* WGEM…

Illinois may be one step closer to developing an Underground Railroad Task Force.

Senate Bill 1623 would establish the group which would develop a statewide plan to increase awareness.

This plan would include the development of new educational and tourism opportunities while connecting projects relating to the Underground Railroad.

Timothy Jacobs, a volunteer with the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County said this measure is important given the local connection to the railroad.

* IL Association of Naturopathic Physicians are going to hold a press conference Wednesday…

The Illinois Association of Naturopathic Physicians will have a press conference on Wednesday to call on lawmakers to approve legislation to fully license their members.

House Bill 3721 would create a state license for naturopathic physicians in Illinois. The measure awaits assignment to a legislative committee.

* Chalkbeat…

A bill that would collect data on students with disabilities who are removed from school buildings during the school year has been revived this session after hitting a roadblock last year.

State Rep. Michelle Mussman, a Democrat who serves Schamburg, a northwest suburb of Chicago, has introduced HB 3600 which would require any school removal to be documented with a notice to parents about the reason a student has been removed. The bill would also require the school to hold a meeting with a student’s Individualized Education Program team or Section 504 plan team if the number of days removed exceeds 10 days in a school year.

Special education advocates such as Access Living have advocated for such a bill over the past year because parents of students with disabilities are often called to pick up their child during the school day for informal removals. Since this action isn’t a formal removal — such as a suspension — there may not be a record of how many times a student has been removed from school.

* WBEZ…

Ire is spreading among restaurant workers in several cities, including Chicago, about required food and beverage safety training programs that industry insiders say fund anti-minimum-wage lobbying efforts.

The National Restaurant Association operates and administers a food and beverage safety training program by the name of ServSafe. In Illinois, anyone who works in a restaurant or kitchen must complete certification from a program like ServSafe. Costs range from $15 to upwards of $1,000 for those seeking managerial certifications. […]

The New York Times estimated that 3.6 million workers across the country have paid nearly $25 million in ServSafe training fees that have gone towards lobbying efforts against raising the minimum wage for service industry workers. A class action lawsuit among service workers has been filed in New York. […]

In Springfield, One Fair Wage is seeking the support of House Bill 5139, which would eliminate the subminimum wage by 2025, making room for workers to earn a minimum of $15 per hour plus their tips. State Representative Camille Lilly introduced the bill.

* WTVO…

A bill in the capitol would give educators at public colleges and universities a $500 tax credit. Professors would be able to claim the starting next year if the proposal passes.

The bill’s sponsor said that it can help cut teachers’ overall costs.

“We can do a little do our part to provide a little bit of effort, a little bit of support, a little bit to offset their overall costs when it comes to just trying to be an educator and do their jobs,” said Senator Paul Faraci.

K-12 schools can currently get a tax credit on school supplies. Faraci said that this will help level the playing field.

* WAND…

The Illinois Senate is considering a bill that would require high school students to take a stand-alone personal finance course.

Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) is sponsoring the bill. If passed and signed by the governor, it would require high school students to take a semester-long course during their junior or senior year. The bill would affect the freshman class entering high school in the fall of 2024.

Many financial institutions, including Land of Lincoln Credit Union, are throwing their support behind the bill.

“We have lots of teens, young adults, that come in here that don’t know the basics even about managing a checking account, let alone applying for a loan or budgeting,” said Bev Davis, COO of the credit union. “If it were to be made a requirement, it would sort of level the playing field.”

* Press release…

State Senator Mike Simmons presented a measure that encourages cooperative housing developments to the Senate State Government Committee on Wednesday.

“Too many communities across Illinois are experiencing a severe shortage of affordable housing supply,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “Cooperative housing provides one piece of the overall supply needed for those who are lower-income and aspire to live in cooperatively owned buildings.”

Senate Bill 1484 creates the Cooperative Housing Fund, which would be used by the Illinois Housing Development Authority to award up to $5,000,000 in grants to organizations developing cooperative housing for residents with an income less than or equal to the median income within the municipality.

This measure will promote cooperative housing, a form of housing where a non-profit entity owns the residential building but its residents are shareholders of the entity. Cooperative housing provides a viable alternative to homeownership for low to middle-income earners who may not be able to buy a home, while adding a key affordable housing option to those who need it.

* Rep. Chris Miller’s HB3946…

Amends the General Assembly Operations Act. Provides that, if a legislator introduces legislation that results in the taking of private land for a project in another legislator’s district, then a project of that same type must be completed in the district of the legislator who introduced the legislation that resulted in the taking of private land.

* CBS Chicago…

For the first time in Illinois, a bill was introduced that could ensure Arab Americans are finally counted in government data. […]

A category has not been created on the federal level. Local governments have pointed to a lack of category on the Census when asked why they have not created their own MENA category. It would also require a new state law to change government databases and systems at the local level.

If passed into law, the bill would add MENA as a racial classification. Whenever a state agency is required by law to compile or report statistical data using racial or ethnic classifications, the law says they must use MENA in addition to white, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

The bill was introduced last week and is currently in the Rules committee under HB 3768 and HB 3242. It is waiting to be assigned to the appropriate committee, where it will be presented. There will be an opportunity for testimony. If the bill passes Committee, it will go to the floor of the House for a vote, and then the Senate for a vote.

* HB2963 from Sponser Rep. Bradley Fritts and co-sponsors Robyn Gabel, Ann Williams, Travis Weaver and Randy Frese…

Amends Section 3 of an Act in relation to conservation, approved December 24, 1992, Public Act 87-1243, as amended by Public Act 88-468. Changes a reference to the Department of Conservation to the Department of Natural Resources. Provides that notwithstanding any other provisions in the Act, the Dixon Park District is authorized to install and operate solar panels, to create all necessary ingress and egress, to construct any necessary connections to the electric grid, and to conduct any other necessary activities for the development and operation of a solar electric generation facility. Describes the property authorized for the location of the solar facility. Authorizes the Dixon Park District to develop and operate the solar facility subject to specified requirements. Effective immediately.

* Press release…

State Senator Mike Porfirio has introduced Senate Bill 2422, aimed at increasing the eligibility requirements for the Illinois Veterans Grant Program.

The proposed legislation would revise the eligibility requirements for the grant program, allowing for a wider range of individuals to access it and receive educational assistance.

“Illinois has a long and proud history of supporting our veterans and military personnel,” said Porfirio (D-Lyons Township). “As a veteran myself, I am proud to be a voice for other veterans in our state.”

The expanded eligibility will incentivize those who left Illinois to serve their country to return to their home state while adding eligibility to those who come to Illinois to serve to stay here.

Under the current program guidelines, a person must be an Illinois resident within six months of entering federal active-duty service and must return within six months of leaving federal active-duty service. Porfirio’s measure would expand those times to 18 months.

“Active Duty personnel come to Illinois to serve at Scott Air Force Base, Naval Station Great Lakes, and Rock Island Arsenal along with multiple other recruiting, ROTC, or other commands,” said Porfirio, vice chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “If they end their service in Illinois, we should be trying to incentivize them to stay here and make Illinois their home.”

The legislation would also allow those who end their federal active-duty service in Illinois to be eligible to qualify for the program.