SPRINGFIELD — State lawmakers wrapped up their spring legislative session early Saturday, sending Gov. J.B. Pritzker a $50.5 billion spending plan along with a bevy of bills building on the progressive policy agenda supermajority Democrats have pursued the past four years.

Though the end was delayed more than a week amid last-minute budget negotiations, the five-month session was relatively anti-climactic as Democrats, in total control of state government for the fifth year in a row, largely maintained and incrementally built upon the foundation of several landmark policy achievements of past years versus.

In Pritzker’s first term, Illinois lawmakers enacted the most liberal reproductive health laws in the Midwest, a climate policy that aims to move the state to 100% renewable energy by 2050, a higher minimum wage and legalized recreational marijuana.

And, pending the outcome of two cases presently before the Illinois Supreme Court, the state could soon become the first in the nation to eliminate cash bail and the ninth to ban semiautomatic weapons.

In the maiden session of his second term, Pritzker said that his focus was sustaining the fiscal health of the state amid an expected drop off from sky-high post-pandemic tax revenue while making targeted investments in early childhood education and the state’s social safety net.

With the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade just weeks away, lawmakers also sent him a menu of reproductive health bills meant to further expand the state’s status as an island for abortion access in the Midwest.

Lawmakers also waded into some culture war topics by passing bills allowing for businesses to build multi-gender, multi-occupancy bathrooms and to cut off state grant funds to libraries that ban books.

In all, more than 550 pieces of legislation will hit Pritzker’s desk this summer. The governor, asked to sum up the legislative session in one word, told Lee Enterprises in a statement that it was “responsible.”

“Most importantly, we were able to pass a budget that invests in the people of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “This means more educational opportunities from preschool to college, expanded healthcare services and consumer protections, and building on our record of fiscal responsibility.”

“While many other states are stripping rights from their residents, we took action to make our state safer by banning assault weapons and ensuring that quality reproductive health care services will always be available in Illinois,” he continued. “We have more work to do, but I’m confident that this budget puts the state in a position to prosper.”

The budget for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1, passed the Illinois Senate 34-22 early Friday morning and cleared the House 73-38 just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

It was delivered to Pritzker more than a week late after lawmakers failed to meet their self-imposed May 19 adjournment deadline. This was despite Democrats holding their largest legislative majorities in a generation. 

A decline in tax revenue coupled with skyrocketing costs of a program providing health care to mostly undocumented immigrants added budgetary pressures and led to lawmakers negotiating among key spending priorities. 

This led to tense behind-the-scenes discussions between House Democrats and Senate Democrats as well as within their respective caucuses. 

It also challenged Pritzker’s mantra of fiscal responsibility as budget makers had far less of a surplus to use as a cushion than the past couple years. 

“Everybody needs money and I wish I had enough money to just give out without consequences,” said state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora. “But, of course, there’s always consequences to giving out money. And, at the same time, there was a limited amount of money that we could give out. So picking who needs it the most and who we can give to was hard.”

The health care program, which provides coverage to adults over the age of 42 who are ineligible for Medicaid because they are not U.S. citizens, was projected earlier this month to cost $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2024.

However, the Pritzker administration believes it can keep costs at around $550 million through cost-control measures, such as limiting future enrollment, copays and a possible move to managed care.

Protecting the program was a key priority of the legislative Latino and Progressive caucuses. Others worried it may have crowded out funding for different spending priorities, though many advocates saw budget lines in their areas of interest grow — albeit not as much as they hoped. 

Direct service professionals, who work in group homes that serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will see their hourly rate increase $2.50, less than their original $4 per hour ask.

Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals and health care providers will increase 10% starting in January, less than their initial 20% ask. 

And an additional $112.5 million is being transferred into the Local Government Distributive Fund, which is the share of the state income tax reserved for cities and counties. This increases the local share from 6.16% to 6.47%. Municipalities initially sought a restoration to 10%.

