(WASHINGTON, D.C.) President Donald Trump has signed bipartisan legislation into law which will help parents travel by air with breast milk and breastfeeding supplies. The Bottles & Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Enhancement Act, called BABES, was sponsored by one of President Trump’s strongest critics, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat. The new law requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to clarify and update guidance on handling breast milk, baby formula, and other related baby-feeding products.
(SPRINGFIELD) The Secretary of State’s office has streamlined its REAL ID portal and has extended the lease on its REAL ID walk-in facility in Chicago’s Loop through the end of 2026. Yesterday’s announcement was prompted by a TSA announcement that starting February 1st, 2026, it will refer all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of identification the option of paying a $45 fee to use an alternative identity verification system. To learn more about the REAL ID update or for more details go to the Secretary of State’s website, at ilsos.gov.
(CHICAGO) The Illinois Attorney General’s office has announced a $120 million settlement with Monsanto Company and affiliates Solutia Incorporated and Pharmacia LLC over the environmental and health effects of Monsanto’s decades-long production of polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs. It stems from a 2022 lawsuit alleging the company was aware of the chemicals’ toxicity while publicly denying any knowledge of the danger to human health and the environment, mostly affecting nine upstate cities, including Chicago, Evanston, Zion, & others.
(SPRINGFIELD) The Illinois State Fair has announced that country musician Ella Langley will take to the Grandstand Stage as part of the 2026 fair lineup on Friday, August 21st, 2026. Tickets for the newly announced concert are scheduled to go on sale this coming Saturday morning at 10:00 on the ticketmaster.com website. Langley joins Lainey Wilson as part of the entertainment lineup at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield next year, which will run August 13th to 23rd.