Lawsuits Filed on New Gun Ban Law
Several lawsuits have already been filed in response to Illinois’ new firearms ban, which passed the General Assembly during “lame-duck” session earlier this month and was quickly signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.
One of the lawsuits, filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association in federal court, argues that the new Illinois law violates the Second and 14th Amendments of the United State Constitution. Likewise, another lawsuit was filed in Illinois with the 2nd Judicial District Court in Crawford County, which also argues similar violations of the U.S. Constitution.
A third lawsuit was filed with the 4th Judicial Circuit Court in Effingham County, and it argues the General Assembly violated aspects of the Illinois Constitution relating to public participation in the legislative process during the swift passage of the bill. Furthermore, the lawsuit asks for a Temporary Restraining Order on the law, which if granted, would place a hold on the law from taking effect until the outcome of the case.
State Senator Andrew Chesney voted against the so-called “assault weapons” ban legislation and remains hopeful the courts will overrule this infringement of Second Amendment rights.
Illinois Top State Soybean Producer in 2022
The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) announced January 17 that Illinois produced the most soybeans in the nation once again in 2022. This is despite the slow start to the planting season due to cool and wet weather.
The 43,000 soybean farmers in Illinois together raised 677.25 million bushels in total, an average yield of 63 bushels per acre. Soybean production has been down in Illinois as well as across the nation. Overall, the yields this year show soybean production as decreased from last year, but still the largest in the nation.
Illinois has maintained its place as the top state soybean producer since 2016 and has been within the top two spots on the list since 2000.
Tax Season Begins on Monday
On Jan. 23, the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) and the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will both begin accepting 2022 state and federal income tax returns. Last year, IDOR received almost 6.2 million returns, approximately 90 percent of which were filed electronically.
A number of different websites and places offer resources for free filing programs, but IDOR encourages taxpayers to use MyTax Illinois, a free online account management program, to electronically file their taxes. The site has recently been updated to try to make it easier on users to file and check the status of their returns.
The site also helps individuals manage payments, respond to any department inquiries, and to check the status of returns. As always, the department encourages people to set up direct deposit to speed up delivery of the returns.
The deadline for tax filing is April 18. Additional resources and information can be found on IDOR’s website.
