Nearly 300 Illinois laws took effect Jan. 1. The Illinois’ 1% statewide grocery tax is eliminated, but more than half the state’s cities and towns have passed an ordinance establishing their own grocery tax.

From: 
Chicago Sun-Times

A new law will ease auditing requirements on Illinois’ smallest local governments, sparing taxpayers the expense of preparing those investigations.

From: 
25 News Now

A federal grand jury indicted six alleged members and associates of a Chicago street gang for participating in a criminal organization that murdered rivals, committed armed robberies and carjackings, and violently protected their perceived territory on the South Side of Chicago, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois said in a news release Monday.

From: 
ABC 7 Chicago

A new state law taking effect next week will ban companies from manufacturing, selling, and distributing firefighter protective gear containing forever chemicals. Experts believe this could be critical for the long-term health of first responders.
From: 
WAND News

A Markham police officer who found a loaded firearm in a vehicle owned and operated by a convicted murderer, only to be fired when CWBChicago asked the city’s police chief why he ordered the cop to let the convicted felon go, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the chief and the city on Monday morning.

From: 
CWBChicago

Illinois employers would need to provide notice to employees and prospective employees when artificial intelligence (AI) is used “to influence or facilitate” hiring or promotion decisions under new draft regulations unveiled by the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) to implement the state’s ban on AI discrimination set to take effect on January 1, 2026. While the rules are in draft form, they signal the regulatory direction the IDHR will take and the types of new compliance obligations employers in the state will face as emerging technology develops.

From: 
The National Law Review

Plaintiffs represented by the Liberty Justice Center are asking the Illinois Supreme Court to hear a case challenging limits to where Illinoisans may challenge state law on the grounds they violate the Illinois Constitution.

From: 
Illinois Policy Institute

Four Illinois Democrats toured a federal immigration center outside Chicago on Monday, the latest members of Congress allowed inside immigration facilities after a judge last week lifted Trump administration limits on lawmaker visits.

From: 
The Associated Press

Police arrived at the three-flat apartment in the city’s East Side neighborhood at 7:00 a.m. one day last summer. Walking up from the basement, a young man met the team of Chicago Police Department and Illinois Department of Corrections officers in the building’s common area. It was time to conduct a parole check.

From: 
Belleville News-Democrat