* HB2431 is on Second Reading. WGN…

Illinois drivers may have to steer clear of Zoom calls while behind the wheel if a new state proposal becomes law.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannulias says House Bill 2431, sponsored by Illinois Rep. Marcus Evans (D-33) and Illinois Sen. Javier Cervantes (D-1) would make the roads safer as the popularity of video conference calls while driving rises. […]

Under the proposal, motorists would still be allowed to participate in video conference calls via a hands-free device or if the video is turned off.

Fines would range, depending on the number of offenses, from $75-$150:

-First offense – $75
-Second offense – $100
-Third offense – $125
-Four or more – $150

Three violations in a year will result in a license suspension.

* HR16 sponsored by Rep. Thaddeus Jones will be heard in committee today…

Calls on the U.S. Congress to authorize a policy change to allow existing interstates built with federal funding to become state tollways, enabling Illinois to convert the Dan Ryan Expressway I-57 into a toll road for the safety of its citizens.

* The deadline was not extended for HB3447 and HB3923. Streetsblog Chicago…

Illinois state rep Kam Bucker (D-26th), who recently ran for mayor but didn’t make the runoff, has been working on a new proposed e-bike rebate bill, HB3447, for the past two months. The legislation would would provide a point-of-sale discount to residents who buy an electric bicycle, which can help reduce congestion and pollution by encouraging more people to replace car trips with bike commutes. […]

Buckner filed the bill, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D-62nd), on February 17. On February 28 it was assigned to the Revenue & Finance Committee, which hasn’t voted on it yet. […]

Along with state reps Theresa Mah (D-2nd) and Kelly Cassidy (D-14th), Buckner also sponsored HB 3530, which would lower the default speed limit in urban areas from 30 mph to 20. Last week at a House transportation committee meeting, members asked for amendments to the bill. Once the legislation is amended, it will return to the committee, probably next week. […]

Yet another livable street bill Kam Buckner cosponsored with state rep Janet Yang Rohr (D-41st) is HB 3923, which would partially legalize the “Idaho Stop” by allowing cyclists treating stop signs like yield sign. It would require bike riders to check for cross traffic and pedestrians before proceeding through the intersection. It did not come up for a vote at the House transportation committee meeting last week.

* Shaw Local…

Bills introduced by [Freshman state Rep. Brad] Fritts have passed through committees and are scheduled to be read and debated on the House floor. […]

HB 2582 removes a duplicate test in place for motorcycle license applicants younger than 18. Both tests are identical and incur a fee. […]

HB 3588 creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program, which may provide funding for the medical care of retired K-9s. […]

HB 2962 calls for a set of standards and requirements for substance abuse recovery homes, which would be adopted by the Illinois Department of Human Services.

* Press release…

A bill introduced by Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Mary E. Flowers, D-Chicago, which recently advanced out of committee, would reform compensation for Illinoisans who are wrongfully convicted and then exonerated, as well as remove a great deal of uncertainty from the process.

“More and more, we see people being exonerated after shoddy police work, prosecutorial misconduct, judicial failures or even outright prejudice and systemic inequality left them unjustly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit,” Flowers said. “It’s clear that more needs to be done for those whose lives have been turned upside down by this type of flagrant injustice. That’s why I’m working to increase compensation and eliminate limits for those impacted by failures of justice.”

Currently, there is no minimum compensation for those exonerated after a wrongful conviction, and the amount—if any—a person can be awarded is mostly at the discretion of the Court of Claims. There are, however, statutory maximums of $85,350 for five years or less of imprisonment, $170,000 for five to fourteen years and $199,150 for more than fourteen years.

Flowers’ House Bill 1016 would remove entirely these statutory maximums and replace arbitrary awards with guaranteed and fixed award amounts of $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment, including pretrial incarceration or detention while awaiting trial; along with $25,000 per year wrongfully spent not incarcerated but on parole, on probation, or on a sex offender registry. These amounts would be prorated for partial years and the Court of Claims would retain the ability to raise them by up to 5% per year to account for increases in the consumer price index. The bill contains other measures as well.

* Farm Week…

“There were a lot of bills that Illinois Farm Bureau had positions on, and they were spread throughout all the committees,” said Kevin Semlow, IFB director of state legislation. “One of the biggest issues we focused on this week was our opposition to HB 1568, sponsored by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, that grants unconstitutional public access to waterways. We communicated with members of the committee that the bill undoes close to 200 years of law and violates landowners’ private property rights. At the end of the committee, the bill was not presented for a vote and remained in the committee.” […]

Two separate committees approved an IFB legislative priority to allow townships to elect or appoint a clerk or road commissioner from outside the township to fill vacancies.

“This was established in IFB policy that was raised because of challenges in some areas of the state,” said Emily Perone Hall, IFB assistant director of state legislation. “We gained the passage of the Senate and House committees to move SB 1443, sponsored by Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Waukegan, and HB 2040, sponsored by Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, to their respective chambers.”

In the House Labor Committee, HB 3395, sponsored by Rep. Lilian Jimenez, D-Chicago, would have eliminated the minimum wage exemption for many agricultural employees, while also eliminating the exemption from overtime requirements for all agricultural employees.

“IFB opposed HB 3395 and conveyed to the committee the impacts this legislation would have on farmers. In the end, the sponsor chose not to present the bill and held the bill in committee,” said Mark Raney, associate director of state legislation.