"Not Too Much" Expected for Veto Session
The first floor staircase in the Illinois Capitol.
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Lawmakers returned to Springfield Tuesday afternoon for the second and final legislative week of 2024, the annual fall veto session. Without any vetoes from Governor JB Pritzker and no real policy urgency, many lawmakers are expecting a quiet, if not shortened, stay in Springfield.
We asked multiple House Democrats Monday what they were expecting to happen this week and the answers were pretty consistent.
“Not too much.”
“We’ve heard of nothing.”
“I doubt anything serious.”
“Probably nothing earth shattering.”
Generally, the Senate is expected to move some minor issues, like extending the sunsets on some minor provisions, but major issues will likely be held until the January “lame duck” session or the 2025 legislative session.
Some Democrats had hoped the Senate would advance “Karina’s Law,” which would allow police to seize the guns of a person accused of domestic abuse. But the bill does not appear poised to move this fall.
Democrats had predicted efforts to “shore up” Illinois laws against potential action from the incoming Trump administration, but no specific policies have bubbled up during veto session.
“We’ll be doing a lot of that in January, I’m sure,” one Democrat said.