* Press release…

Legislation to phase out the use of single-use plastic polystyrene foam foodware starting in 2024 passed out of the House Energy and Environment Committee Tuesday afternoon on an 18-8 vote.

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

The legislation is a priority for the Coalition for Plastic Reduction, a coalition of more than 35 organizations across Illinois.

In response to the favorable committee vote, advocates said:

“Lake Michigan is one of Illinois’ greatest assets. But plastic pollution puts Lake Michigan and all our waterways at risk, polluting our drinking water and harming wildlife. Phasing out single-use plastic polystyrene foam food ware is an important step forward in stopping plastic pollution at the source before it can pollute our waters. We applaud Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz for introducing HB 2376: EPA-Disposable Food Containers and urge her colleagues to support this bill,” said Andrea Densham with the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

“It’s important to me to run my business as sustainably as possible,” said Brent Schwoerer, owner of Engrained Brewing in Springfield. “That’s why we’ve never used foam containers for takeout. It is time to evolve to more responsible packaging. Removing foam containers from the market levels the playing field for everyone and drives down the costs of better alternatives.”

* Media advisory…

Leading Business, Technology and Healthcare Groups to Call for Changes to Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act Following Troubling State Supreme Court Decisions

WHO:
Tyler Diers, Executive Director of Illinois and the Midwest Region, TechNet
Mark Denzler, President and CEO, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
Karen Harris, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Illinois Health and Hospital Association
Matt Hart, Executive Director, Illinois Trucking Association
Matt Hartman, Executive Director, Illinois Health Care Association
Rob Karr, President and CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association
Brad Tietz, Vice President of Government Relations, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

WHAT: Leading business, technology and healthcare groups will join together to call on the General Assembly to enact reforms to the state’s outdated Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) following recent Illinois Supreme Court decisions that leave companies vulnerable to massive financial damages and have a chilling effect on security, innovation and economic growth.

WHEN: Thursday, March 2
10 a.m.

WHERE: Illinois State Capitol
Blue Room (Basement, Room 010)

* Press release…

A House Public Utilities committee meeting held today was the scene of the opening rounds of the next “nuclear war” in Illinois.

Committee members heard testimony and voted on HB1079, introduced by Rep. Mark Walker (D. 53rd, Arlington Heights) that would repeal a decades-old moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power reactors in Illinois, pending a final disposal solution for the dangerous high-level radioactive wastes (HLRW) that reactors produce.

The Committee voted 18 to 3 to advance the bill to the full House for consideration.

“Passage of this legislation is a “CEJA killer” and will have enormous negative effects on the plans to expand renewable energy and efficiency found in the 2016 FEJA and 2021 CEJA legislation,” warned David Kraft, director of Nuclear Energy Information Service, a 42-year old nuclear power watchdog and safe-energy advocacy organization based in Chicago.

“While it seems like an innocent minor change in State law, it opens the flood gates for the so-called ‘next-generation’ nuclear reactors – ‘small modular nuclear reactors’ (SMNRs) – which would then compete with renewables for market share and transmission access,” Kraft asserts.

NEIS testimony pointed out that the moratorium repeal found in HB1709 and a similar Senate bill – SB0076 – are necessary before any power reactors can be constructed. The Senate bill goes a step farther, calling for actual support for SMNRs.

…Adding… Rep. Walker…

Legislation brought by state Rep. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights, to eliminate the ban on new nuclear power construction passed out of the House Public Utilities Committee yesterday and advances to the House floor.

“If we’re going to win in our fight against global climate change, we must ensure we can use every zero-carbon tool available to meet those goals,” Walker said. “My bill to remove the nuclear moratorium gets us one step closer to meeting our clean energy goals while also developing new and unique opportunities for manufacturers and data centers.”

Walker’s legislation, House Bill 1079, would repeal a decades-old moratorium banning the construction of new nuclear power plants in Illinois. The moratorium, originally passed in 1987, means that Illinois cannot explore utilizing a reliable, safe, zero-carbon source of power as the state looks to decarbonize its energy grid by 2050. Advancements in nuclear reactor designs like small modular reactors are also proving attractive to manufacturers, data centers, and other large-scale industrial operations.

“The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act made Illinois a leader in fighting global climate change,” Walker added. “If we’re truly going to lead, we need every tool available. Renewable energy like wind and solar are critical for our grid. So is a strong foundation of nuclear energy. I’m thankful to my colleagues from both sides of the aisle voting for my bill and I look forward to a vote on the House floor.”

* From Comptroller Mendoza…

Today at 2pm. Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza will appear in-person at the Illinois House’s State Government Administration Committee Hearing to testify as a proponent of HB 2515, a measure to ensure more regular deposits from future budgets into the state’s Rainy Day Fund – the state’s emergency reserve account.

Currently, the $1.9 billion in the Rainy Day Fund only represents about 11-days’ worth of bills at the Comptroller’s office. Based on the most recent data from the National Association of State Budget Officers, the average number of days that states currently have in their rainy-day reserves is about 54 days.

