Illinois House Democrats Working To Advance Bears Stadium Related Proposal
(Springfield, IL) — Illinois House Democrats are working to advance a proposal that would help relocate the Bears to Arlington Heights. Lawmakers met yesterday to discuss a plan that would allow the team to make special payments to taxing bodies in the northwest suburbs. State Representative Kam Buckner hopes the bill clears committee and goes up for a vote in the full House by the end of the week. Some lawmakers, as well as the Illinois Federation of Teachers, are raising concerns that this proposal will shift property tax revenue away from schools.
Pritzker Issues Executive Order to Strengthen State Ethics Rules on Prediction Markets
(Chicago, IL) — Governor Pritzker is taking action to strengthen state ethics rules on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Pritzker issued Executive order that bans state employees from using nonpublic information to participate or assist any person in these platforms. Prediction markets and event contracts allow individuals to bet on outcomes ranging from policy decisions to sports. Officials say these platforms currently have very few meaningful regulatory or enforcement guardrails to prevent insider trading and market manipulation.
Pritzker Launches First-in-the-Nation Film Production Tax Credit to Incentivize Sustainable Filmmaking
(Chicago, IL) — Governor Pritzker is launching what he calls the first-in-the-nation incentive to promote environmentally sustainable film and television production. Under the expanded program, productions recognized as a “certified green production” will be eligible for an additional five-percent tax credit. The program makes Illinois the first state to incentivize film and television productions for meeting certain sustainability standards. The launch comes as Illinois’ film industry reached a record-breaking high of 703-million-dollars in film production expenditures last year.