Pritzker’s top priority, $250 million in startup money for a multi-year plan aiming to eventually make access to pre-K universal, was included. In all, about $1 billion in new education spending is included. 

Ultimately, despite not getting everything they wanted, Democrats were generally satisfied with the final product, which more or less reflected the proposal Pritzker outlined in February.

“My philosophy has always been that government is not a faceless, nameless object,” said state Rep. Gregg Johnson, D-Rock Island. “Government has to have a conscience and it has to have a soul. And I think that we passed a budget that does all of that.”

In all, there is a roughly $100 million surplus built into the budget. Even a small overrun could place it out of balance, especially with volatile revenue projections in recent months and variables like a still-unresolved contract negotiation with AFSCME, the union that represents state workers.

No Republican voted for the spending plan. Many cited the Democrats’ unwillingness to push back the Jan. 1 sunset date of the “Invest in Kids” tax credit, which funds private school scholarships. 

They also expressed frustration with the majority party’s lack of willingness to reform Illinois’ strongest-in-the-nation biometric privacy law, which business groups say could bankrupt companies large and small. 

Many also said the LGDF increase simply wasn’t enough. 

“A few Senate Republican priorities, really some joint priorities, are reflected in this budget,” said Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran. “However, what matters to the people of Illinois is not the process, but the product. As you will see by the uniform ‘no’ votes from our caucus, this final product does not reflect the entire state of Illinois.”

The tone of debate in the Senate was far more collegial than in past years, with Senate Republicans crediting Senate Democrats for looping them in.

“The Republicans were at the table until the very end,” said state Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield. “Now unfortunately, we couldn’t come to an agreement overall. And maybe that will change next year.”

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, echoed the sentiment. 

“I appreciate the input Republicans provided to this budget and to numerous other issues this session,” Harmon said in a statement. “I had hoped we would finally have a bipartisan budget, but I will try again next year and look forward to continuing to work with Leader Curran and the Republican members.”

In the House, on the other hand, Republicans expressed frustration with being shut out of the budget making process. 

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savana, said House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, offered “false hope for a new day.”

Welch, responding a few minutes later, said, “Work with us and put some votes on the board. … Don’t just talk, walk with us.”

Democratic lawmakers continued their push to make Illinois the most liberal state in the Midwest on reproductive health rights even as surrounding states continue to restrict and even outright ban the procedure. 

Most notably and, perhaps controversially, they passed legislation barring anti-abortion pregnancy centers from deploying deceptive practices that are intended to prevent a person from obtaining the procedure.

“That bill was just a travesty,” said Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton. “I don’t think it’s constitutional. It limits free speech and treats pregnancy care centers with viewpoint discrimination and unequally. In my mind I think it’s going to be overturned.” 

Another measure on its way to Pritzker would ensure that automatic license plate readers, which are cameras often deployed by law enforcement, aren’t used to target people from out of state seeking access to reproductive healthcare or to track their immigration status.

The package also included a bill requiring all public colleges and universities to offer emergency contraceptives at a reduced price via at least one vending machine-type kiosk on campus. Another bill would require that insurance providers cover medication abortion, hormonal therapy and HIV medication.

The bills build upon the steps the legislature has taken in recent years to shore up abortion access in the state. This has included removing trigger language in state law that would have made the procedure illegal if Roe was overturned and passing the Reproductive Health Act, which made reproductive health care as a “fundamental right” in Illinois law.

However, the lawmakers did not — at least yet — fulfill a pledge Pritzker made to place a referendum on the ballot in 2024 that, if approved by voters, would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. 

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, who has led a House working group on reproductive health, told Lee Enterprises earlier this month that they have “started having some of those conversations internally,” but as a matter of “workflow management,” would likely take it up next year. 

“This process that we’ve been through since Dobbs came down is sort of shoring up and taking care of what’s immediately problematic and using that time … to do that legal analysis and fix what’s in our laws that needs fixing,” Cassidy said of their efforts this year. 

