Illinois passes budget, but leaves some legislation unfinished
In addition to passing a $55 billion state budget, the Illinois General Assembly passed and punted on various legislation during the session that wrapped Saturday.
The big picture: The budget headed to Gov. Pritzker's desk has so-called "sin tax" increases. Pritzker used his budget press conference to take aim at President Trump for slashing federal funding, affecting Illinois and other states.
Zoom out: Questions remain on how Chicago-area transit is going to move forward without the funding needed to avoid service cuts and layoffs, but lawmakers will likely work over the summer.
Here are some other high-profile bills that did and didn't make it to Pritzker's desk.
Medical aid and dying law
Catch up quick: Democratic State Sen. Linda Holmes told Axios she pushed for this legislation after watching her mother die of cancer.
The bill authorized a qualified patient with a terminal disease to request that a physician prescribe aid-in-dying medication that will allow the patient to die peacefully.
The other side: Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich voiced opposition to the legislation after the bill passed the House, saying the end-of-life medical assistance was against Catholic beliefs.
"There is a way to both honor the dignity of human life and provide compassionate care to those experiencing life-ending illness," Cupich said.
State of play: The bill passed the House but didn't pass the Senate before Saturday's deadline.
Home schooling
Context: The bill required parents and guardians who choose to homeschool to notify the school district and set requirements for reporting the progress of home-schooled students.
The chief sponsor also maintained that it would save kids who slip through the cracks, who would otherwise have a school support system looking out for their well-being.
State of play: Several active members of the homeschool movement rallied in Springfield, calling on lawmakers to kill the legislation, saying it created too much regulation and blamed a "failing" public school system.
The Homeschool Act did not get a vote in either chamber.
What they're saying: " We haven't given up on fighting for every Illinois homeschooled kid, and we're hopeful the bill will make it across the finish line when the next session starts," The Coalition for Responsible Home Education said in a statement.
What we're watching: In other education news, a bill that would have banned cell phones during instructional time didn't make it to the floor for a vote.
A bill to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees made it to assignments but was never called.
AI as therapy
The big picture: As experts warn about AI taking jobs, mental health professionals in Illinois can rest assured that their jobs are safe for the near future.
State of play: Legislation declaring that only licensed therapists, aka humans, can provide psychotherapy services in Illinois passed the legislature.
Between the lines: No lawmaker in either the House or Senate voted against in the bill.
What we're watching: The House passed legislation that would increase reimbursement rates for mental health care providers and make care more affordable for patients, but it didn't make it to a full Senate vote.
Reproductive health
The big picture: Pritzker and the Democrat majority legislature have been instrumental in protecting access to reproductive health care in the state, and that continued with two pieces of legislation that passed.
One will require all public colleges and universities to ensure students have access to contraception and abortion medication, and the other protects providers who prescribe abortion medication, even if the FDA revokes it.
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