Brandon W. Phelps

— State lawmakers went home to march in holiday parades this weekend, leaving behind a full dance card that looks a lot like the one they put together when they started in January: pension reform, gun control, gambling expansion and a budget....

— Speaker Michael Madigan on Friday pushed a concealed weapons bill through the House over the objections of Gov. Pat Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton, who oppose a provision that would overrule local gun laws in Chicago and other cities....

— Gov. Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Senate President John Cullerton decried a bill to legalize concealed firearms that is backed by powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, contending it would invalidate strict local gun laws like Chicago's...

SPRINGFIELD — Over objections of Gov. Pat Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the House approved a concealed weapons bill today that is aimed at ending Illinois’ status as the last state in the nation without a law to allow its citizens to carry...

— An Illinois House version of legislation to allow people to carry concealed weapons that emerged Wednesday would not let Chicago have its own set of rules and could make it easier to get a permit. The latest proposal is an attempt to address...

SPRINGFIELD --- An Illinois House panel today approved a concealed weapons bill that supporters say attempts to walk the fine line between gun rights advocates and gun control supporters, but some Chicago-area lawmakers want a more restrictive bill. The...

— The push to pass a more restrictive concealed carry measure stalled late last week as support began to drop off before a key vote in the Illinois Senate. The legislation represents the latest attempt to address a federal appeals court order...

— A measure spelling out who can carry concealed handguns and where they can carry them emerged Thursday after months of contentious negotiations, a system with one set of rules for violence-plagued Chicago and another for the rest of Illinois....

Last fall on this page, we endorsed candidates for the Illinois House based largely on their fiscal policies. Illinois is beyond a crisis point; its lawmakers need to find solutions. So: Were candidates willing to enact serious pension reform? Cut state...

SPRINGFIELD — People who want to carry a concealed weapon in Chicago and elsewhere in Cook County would get an extra layer of scrutiny under legislation being drafted in the Illinois Senate, according to the authors of the proposal. The...

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House Thursday night defeated a concealed weapons proposal favored by gun rights advocates, a setback that could spur negotiations toward finding common ground with lawmakers who back gun control. The legislation...

SPRINGFIELD—The Illinois House overwhelmingly rejected a concealed carry measure today in an emotional test vote on the controversial gun legislation. The legislation emerged in the form of an amendment that was modeled after a highly restrictive...