Democratic lawmakers also waded into some culture war battles, pushing back with bills meant to increase inclusivity against actions in other states that have led to the banning of books and limited what can be taught in schools. 

Under the proposal, an initiative of Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois libraries must either adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights or develop an explicit policy prohibiting the practice of banning books in order to remain eligible for state grants.

“We want to prohibit the banning of books,” said state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, the bill’s Senate sponsor. “It’s pretty simple. … History tells us what happens … in the immortal words of Martin Niemöller, first they came for the books. Let’s not let that happen to Illinois.” She was referring to a quote from Niemöller, a German pastor, that appears prominently at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 

“It’s important for our students to understand the true history of our state,” said state Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford. “But I also want to stress that this also is going to make sure we talk about the great things Native American people have done that we just don’t know about.”

The measure also corrects an oversight to include indigenous representation on a 22-member board that was created last session to create an inclusive curriculum.

Lawmakers also approved legislation allowing for businesses to build multi-gender, multi-occupancy bathrooms. The stalls would have to be floor-to-ceiling and urinals would not be allowed. 

Despite late efforts to quarterback a comeback, lawmakers punted on state help to the Chicago Bears for their expected stadium project in Arlington Heights. 

The team has sought legislation that would allow for property tax assessments to be frozen for up to 40 years at the site. 

A proposal emerged late last month that would charge a $3-per-ticket tax on events at the new stadium in order to help the city of Chicago pay down the debt incurred to renovate Soldier Field more than two decades ago.

A subject matter hearing was held on the topic a few weeks ago, but state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, did not call it for a vote, saying that stakeholders would continue conversations this summer. 

“This could be one of the largest construction projects and the state’s history,” said state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, earlier this month. “It takes time to put these kinds of things together … I’m sure at the end, we’ll have a bill that we can vote on and send to the governor.”

Though lawmakers passed legislation barring red light camera operators from donating to local and state political campaigns, larger ethics reform did not get considered. 

This was despite three lobbyists and a utility official associated with Commonwealth Edison being found guilty earlier this month of bribing former House Speaker Mike Madigan by giving his allies contracts and jobs in exchange for favorable legislation for the utility giant. 

Madigan himself goes on trial next year on federal racketeering charges in relation to the scheme. 

The legislature also moved back their deadline to draw Chicago school board districts to April 1, 2024. 

Lawmakers passed a number of other interesting measures beyond the budget, reproductive health measures and bills aiming to make businesses and schools more inclusive.

The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, was inspired by Shreya Nallamothu, a student at University High School in Normal. She became interested in “kidfluencer” content as part of an independent study course.

Under the legislation, compensation includes any proprietorship, partnership, company, or other corporation assuming the name or identity of that particular individual or family for the purpose of content creation.

Also hitting Pritzker’s desk is a sprawling elections package that would, among other things, allow 16-year-olds to preregister to vote, create a task force on ranked-choice voting and make Election Day in 2024 a state holiday.

Legislators also voted to lift the 35-year-old moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. Specifically, it would allow for development of small modular nuclear reactors, which operate at a much lesser scale than traditional reactors.

Lawmakers also took aim at gun industry, passing a bill that would subject firearm manufacturers, retailers and marketers to civil liability under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act if they market guns to children and for paramilitary use.

With Pritzker’s signature, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft will lose their exemption from the common carrier standard, which essentially subjects them to the same liability taxi drivers have if passengers are harmed in their care.

Illinois’ state flag could undergo a redesign in the near future as state lawmakers approved legislation that would create a commission to decide its fate and make recommendations for a new or revised flag.

Starting in 2027, all Illinois school districts will need to offer full-day kindergarten. 

Lawmakers also approved legislation allowing a person who has been the victim of doxxing to seek civil damages against the perpetrators. A separate bill allowing victims of digital forgeries, better known as “deepfakes,” to sue perpetrators and collect damages, also passed.

A measure adding e-cigarettes to the list of tobacco products banned inside public places also heads to Pritzker’s desk.