Under HB 2515, deposits would trigger automatically when the state’s General Funds accounts payable is estimated to be less than $3 billion and the Governor has estimated growth in general revenues over 4%. Additionally, this legislation calls for a 6-month review by COGFA which could trigger savings if growth exceeds 4% in the middle of the fiscal year. The bill also calls for automatic deposits above statutory requirement into the Pension Stabilization Fund.

* Patrick Keck…

After withdrawing its initial application in January, Navigator CO2 Ventures has filed a new route for its Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide pipeline with the Illinois Commerce Commission. […]

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Navigator vice president of government and public affairs, said the project now impacts about 900 landowners in Illinois. The Nebraska-based company refiled the application, she said, to streamline the approval process instead of updating its original application submitted in July. […]

Senate Bill 2421 from state Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, co-listed under House Bill 3119 from state Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, would create the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act to address several updates to pipeline construction and management.

Specifically, the bill eliminates a company’s ability to secure private land in the pore space - a small subsurface area that allows for the storage of carbon dioxide - at sequestration sites without the proper approval. Operators would have to receive a written grant from the landowner or a title permitting the use of the land.

* Press release…

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (Savanna) has filed two bills that would increase protections for Department of Children and Family Services workers and those working to protect the state’s most vulnerable. This legislation comes at a time when front line workers throughout the state continue to face violence, something Leader McCombie has prioritized fixing through her bills.

The two bills are in direct response to the murder of two female DCFS workers: Pamela Knight, who was killed in 2017 in Dixon, Illinois, when attempting to take a child into protective custody and Deirdre Silas, who was murdered last year in Sangamon County during a home-visit. Leader McCombie has filed these pieces of legislation, the Knight-Silas Acts, to help prevent any future harm to employees at DCFS:

· HB1460 - Makes harming a DCFS worker or a Department on Aging Adult Protective Services or Ombudsman worker a Class 2 felony, except if the battery causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an individual, then a violation is a Class 1 felony.

· HB1461 - Makes harming a DCFS worker a Class 2 felony, except if the battery causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an individual, then a violation is a Class 1 felony.

These bills have been a priority for McCombie, who has been vocal about the necessary changes needed at the troubled state agency under Governor JB Pritzker’s lead—and has recently unveiled a Republican led working group to find viable solutions.

“There are no shortage of issues we must address at DCFS, but ensuring the safety of the employees who work day and night to protect our most vulnerable is the top priority—and my legislation will help make that a reality,” said Leader Tony McCombie. “Pam Knight and Deidre Silas were killed in the line of duty, and more must be done so that tragedies like this don’t continue to happen.”

* Press release…

Winemakers and wine experts from wineries across Illinois will convene in Springfield this week for their annual conference to discuss growth of the industry and their new legislative measure to obtain parity for wine production and self-distribution limits.

The Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance’s annual conference will take place Thursday and Friday at the Statehouse Inn and Merchant House. The conference presenter lineup includes Jim Tresize, president of Wine America, which is the only national wine industry association in the country that encourages growth and development of wineries and winegrowing through advancement and advocacy of public policy.

While Illinois is one of the top wine-drinking states in the country, and the Illinois wine industry has grown in esteem, the state’s wineries are prohibited from producing and selling their wine at levels that compare with their peers in the beer and spirits industries. Wineries are urging the Illinois General Assembly to pass House Bill 2864 to provide a path for the wine industry to grow, serve their increasing customer base, continue providing good jobs, and continue contributing to state and local economies.

* HB2238…

One year after she had a stroke, Illinois Rep. @barbara_isabel will introduce a bill that will improve health outcomes by recognizing medical centers that offer advanced stroke care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. https://t.co/iVQJpi3l37

— American Heart Illinois (@AmericanHeartIL) March 1, 2023

* UPI…

New legislation would designate the Chicago church where Emmett Till’s open-casket funeral was held in 1955 as a national monument.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., would designate the Roberts Temple Church as a national monument to “preserve, protect, and interpret history for the benefit of present and future generations.”

* Illinois Answers…

Backed by different groups, three state legislators have introduced differing bills all designed to throw life rafts to homeowners who are behind on their property tax bills. They aim to revamp a system that gouges delinquent property owners in the best of cases and forces them from their homes at worst. […]

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), would halve the penalty for late taxes from 1.5% to 0.75% for every month the bills go unpaid. It would also end the county’s practice of adding an instant 12% interest penalty for any homeowner whose property is entered into the annual tax sale and does not get a bid. […]

[Rep. Margaret] Croke introduced a trio of bills backed by the Chicago Bar Association, which is generally allied with tax buyers. In an interview on Monday, Croke said the bills “seem like no-brainers” that would “add clarification and transparency” to the convoluted tax sale process. […]

Leaders of the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago have joined the fray with their own idea to prevent struggling homeowners from sliding into tax delinquency. Their bill, sponsored by Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) and Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin (D-Olympia Fields), would require the Cook County treasurer to set up an installment plan to pay their tax obligations over time. Homeowners in “good standing” with the plan would not be allowed to be entered into the annual tax sale.