SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House narrowly passed a bill Thursday that would allow businesses, universities and other building owners to designate multi-occupancy all-gender bathrooms if they choose to do so.

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SPRINGFIELD — Citing what he called a nationwide crisis in children’s mental health, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday unveiled a sweeping plan to overhaul and expand the availability of children’s behavioral health services in Illinois.

SPRINGFIELD — A bill that would allow restaurants, hotels and other public places to designate “all-gender multiple-occupancy” restrooms passed out of a House committee Wednesday, sending it to the full House for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD — One day after delivering his budget address, Gov. J.B. Pritzker took to the road to rally support for his proposed “Smart Start” program to expand access to preschool and child care throughout the state.

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday laid out a $49.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that calls for significant new spending for early childhood education and efforts to combat homelessness among other areas.

How have the courts ruled on the constitutionality of similar bans? What's the next gun-reform step Illinois should take? Will Illinois' neighbors ever take similar steps? Answering those questions and others: a panel that includes Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman, Brady: United Against Gun Violence president Kris Brown, former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and many others.

Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, faulted the measure for including the automatic raises, calling it “bad policy” Sunday. He added: “If I took a poll of my current district ... and said, ‘How many folks in my district got a 20 percent pay raise in six months?’ there wouldn’t be a single hand. And that’s all I gotta say about this.”

A loophole allows pawnbrokers to charge interest rates and fees that can amount to effective rates as high as 240 percent per year — or more when factoring in associated fees — according to a consumer advocacy group.