Illinois Public Radio

Illinois lawmakers will not be addressing gun control legislation before the end of session. Some members of the state House of Representatives were scheduled to debate the proposal Sunday.

State Representative Eddie Acevedo favors the bill. He says he withdrew it since a similar attempt didn’t pass the Senate last week.

Negotiations for a complete overhaul of Illinois' underfunded pension systems continue. But the president of the state Senate is again pushing a measure his chamber approved months ago.

Governor Pat Quinn has been adamant that something pass before the General Assembly's current session ends for good on Wednesday.

In May, the Senate passed legislation that reduces state workers' and legislators' own retirement benefits. But the House never took it up.  Senate President John Cullerton says representatives should do so when they return to Springfield on Sunday.

Following last month's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, Illinois legislators are hurrying to crack down on guns, despite opposition from groups like the National Rifle Association.  

On their first day back for the General Assembly's last week of session, Senate Democrats sent two gun control measures to the floor.

Illinois Council on Handgun Violence Director Colleen Daley pleaded with Senators to pass a ban on new purchases of assault weapons. She says she doesn't want Illinois to become the next state where they're used in a mass killing.

 Updated 5:49 p.m.

The Associated Press reports that the bill has cleared the Senate committee and will head to the full Senate for a vote. 

It is not clear when that vote will take place. 

Updated 4:51 p.m. with information on start of hearing. Will be updated. 

A Senate committee has started considering a landmark bill that could make Illinois the 10th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

Hundreds of people have submitted comments for and against the measure.

Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Brian Mackey used in this report.

Moody's Investors Services has downgraded the credit outlook for the state of Illinois from stable to negative citing the "severe pension funding shortfall."

Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford says Illinois already has the worst credit rating of any state in the US.