that regardless of funding debates, legislators must recognize that “traditional public schools cannot be the only option available to families,” especially those in underserved communities. 

While initially skeptical of the tax credit without federal guidelines, Johnson said its potential use to supplement public education for lower-income families was what tipped the scales for her. 

“So it isn't like it's enough money to then take you from another school, you know, from your school,” Johnson said. “It's just really to augment whatever the funding you get as a student and some to pay for additional services and programs if your family doesn't have the resources.”

Some education nonprofits have found themselves caught in the middle of the tax credit debate, forced to weigh the potential benefits of expanded tutoring access against the threat it may create for public schools.

Jessica Handy, executive director of Stand for Children Illinois, describes the group as an “anti-private school voucher” organization that still supports “high quality and equitable” school choice, particularly charter schools. 

However, as a part of the Illinois Early Literacy Coalition, which supports greater funding for literacy tutoring programs, Handy said Stand feels “torn” on the matter. 

“We all care really deeply about public education,” Handy said. “We all care really about equitable access and opportunity. And I think there's just a lot of variables about what this program would mean for both of those.”

Legislators remain wary

One of the central concerns behind the federal tax credit include the extent to which it will benefit public schools, and whether the institutions it benefits will be open to students of all protected groups.

In many rural areas, for example, there are no private schools that would be eligible for the tax credit. 

The argument against funding private schools arose from Illinois’ now-defunct state tax credit, Invest in Kids, which ended in 2023. According to Cresswell, a majority of private schools that benefited from the program discriminated on the basis of at least one protected status, most frequently discriminating against students with disabilities.

“It funded discrimination, it hurt education equity, and we certainly don't want to see that replicated on an even bigger scale with even less oversight, less accountability, less transparency on how these dollars are being spent,” Cresswell said. 

While some have proposed for legislators to set state-level guidelines for the federal tax credit, Cresswell said it’s "basically legally impossible” to enforce, especially if discriminatory practices are due to schools’ religious beliefs. 

To Johnson, the long-running discrimination debate reinforces the need for flexible school choice for parents among public, private and religious schools.

“(Critics) forgot that they, too, have choice. It could be a private school, but it doesn't have to be a religious-based school,” Johnson said. 

What comes next?

Support in the legislature for the federal tax credit so far has almost exclusively come from Republicans in the House, with House Bills 4098 and 4099. for Johnson and her Senate bill co-sponsor, Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, are the only Democratic sponsors in either chamber.

The bills remain at a legislative standstill, with the House bills stuck in the Rules Committee since October and the Senate bill languishing in Assignments since February. To Sen. Chris Balkema, R-Channahon, it simply means the Democratic leadership team is not excited by the measure, partly due to added political pressure. 

Johnson attributes some of the struggle to what she called "misinformation" about the tax credit defunding public schools, and that the next step would be to “educate” her colleagues and the public to garner support for the bill. 

Pritzker’s caution in weighing in on the federal tax credit has incurred both criticism and praise at the current stage of the political debate. 

Johnson added she supports the decision to be “prudent” in awaiting federal regulations, but argues that they can signal their support of the program to Illinoisans by advancing the bill “with caution.” 

Leslie Hiner, vice president of legal policy at EdChoice, attributes Pritzker’s hesitance to the political clout of state teachers unions in upcoming elections. She claims the decision to opt in would be a “no-brainer” if politics weren’t involved. 

Bruno, on the other hand, contends that the tensions in the decision exist beyond the elections, as he sees a large constituency in Illinois will be upset if their students can’t access scholarship money while other states will under the program. 

“Taxpayers in Illinois already pay more to the federal government than they get in benefits,” Bruno said. “You can think of a program like this as potentially doing something similar and making that even more extreme.” 

Balkema heralds the tax credit program as a rare gift from the federal government. He called on Democrats and skeptics of the Trump administration to support the legislation and to not allow “unhappiness with a personality get in the way of doing the right thing.”

“Why would we, Illinois, not take advantage of that and provide tax relief for people that are having to write these checks to property tax bills, and then also for their child's education that they could get reimbursed for?” Balkema said. 

Marisa Guerra Echeverria an undergraduate student in journalism and political science with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders speak at an event at the Governor’s Mansion in March 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jenna Schweikert)