* Herald & Review…

The Decatur City Council, with a 6-1 vote, urged state lawmakers to maintain the current TIF structure without additional restrictions that have been proposed in legislation filed earlier this month.

“There are certainly some bad examples of how communities have used TIF,” said deputy city manager Jon Kindseth. “I don’t believe that Decatur is one of those and TIFs are working for the city. And so this resolution really would be filed with other cities showing the support to the state legislators urging them to leave it alone, as it is written.”

State Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, filed two TIF-related bills this month.

* Illinois Family Institute press release…

Hello, Illinoisans, it’s baaack!

Yes, an amendment to the “Equitable Restrooms Act” is back thanks, ironically, to a woman—at least I think State Representative Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville) is a woman. It’s hard to tell these days.

Stuart has resurrected a moribund amendment to the Equitable Restrooms Act, which was passed in 2019 and took effect January 1, 2020.

* Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas…

Creates the Freelance Worker Protection Act. Provides that freelance workers must be compensated by hiring parties for their services in a timely manner. Provides that whenever a hiring party retains the services of a freelance worker, the contract between the hiring party and the freelance worker shall be reduced to writing and signed by both parties. Provides that no hiring party shall threaten, intimidate, discipline, harass, deny a work opportunity to, or discriminate against a freelance worker, or take any other action that penalizes a freelance worker for, or is reasonably likely to deter a freelance worker from, exercising or attempting to exercise any right guaranteed under the Act. Contains provisions concerning enforcement; civil enforcement; public policy and intent; public awareness; reports; coordination; and rulemaking by the Department of Labor. Effective July 1, 2024.

* Press release…

A new state legislative proposal will expand opportunities for people to seal their eviction court records, which will increase equitable access to homes.

The eviction sealing legislation, introduced in the House by State Representative La Shawn Ford (HB 1569), and in the Senate by State Senator Karina Villa (SB 242), seals certain eviction cases when:

* The case is dismissed;
* The tenant wins the case;
* A satisfaction of judgment is filed;
* The parties agree to seal; or
* There is no material violation of the lease.

The legislation also seals eviction records older than 7 years old, dismisses and seals open cases where the parties have taken no action for 180 days, and prohibits tenant screening companies from disseminating information about a sealed court file.

“Sealing eviction records does not negate the application process. Landlords will still be able to screen tenants by doing credit and reference checks,” said Representative Ford. “Too often, when an old eviction case shows up on a screening report, the landlord automatically denies housing without allowing the potential tenant to make the case that they will be a good, responsible tenant. That isn’t fair.”

Eviction filings hamper tenants’ ability to find a new home, regardless of the outcome of the case. Based on pre-pandemic data, more than 50% of eviction filings in Illinois do not result in a judgment against the tenant. The mere filing of an eviction does not mean the tenant was actually evicted, did not pay their rent, or cannot meet future rental obligations– filings remain in the public record indefinitely. These filings stain the tenant’s record and ultimately trap people and families in poverty.

National and local data show that Black and Latinx renters are disproportionately at risk of an eviction filing. This is especially true for female headed households.

As part of the COVID-19 Emergency Housing Act (Public Act 102-005), the State of Illinois passed a temporary state law that allowed more people to have their eviction records sealed. However, those provisions sunset in 2022. As a result, tenant eviction records remain publicly available even when there has been no judgment against them. This includes cases that were dismissed, cases where tenants successfully defended against the eviction, or cases when tenants were evicted through no fault of their own.

While the temporary sealing provisions were in effect, The Law Center for Better Housing (LCBH) hosted 15 community-based clinics. Over nine months, LCBH helped hundreds of tenants seal 1,058 old eviction records.

* HB3891 sponsored by Rep. Sonya Harper…

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that beginning January 1, 2024, all handgun ammunition that is manufactured, imported into the State for sale or personal use, kept for sale, offered or exposed for sale, sold, given, lent, or possessed shall be serialized. Provides that beginning January 1, 2024, any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, imports into the State for sale or personal use, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, or who gives or lends any handgun ammunition that is not serialized is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Provides that beginning January 1, 2024, any person who possesses in any public place any handgun ammunition that is not serialized is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. Provides exceptions. Provides that beginning January 1, 2024, the Illinois State Police shall maintain a centralized registry of all reports of handgun ammunition transactions reported to the Illinois State Police in a manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. Provides that information in the registry, upon proper application for that information, shall be furnished to peace officers and authorized employees of the Illinois State Police or to the person listed in the registry as the owner of the particular handgun ammunition. Provides that the Illinois State Police shall adopt rules relating to the assessment and collection of end-user fees in an amount not to exceed $0.005 per round of handgun ammunition or per bullet, in which the accumulated fee amount may not exceed the cost to pay for the infrastructure, implementation, operational, enforcement, and future development costs of these provisions. Effective January 1, 2024, except some provisions effective immediately.

* My Journal Courier…

A bill in the Illinois legislature proposed by state Democrats would give certain families a monthly stipend to spend on diapers.

Senate Bill 1294 was filed Feb. 3 by Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago. If passed, it would give parents with a monthly income at or below 100% of federal poverty guidelines an allowance of $70 per child ages 3 years old or younger to be spent exclusively on diapers.

