* Capitol News Illinois…
The Illinois Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that gives financial protection to children whose parents make money posting videos of them on social media. […]
Senate Bill 1782 was introduced by Democratic Sens. David Koehler, of Peoria, and Linda Holmes, of Aurora, but it underwent significant amendments before passing the Senate. Koehler said if the bill is signed into law, Illinois would be the first state in the nation to enact such legislation.
The final version would provide that if a minor is featured in at least 30 percent of a vlogger’s revenue-generating video during a 30-day period, then the minor is entitled to a share of the revenue. That money would have to be set aside in a trust fund that the minor could access after they turn 18.
It would also require the vlogger to report periodically to the Illinois Department of Labor the names and ages of any minors engaged in the work of vlogging, the number of vlogs that generated compensation, and the number of minutes each minor was featured in the vlogs. It would also give minors the right to sue if a vlogger knowingly or recklessly fails to set aside the minor’s earnings in a trust account.
* Senate Bill 1508 also passed unanimously out of the Senate. WAND…
The Illinois Senate approved a plan Wednesday to help people who may become addicted to mobile sports betting.
Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) said his proposal requires sports betting companies to display a message to people at least once every hour noting how much money they have wagered since logging on.
The alert would also include a hyperlink to websites and phone numbers for assistance with gambling addiction.
Cunningham noted that the state is making roughly $1 billion per year off betting.
“I think we would all acknowledge that that brings with it some responsibility for those of us who are policymakers,” Cunningham explained. “And I think that we need to ensure that part of that responsibility is making sure people who have problems with gambling can easily get help.”
* Sen. Robert Peters…
To address employment barriers for individuals impacted by the justice system, State Senator Robert Peters passed legislation to help those previously convicted of a felony to seek an occupational license to perform non-gaming related services at a casino.
“The amount of financially realistic employment opportunities for individuals impacted by the justice system are few and far between,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Connecting those with prior justice system involvement with employment by allowing them to perform functions in a casino that do not involve gaming ensures financial stability and decreases the likelihood of backsliding into the justice system.”
Senate Bill 1462 also allows the Illinois Gaming Board to consider an applicant’s criminal record, reputation, associations and activities that could potentially threaten the integrity of the gaming institution. […]
Senate Bill 1462 passed the Senate Wednesday and will now head to the House floor for further consideration.
* HB2401 is in Rules. Fox Chicago…
The Pierce twins, Phallon and Kyra, wrote legislation last year that passed the Illinois House but failed in the Senate. […]
The twins have teamed up with state Representative La Shawn Ford to introduce House Bill 2401, which would require school districts to include authors from all ethnicities and backgrounds in reading assignments for grades kindergarten through 12th.
“We want to make sure that everybody knows that it’s not a book ban. It’s simply adding books and adding context with books that kids are reading in schools,” said Phallon and Kyra.
In addition to writing “The Pierce Twins Bills”, the young ladies have started “Positive Change Charities” which has donated more than 2,000 books over the last two years to underfunded school libraries.
* SB1909 will head to the Senate floor for further consideration…
In continuing the fight for reproductive rights for women, State Senator Celina Villanueva passed legislation that prevents crisis pregnancy centers from using deceptive practices that interfere with women’s health care decisions.
“We must ensure that women who are seeking reproductive health care are protected from deceptive and misleading practices,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “At a time when they are already vulnerable, they must have peace of mind that they won’t be taken advantage of. Health care – in all forms – should be safe and transparent.”
Senate Bill 1909 prohibits the use of deceptive practices to interfere with an individual seeking to gain entry or access to the provider of an abortion or emergency contraceptives, induce an individual to enter a limited services pregnancy center, in advertising, soliciting, or otherwise offering pregnancy-related services, or in providing pregnancy-related services.
While crisis pregnancy centers may advertise themselves as health care clinics, many of these facilities provide very limited services, such as basic ultrasounds and counseling intended to discourage and limit access to abortion. Some centers are located near clinics that provide comprehensive reproductive health care and use names similar to these clinics in order to misdirect patients. Many provide misleading information overstating the risks associated with abortion, including conveying false claims that abortion causes cancer or infertility.
* Sen. Dave Koehler…
State Senator Dave Koehler led a measure through the Senate to create awareness of the history of the Underground Railroad in Illinois.
“Our state has a lot of history with the Underground Railroad,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “Illinois played a huge role in the path toward freedom. Through a new task force, we will map the search for freedom and justice for African Americans throughout the 1800s.”
Senate Bill 1623 would create the Underground Railroad Task Force. The group would develop a statewide plan to connect existing local projects and new projects to create a cohesive statewide history of the Underground Railroad in Illinois, while developing new educational and tourism opportunities.
The task force would identify where historical sites are located, connections they may have to one another, and will paint a picture to recognize the history of the Underground Railroad in Illinois. It would also introduce educational and tourism opportunities throughout the state. […]
Senate Bill 1623 passed the Senate Wednesday. It now heads to the House for further consideration.
* Patch…
After an Illinois Republican lawmaker recently introduced a bill that would lower the state’s legal drinking to 18, an overwhelming number of Patch readers who responded to a poll last week on the subject opposed the measure.
Illinois State Rep. John Cabello (R-Freeport) introduced House Bill 4021 earlier this month. The bill would amend the Liquor Control Board’s Act of 1934, which established the legal drinking age at the end of prohibition.
More than 4,000 Patch readers responded to a poll last week which simply asked if the state’s legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18. Of the 4,044 readers who responded to the non-scientific poll, 86.2 percent voted that the state’s drinking age should not be lowered, while the remaining 13.8 percent responded that 18-year-olds should be able to partake in alcoholic beverages.
