Posted by Ray Long at 6:33 p.m.; updated at 7:08 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Senate today sent to the governor ComEd’s proposal for a smart power grid that customers would help pay for in return for new technology that has the potential to help them reduce energy costs and consumption.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 2:22 p.m.; updated at 2:23 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- Democrats in the Senate sent Gov. Pat Quinn a new map of the state’s congressional boundaries for the next decade, a plan which carves up suburban districts to help Chicago incumbents and threatens to overturn Republican election gains made last year.

Posted by Ray Long and Rick Pearson at 12:47 p.m.; last updated at 6:29 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois Senate today approved a major gambling expansion that includes a Chicago casino, slot machines at horse racing tracks and Chicago's two airports, and four new casinos in the suburbs and downstate.

The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who earlier this month said he supported a Chicago casino but not a major expansion. "We're not going to do that. I will never support that," Quinn said two weeks ago.

Shortly after the Senate voted 30-27 to approve the gambling measure, Quinn's office issued a statement indicating he might be more open to signing it than he's originally indicated.

"The governor has consistently said that if there is a proposal on the table that will help us raise the revenue to create jobs and invest in education, he would be open to it," said spokeswoman Annie Thompson. "While he has said that he doesn't favor a top-heavy approach (to gambling), he hasn't expanded on what that would be. At this point, he's planning to really take a close look at this legislation."

(You can read the roll call soon HERE.)

Supporters talked about the need for more revenue without raising taxes.

“In Chicago, we watch tons of buses going from Illinois to Indiana,” said Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, saying “Chicago needs a casino.” But she said she hoped that some of the money could be funneled to community-based social service organizations.

Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, said he “reluctantly” supported the proposal because he wanted to help the harness horsemen in the racing industry and agribusiness in the state.

“These jobs are massively moving across our borders” to places like Indiana, Dillard said.

Sen. Tony Munoz, D-Chicago, hailed Mayor Rahm Emanuel for coming out in favor of the casino package and said the legislation is needed because it will “create thousands and thousands of jobs.”

“The casino is not a quick fix… but I tell you what: It’s going to help tremendously,” Munoz said.

Earlier, the bill won approval of the Senate Executive Committee on an 8-4 vote, with three voting present. With the House having passed the bill on Memorial Day, the measure now is one vote away in the Senate from the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn, who has criticized the proposal as too big.

While supporters hailed the legislation as a way to boost the economy and infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into government coffers, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, cited Quinn’s concerns about the size of the overall proposal and worried too many college-age students would become hooked on gambling with so many new and nearby opportunities.

Emanuel said today in Chicago that he's lobbying senators to vote for the plan.

Potentially the largest expansion of gambling since the state first authorized casinos more than 20 years ago, the measure would allow Chicago a land-based casino or one on Lake Michigan, as well as authorize slot machines behind security areas at O'Hare International and Midway airports. Slot machines also would be authorized for horse racing tracks, known as "racinos."

Four other casinos would be created — in the Lake County community of Park City, an undetermined south suburban location and in Rockford and Danville. The Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield also would be allowed to host expanded horse racing and slots.

Sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said the proposal could generate $1.5 billion in upfront licensing fees for the state to be dedicated to overdue bills. He said an additional $500 million a year could be raised for the state, dedicated to education and public works improvements.

Posted by John Byrne at 10:45 a.m.; updated at 12:44 p.m.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today said he has been working the phones lobbying state senators to sign off on a Chicago casino after the House did so Monday.

Posted by Ray Long and Monique Garcia at 9:45 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Senate tonight sent a budget to Gov. Pat Quinn, but are holding out hope to spend a little more on education and social services.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 9:31 p.m.
 
SPRINGFIELD --- The Democratic-controlled state Senate is poised to give final approval Tuesday to a new congressional map aimed at reversing Republican gains made in last year's mid-term elections and pushing the boundaries of Chicago Democratic incumbents into the suburbs.

Posted by Tribune staff at 9:26 p.m.

*Read Todd Wilson's story about changes homes for the developmentally disabled HERE.

*Read Todd Wilson's story about the Illinois DREAM Act being sent to Quinn HERE.

Posted by Ray Long and Monique Garcia at 4:10 p.m.; updated at 4:47 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- A major gambling package won House approval today with provisions for a land-based casino in Chicago or a riverboat gambling palace on Lake Michigan, four more casinos around the state, and slot machines at racetracks and Chicago’s two airports.

