It was a busy week in Springfield, so long as we remember “week” means three business days and “busy” means the House did a lot of stuff while the full Senate idles until April 28.
With apologies for being able to get fully into the details on any single topic, it seems safe to generalize that the developments with the greatest potential influence are the megaprojects’ economic development incentives (linked largely, but not explicitly, to a push for a new pro football stadium), and two statewide ballot initiatives, one regarding political maps and another that could change our income tax structure.
Discussion around all three topics must operate under the caveat that these are still just proposals. The megaproject bill and redistricting amendment still have to go to the Senate, while the “millionaire tax” referendum didn’t even reach the House floor. That reality doesn’t mean ignoring the ways the measures might change Illinois if enacted as written, but it does afford an opportunity to note the people’s business isn’t always done in the predawn hours of Memorial Day weekend or crammed into a January lame duck session.
As for the tax referendum, little seems to have changed from early April, despite House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, backing the framework. There isn’t enough caucus consensus behind the current details, and Gov. JB Pritzker, who bankrolls a significant portion of Democratic campaign material, hasn’t expressed the desire to remount this horse after a rocky ride in 2020.
The redistricting referendum represents a more pressing concern, since the Senate could well concur before the deadline required to present the question to voters in November. However, it also falls under the umbrella of a larger discussion that’s been true for nearly a century now: our deeply flawed Congressional representation system can only be substantially repaired through federal action.
First, it is long past time to uncap the House of Representatives so district sizes account for a population explosion and major demographic shifts since the current limit took effect in 1929. At the time, when Illinois had 27 House seats, each district covered about 210,000 residents. By 2020, with Illinois down to 17, the average was 760,000.
Second, the only way to end gerrymandering in any state is for Congress to enact a new nationwide standard for political mapmaking. When such proposals surface, the party in power doesn’t take up the cause, in no small part because they realize the mapping process is a key component in how they came to be the party in power. Any politician making any other point is obfuscating.
And for the Bears … there still are too few details to see anything resembling good policy. Again, same as it ever was.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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April 25, 2026 at 10:00AM
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