The bill still is in the early stages of the legislative process; it was assigned Feb. 14 to the appropriations committee for health and human services, where it now sits. It has picked up five co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats. […]

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said there are some aspects of SB1294 that he wants to examine, such as the poverty threshold being 100%. The threshold for such programs usually is 200% of poverty guidelines, Davidsmeyer said. He also wants to add certain stipulations to “complicated pregnancies,” such as twins or children born with health issues, he said.

* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (”IDFPR”) announced today the Consumer Financial Protection and Innovation Package, a pair of legislative initiatives designed to protect Illinois residents from financial fraud and abuse and establish regulatory oversight of cryptocurrencies and the broader digital asset marketplace.

The Fintech-Digital Asset Bill (HB 3479/SB 2233) establishes regulations for digital asset businesses and modernizes regulations for money transmission in Illinois, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bill (HB 3483/SB 2232) empowers IDFPR to enforce those regulations and strengthens its authority and resources for existing consumer financial protections. Both measures are sponsored by Representative Mark Walker in the House and Senator Laura Ellman in the Senate.

“States occupy a core role in overseeing the financial marketplace and Illinois stands ready to usher in the future of consumer financial protection,” said IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. “These two proposals combined will bring Illinois consumer financial protection into the digital age and provide 21st Century protections for 21st Century threats.”

Like regulation in place in New York and under consideration in the California legislature, the Fintech-Digital Asset Bill requires digital asset exchanges and other digital asset businesses to obtain a license from IDFPR to operate in Illinois. The bill also establishes robust customer protections, including investment disclosures, customer asset safeguards, and customer service standards. Additionally, the bill requires companies to have plans and procedures for addressing critical risks such as cybersecurity, business continuity, fraud, and money laundering, as well as sufficient financial resources to effectively conduct their business in Illinois. Further, the bill replaces the Transmitters of Money Act (205 ILCS 657) with the Money Transmission Modernization Act, thereby harmonizing state licensing, regulation, and supervision of money transmitters operating across state lines. The bill also allows for the creation of trust companies for the special purpose of acting as a fiduciary to safeguard customers’ digital assets.

* Center Square…

State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said her Senate Bill 1345 is an extension of a bill that already allows for undocumented residents to vote on local school councils in Chicago. She said this needs to be expanded across the state because these families have children in public schools where they pay taxes. […]

The bill, if passed into law, would task the Illinois State Board of Education to create a voter registration affidavit as a way for “a noncitizen of the United States” to register to vote in school board elections. […]

State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said Villanueva’s bill goes too far. […]

“People are worried about things like Chinese balloons and so forth, right, so why wouldn’t it be possible for someone to infiltrate our electoral system if they’re not a citizen,” Bryant said. “No, that is a right that is afforded to American citizens.”

* Press release…

State legislators, backed by the Coalition for Plastic Reduction that includes more than 35 organizations, introduced legislation on Wednesday to phase out the use of single-use plastic polystyrene foam foodware.

The EPA estimates that Americans throw away almost 70 million plastic foam cups every day. Twenty-two million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year and just over half of that ends up in Lake Michigan alone. The legislation would phase out foam foodware starting in 2024.

“Our constituents have trusted us with the responsibility of enacting policies that protect our state’s most precious natural resources,” said State Sen. Laura Fine, chief sponsor of SB100. “Passing this legislation is necessary to lighten our environmental footprint, reduce single-use plastic pollution, and preserve our environment for generations to come.”

Plastic persists in the environment for hundreds of years. As a result, scientists have discovered plastic pollution in every corner of the globe, from mountain tops to ocean trenches, and inside human bodies.

“A vital part of building a sustainable future is eliminating non-biodegradable pollutants like foam, which create an enduring problem that future generations will have to deal with,” said state Rep. Gong-Gershowitz, chief sponsor of HB2376. “Using greener alternatives to sfoam that break down naturally is an important step forward for Illinois and helps maintain our status as a national leader on environmental stewardship.”

Already, eight states and roughly 200 cities and municipalities have enacted bans on polystyrene foam containers.

* Public News Service…

A pair of Illinois state lawmakers is introducing legislation to phase out what is known as the “subminimum wage” for tipped workers in the restaurant industry.

The measures were introduced on behalf of One Fair Wage, an advocacy organization for service workers, and several other groups pushing for changes in how employees in the hospitality business are paid.

Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Oak Park, said though there are some restaurants which “even up” employees’ tips to make sure they make a minimum hourly wage, many workers still earn incomes below the poverty line.

“Our proposed legislation graduates and phases subminimum wage out of our system here in Illinois,” Lilly explained. “Our workers here in Illinois deserve quality of life, and the subminimum wage does not allow that.”

Lilly noted the bill would phase out tips over the next three years and set the hourly wage at $15 by 2025. Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia opposes the bill, saying safeguards are in place to protect service workers. He argued the additional costs would likely be passed on to customers, hurting businesses and their workers.

* A throwback…

February 22, 1977: Dreams are crushed in the Illinois House as a bill that somehow wound up on second reading without a committee vote is noted. The record was promptly corrected to assure the sponsor the legislation would not, in fact, be receiving a vote. pic.twitter.com/G9iHgMX7rs

— John Amdor (@JohnAmdor) February 22, 2023