Posted by Ray Long at 2:50 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- State lawmakers today decided to drop efforts to pass two of the session's most contentious bills --- cutting government worker pension benefits and health care for retired state employees.

House Republican leader Tom Cross said he will hold hearings over the summer on the issue of reducing the future pension benefits of current state employees.

Cross led efforts to set up a new pension system in which current employees could opt for one of three choices: keep their current pension benefit and pay more, take a smaller benefit but pay the same or join a self-managed plan similar to a 401(k) retirement fund.

Oswego's Cross, whose co-sponsor was Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said an overhaul of pension benefits for current employees is “essential to the state’s well being.”

But the plan ran into opposition. Retirees questioned how much it would cost and critics questioned whether shifting pension plans would be constitutional.

Also on the shelf until at least the fall session is Sen. Jeff Schoenberg's proposal to make most retired state workers make health care payments based on their years of service and the size of their state pension checks.

“We simply can’t afford to do nothing because, otherwise, co-payments will go up sharply across the board and the caliber of the benefits will be sharply reduced,” said Schoenberg, D-Evanston.

Posted by Ray Long at 11:41 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD — House lawmakers today approved ComEd’s proposal for a sophisticated power grid that customers would help pay for upfront in the hopes the new technology would assist in reducing their energy consumption.

Posted by Todd Wilson at 10:08 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- Following the suspected overdose death last month of a downstate woman from taking a new synthetic drug marketed as bath salts, the Illinois House tonight sent the governor a ban on the product.

Posted by Rick Pearson and Ray Long at 8:41 p.m.; last updated at 9:19 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- Using one of the few opportunities to make their votes relevant, Senate Republicans tonight led the rejection of a plan to borrow more than $6 billion to try to pay off the state’s mountainous backlog of overdue bills.

Posted by Monique Garcia and Ray Long at 8:36 p.m.; last updated at 10:51 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois House tonight failed to approve sweeping changes to the state's workers' compensation system.

The long-in-the-works bill got 55 votes, but needed 60 to pass. The surprise shortfall came after the measure sailed through the Senate on Saturday.

In the House, however, Republicans argued the majority of the $500 million to $700 million a year in savings to businesses should not come on the back of doctors. The bill would have slashed rates to medical providers by 30 percent. The House GOP noted the Illinois State Medical Society would have removed its opposition if fees were cut by 20 percent instead.

House Republican leader Tom Cross warned that the changes will do little to improve the business climate in Illinois, warning lawmakers must do more or face the same problems a few years from now.

“For those of you who think this is a first step and we’ll do more down the road, don’t kid yourself,” said Cross, of Oswego. “This is the only opportunity that we have for real reform.”

After the vote, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's administratio released a statement attacking House Republicans.

“House Republicans had a choice between enacting landmark reforms, or voting to support their own partisan agenda, and maintaining the status quo. Their political decision was made at the expense of workers and business owners in their districts,” Quinn said.

Sponsoring Sen. Kwame Raoul accused the House Republicans of opposing the legislation because the doctors' lobby "is quite generous to their caucus."

Raoul said he is now weighing whether to call for a vote in the Senate on a measure to dismantle the system. That proposal would send workers compensation claims into the court system instead. The plan was largely viewed as a negotiating ploy when passed by House lawmakers, but Raoul says it is a viable option.

Freshman Republican Rep. Dwight Kay, who voted present, expressed frustration about the political nature of the vote.
 
"Today, I found out a lot of things that I really don't know about politics," said Kay, of Glen Carbon. "But I have learned a couple things. The first is that there is no such thing as perfection. Well, you learn that in life, but we try to attain it. Then you learn when you get here about politics, and you think you know what that's about until you get here. And then when you kind of (get) disenchanted with the political part, you say to yourself, 'What's possible?' Well, because we don't have perfect and because there is an awful lot of politics in Springfield, we aren't doing what's possible. And I'm sorry, I can't apologize for my feelings. Because we need reform."

Gregory Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said he was “very disappointed” the workers' compensation bill failed.

“Illinois employers will not get an opportunity to realize $700 million in savings. No bill is perfect in Springfield, but this one was certainly better than the system we live under today.”

