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State Week: A new fiscal year brings new laws

State Week 23 logo (capitol dome)
Brian Mackey
/
NPR Illinois

On this episode, we discuss some of the new Illinois laws that took effect July 1. Those include an addition to the offense of cyberbullying and efforts to protect individuals undergoing gender-affirming care.

Illinois has also changed the rules for senior drivers renewing their licenses and cocktails-to-go, which was allowed during the pandemic, is now law.

There is a new state agency focused on early childhood and a prediction market has filed suit against Illinois. And, Speaker Chris Welch issues an ultimatum to Rep. Harry Benton.

Our panel features host Sean Crawford, Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and Illinois Public Radio reporter Isabela Nieto.

The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Isabela is a student reporter at NPR Illinois who is part of the Public Affairs Reporting program at UIS.
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