It might not be the most significant detail to emerge from breakdowns of the recently completed legislative session, but a few different journalists have noted the complexities of this year’s schedule.
A representative sample comes from Nikoel Hytrek in a Capitol News Illinois piece about data center regulations. The piece quoted Jen Walling, the Illinois Environmental Council executive director, who said a key obstacle was the rarity of both legislative chambers being in session concurrently.
There were two weeks in February, one in March, and one in April, with all the House and Senate ostensibly in Springfield together. But those are Statehouse weeks (generally Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday), not exactly 16 business days.
“And so there’s very little time to have in-person meetings that included leaders from both chambers,” Walling said. “That made it really hard to get anything done.”
Lawmakers are plenty busy outside regular session, but this schedule wasn’t ideal – especially for conversations involving private interests.
ON THIS DAY: Former U.S. Rep. Paul Findley was born this day in 1921. The Jacksonville native, Illinois College graduate and U.S. Navy veteran served 11 terms as a Republican in Congress starting in 1961 before losing a 1982 reelection bid to current U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Findley remained on the public stage after his public service and lived to be 98 before succumbing to heart failure in 2019.
Six years before that, in January 2013, Findley sat for an Illinois College interview with Mark DePue of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. A sparsely illustrated transcript of that conversation – all 205 pages – is available at tinyurl.com/FindleyALPL. I’m particularly taken by Findley’s post-war experience in small-town newspapers, but he also was a devoted student of Lincoln’s life and career. It will take quite some time to plow through the interview, but it’s a fascinating window into what seems like the distant political past despite being relatively recent.
DELICIOUS DOUGHNUTS: A moment of personal privilege … we had occasion to be in the Joliet area for baseball the last two weekends, and before the most recent trip, I reached out to Judy Harvey, Shaw Media’s regional editor for Kendall, Will and Grundy counties. In addition to tipping me off to the Ace Drive In on Plainfield Road, she sent me to Home Cut Donuts on West Jefferson Street.
I’ve written about a few of my other favorites (Jarosch Bakery in Elk Grove Village, Country Donuts in Crystal Lake and Donut Bros in Plainfield) and recently discovered Peterson’s Tasty Delight Bakery in Hoffman Estates, but I’m curious to know what readers think are the best bites in their towns. I promise to share suggestions with everyone in future columns – and will definitely check them out in person.
• 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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June 23, 2026 at 10:03AM
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