Baise said “everybody who feeds off this system won today. The only people who lost is who pays for it.” 

The changes are aimed at saving Illinois employers $500 million to $700 million a year and stopping abuses uncovered at a downstate prison. 

The package would slash rates for doctors treating injured workers, set guidelines for determining the scope of an injury and resulting medical care, implement new standards of conduct for arbitrators who hear claims and limit carpal tunnel claims and payouts for workers who get hurt and must change jobs that pay less.

The proposal is the result of months of tense negotiations between Quinn’s office, Democratic lawmakers and several business groups. Support for the bill is split, with some employers saying the reforms are groundbreaking and others arguing they don’t go far enough. Doctors are opposed because of the deep cuts they face, and employee unions don’t like some of the healthcare changes. The trial lawyers are neutral, but have said many changes are unnecessary.

Negotiators say the lack of agreement shows that each group had to make sacrifices.

Opponents said the measure does not do enough to require workers prove they were injured on the job. The proposal would put into law court decisions that required workers to prove an injury happened during the course of employment.

"Can't you just smell the reform? Take a big breath, doesn't it smell good?" said Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill. "But wait a second. Is it really reform? Does it smell that good? I don't think so."

"The reforms are window dressings at best," Reis said.

But Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Chicago, said the proposal may not be flawless, but it brings about much needed changes.

"Do not let perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to workers compensation in Illinois," Zalewski said.

Posted by Todd Wilson at 6:45 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois House today sent the governor legislation that would increase the penalties for torture, a response to a Joliet woman's beating and torture at the hands of her then-husband in 2009.

The measure, which passed the House without opposition, would raise the penalty for using torture while committing aggravated battery. The crime's potential sentence would become four to 15 years in prison instead of a maximum of five years.

The measure is called "Rebecca's Law," named for Rebecca Mercado. She was held captive, beaten and tortured for two days in front of her two young children by her then-husband Erick Mercado-Hernandez. Earlier this month, Mercado detailed for senators the torture and repeated attacks she received over two days in July 2009. Mercado told how she was slapped, punched, kicked and beaten with a wooden pole and metal broom handle.

"At night, I was not allowed to sleep because he kept hitting me if I dozed off," Mercado said. "Eventually, I passed out in pain on the kitchen floor."

Last year, Mercado-Hernandez was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison — nearly the maximum — after pleading guilty.

The increased penalty would elevate the crime to a Class 1 felony, instead of the current Class 3 level, the same category used for animal torture.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow brought the measure to legislators after his office prosecuted the case.

“Rebecca suffered constant physical violence at the hands of her husband for two days,” Glasgow said. “Her case cried out for greater penalties for anyone who would inflict this kind of torture on another person.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 6:07 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- It took little more than 12 minutes for House Democrats today to hold their only hearing on a plan to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries for the next decade, sending to the full House a plan that dramatically affects new Republican congressmen elected six months ago.

Posted by Todd Wilson at 8:05 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- Back seat passengers would be required to wear seat belts under a measure the Illinois Senate sent to the governor Friday.

Posted by Monique Garcia at 5:31 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois House approved a measure this afternoon that would eliminate the state’s workers compensation system, a move largely viewed as a bargaining ploy as lawmakers prepare to vote on an overhaul.

UPDATED by Rick Pearson at 5:50 p.m., Senate sends legislative map to governor.

Ruling Democrats today passed a map of new legislative boundaries that seeks to extend their control of the Statehouse for another decade while trying to satisfy minority groups seeking greater influence in Springfield.

Senate Democrats rolled over Republican opposition on a 35-22 vote only hours after House Democrats approved the new map of 118 House districts and 59 Senate districts on a 64-52 partisan vote. The action sends the measure to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

Posted by Monique Garcia at 11:45 p.m.

After months of tense negotiations, Democratic lawmakers have unveiled a sweeping proposal to change the state's workers compensation system, a move business groups have long asked for as a way to rein in costs.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 8:11 p.m.; updated at 12:58 p.m. Friday

SPRINGFIELD --- Senate Democrats unveiled the full details of their congressional map today and it shows three Republicans forced to run against Democrats and three open districts in the suburbs.

The map represents an attempt by Democrats to reverse GOP gains last year, when five new GOP congressmen were elected in Illinois for a net pickup of four seats that helped the party nationally retake the U.S. House.