it now can be typed on a laptop) and notes students who learn cursive will be able to read historical documents like the Declaration of Independence more easily.

The measure passed the House last week 67-48 and heads to the Senate, with some suburban lawmakers speaking out in opposition. Among them, West Chicago Republican Rep. Mike Fortner says a requirement would move “the state backward in time.”

Despite questions about added costs and training for teachers, Jean Weiler of Batavia, who taught primary school for 36 years, most recently at Immanuel Lutheran in Batavia, says cursive is “really not that hard to teach.”

Weiler notes a “value in teaching how to do something neatly so it’s attractive and legible. I don’t think it’s a big investment, not like science or social studies,” she said.

‘Nothing’s getting done’

That was the message I received from Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig, who was among local mayors who traveled to the state capitol in Springfield last week to push for an end to a two-year standoff blocking a state budget. There’s “no sense of optimism with anyone we speak with on either side of the aisle,” Craig said, adding “it’s pretty clear we won’t see a budget” before the 2018 gubernatorial election.

Not all millionaires

The race for Illinois governor in 2018 includes at least three millionaires, but Daniel Biss isn’t one of them. Biss, a state senator from Evanston who is running for the Democratic nomination, and his wife, Karen, had an adjusted gross income of $32,568 in 2016.

It’s about half what he reported in earlier years, the result of lawmakers’ pay being withheld by the Illinois comptroller until a court intervened.

Biss recently released five years of returns while pushing a measure requiring presidential candidates to release five years of income tax returns to get on the ballot in Illinois. It passed the Senate 32-19 vote and is headed to the House.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has released his tax returns every year, and other Democratic primary bidders — J.B. Pritzker of Chicago, Chris Kennedy of Kenilworth, and Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar all say they’re planning to release their returns, too.

‘Pancake bot’

The new Steve and Jamie Chen Center at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora has plenty of innovations, but the one that caught my eye is a pancake bot — a machine that pours pancake batter in the shape of an image uploaded to it.

Along with a spot to make pancake sports logos or superheroes, the 6,000-square-foot space named after the YouTube co-founder and his wife has nine 3-D printers and an “idea bar” where students can snack and plan projects.

Chen, 38, gave $1 million to his alma mater to help fund the center.

Young scientists

IMSA students on Friday presented their research to an audience of peers, teachers and guests. Dozens of them — some as young as 14 — have published work in scholarly journals and scientific magazines.

Erin’s law now in 30 states

Erin’s Law , legislation requiring elementary and middle schools to teach age-appropriate lessons on child sexual abuse and assault, has become law in 30 states, namesake Erin Merryn tells me.

Merryn, a mother of two who lives in Elgin, notes that North Dakota became the 29th state to pass the law, followed by Montana last week. Merryn, 32, was sexually abused by a neighbor and a teenage cousin when she was a child.