MN U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined the chase for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination Sunday with a frigid campaign kickoff along the Mississippi River with the Minneapolis skyline as a soaring backdrop. The third-term MN senator and former county attorney now is part of an ever growing field looking to take on Republican President Donald Trump. And she’ll be one of a historic number of women in the White House hunt, becoming the fifth so far to press ahead with a bid.

The IL House voted to pass a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 over the next five years.

The proposal increases the current $8.25-an-hour base wage by $1 on Jan. 1. After a 75-cent jump July 1, 2020, it would increase $1 each Jan. 1 until 2025.

Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has pledged to sign it before Wednesday. That’s when he unveils his first annual budget plan.

The House vote was 69-41 vote. You can click to see how your lawmakers voted in the House of Representatives and Senate.  Read more from the Chicago Tribune here.

Newly elected Chicago State Senator Ram Villivalam (D) introduced legislation this week that could force employees, private and otherwise, into unions. 

SB 1474 creates the Collective Bargaining Freedom Act and provides that employers and labor organizations may execute and apply agreements requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment. The bill goes on to prevent local units of government from adopted regulations that restrict unionization. 

This legislation comes on the heels of a 4-year battle between former Governor Rauner and labor unions who fought both at the state level and in municipalities across the state over the role of unions in the workforce.

WI Governor Tony Evers’ Transportation Stakeholder Task Force has narrowed in on several sources of transportation related revenue this week including:

• A 5.5 cent fuel tax increase and a return of indexing

• An unspecified vehicle registration fee increase

• A vehicle miles traveled tax

• An excise tax on motor fuel

• Tolling

Evers said the task force is nearing consensus on the need to increase Wisconsin’s 32.9-cent-a-gallon tax on vehicle fuel.

Read more here.

WI Gov. Tony Evers has joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group of 21 governors working to uphold the Paris climate accord.

According to a statement released by the Governor , he has committed to “implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission by at least 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025” among other agreements .

This announcement comes on the heels of Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes’s public support of the Green New Deal (GND), introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Markey (D-MA) earlier this month