Illinois General Assembly

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Warehouse Tornado Preparedness Act — a bill that addresses issues from the fatal Edwardsville tornado in 2021.

Budget talks took up most of the political bandwidth in the waning hours of the legislative session, leaving the big transit question unanswered, among other issues.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun authorized the commission that will study redrawing the state boundaries. Without companion legislation in Illinois, the 11-person commission will just have six appointees from Indiana.

Currently, Collinsville High School students may use devices in the classroom for educational purposes with teacher permission, during passing periods, before school and at lunch.

The bill that would force Freeburg to ditch its mascot is scheduled to be called in two House Education Policy Committee hearings this week.

At least nine other states have adopted statewide policies limiting or banning the use of cell phones in schools. Elsewhere, even in the absence of a statewide policy, individual districts have begun acting on their own.

The Midgets mascot originated roughly 90 years ago. If passed by Illinois lawmakers, the bill would require the Metro East high school to change by September 2028.

While the next closest option received less than 9% of the vote — nearly 57% of votes were cast for a different option. That may signal that the state does indeed want change, according to flag experts.

Advocates have said Freeburg's mascot, the "Midgets” to be derogatory, objectifying and dehumanizing. A bill proposed in the Illinois General Assembly would ban public schools from using derogatory names for people with disabilities as mascots.

Voting to decide Illinois’ next flag is underway until Feb. 14. From there, the results will be turned over to state lawmakers, who have the final say.