* Bill-related…
State Rep. Cyril Nichols, D-Chicago, will be joined by House colleagues La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago and Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, at a press conference in the State Capitol Blue Room at 11:30am on Thursday, March 30 to discuss the new Higher Education—Procurement Subcommittee, of which Nichols has been appointed Chairman.
“Equity and inclusion need to be at the heart of everything we do, especially in an area like higher education, which is so fundamental to equality of opportunity and access to upward mobility,” Nichols said. “The work of this subcommittee will be instrumental in ensuring that procurement practices and programs throughout Illinois’ public institutions of higher learning are consistent with 21st century values of justice and fairness.”
“I’m glad to join this subcommittee and push for a more equitable procurement process in our higher education community,” Hernandez said. “Illinoisans are committed to our state being a nationwide leader in promoting diversity and fairness, and the formation of this subcommittee is another step in the right direction.”
“Rep. Nichols has a strong committee to push our colleges and universities to increase diversity in contracts for professional services and other procurement opportunities,” Ford said. “As Chairman of the Appropriations-Higher Education Committee, I’m setting this subcommittee and naming Rep. Nichols as chairman to meet with colleges and universities in Illinois so that we can lead the nation in contract opportunities to Black, Brown and women-owned businesses.”
Nichols said he expects the subcommittee’s work to focus at least initially on improving the collection and use of demographic data to examine existing procurement practices and uncover areas where change may be needed.
- Perrid - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:16 am:
The idea behind the minor influencer bill makes sense, I’m slightly worried about very small channels. The bill has a threshold of getting $.10 per view but nothing about the total money generated by the channel. I don’t know enough about influencer cash flows or social media’s monetization policies to even guess how much money different channels could be making though.
- Torco Sign - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:24 am:
“children whose parents make money posting videos of them on social media.”
What does this mean? If a child is in the background/same room as their parent, is that a video “of” them? If they’re on the couch not talking is that a video “of” them? What if there’s one shot of them saying a few words as part of a long video? It seems incredibly problematic.
- Buena Parker - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:32 am:
I guess Rep Cabello has never heard of National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 USC 158), which penalizes states for having a drinking age under 21 by taking away some federal highway funds.
After Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) led a largely successful campaign to raise the drinking age to 21 in the 70s and 80s, the Act was passed in 1984 to force the holdout states to raise their drinking age to 21.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:37 am:
–It seems incredibly problematic.–
It’s not problematic at all. If you are using the identifiable image of a minor in any way whatsoever, they should get a share of the money you make from the activities.
If that’s too complicated, then make sure there are no minors in your videos and there’s no issue at all.
I know it’s all the rage these days to consider children the ‘property’ of parents. But they aren’t. They aren’t just “in the background” either, they are people.
Laws regarding videos of minors in the EU are even more strict.
If you are worried, then blur out the image of any minors in your videos in post. Problem solved.
- Torco Sign - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:42 am:
@TheInvisibleMan The intent clearly relates to making a video *about* your kid. If the statute is about whether or not a child happens to be in the video at all, that’s not really what was said before. Having your child playing with her grandmother in the background is not the same as putting your silent kid next to you while you talk about 1950s French cuisine is not the same as interviewing your kid about the food. Treating these scenarios equally would be absurd.
- OneMan - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:48 am:
== The final version would provide that if a minor is featured in at least 30 percent of a vlogger’s revenue-generating video during a 30-day period, then the minor is entitled to a share of the revenue. That money would have to be set aside in a trust fund that the minor could access after they turn 18. ==
I am guessing there are outs for this, but let’s say you are at an HS sporting event and you capture something that goes viral (let’s say a gymnastics routine or a big football play) in the case of football would every player who appears on camera be getting a cut? Would giving any IHSA athlete a cut of video revenue cause an eligibility problem?
How is ‘featured’ defined?
I get the intent of this but it seems there is a chance of a bunch of unintended consequences.
Would be curious what the bill number is on this one, because a way ‘out’ is you just share a bunch of other videos so no minor will hit the 30% level.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:53 am:
–Treating these scenarios equally would be absurd.–
If you are making money from any of those activities, then yes they are the same. The activities or relevance of the image of a minor is irrelevant - the generation of revenue is what is relevant.
Think of if it as no different than the SAG union. You appear on screen in a TV show or movie, speaking or not, you should get compensated for the use of your image.
But like I said. It’s all the rage for parents to consider their children as their property. Children aren’t an inanimate object like a couch, or some random background decoration.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 10:58 am:
–but let’s say you are at an HS sporting event and you capture something that goes viral–
Why are you trying to generate money by using other peoples children?
The point here is generating revenue, not simply recording a minor.
This isn’t hard to understand. At least, it shouldn’t be.
Make your channel free and don’t monetize it, if any of this concerns you. A lot of people seem to be getting angry they can’t use uncompensated minors to generate revenue for themselves.
Again, don’t monetize your channel if you are concerned all the images of minors you have recorded might mean you have to compensate them a percentage of money you are making for yourself using their images.
- City Zen - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 11:18 am:
==help those previously convicted of a felony to seek an occupational license to perform non-gaming related services at a casino.==
Why does one need an occupational license at all?
- Seats - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 4:33 pm:
I would like to see more of the language on what defines “featured”.
My wife has over 150k social media followers and receives a monthly payment from Meta for the total number of views received collectively each month. Meta’s formula for what you get paid isn’t even known by the influencer so determining the percentage of payment that you would need to be legally sharing seems like it will become quiet a headache.
- JoanP - Thursday, Mar 30, 23 @ 6:00 pm:
= require school districts to include authors from all ethnicities and backgrounds in reading assignments =
“All”? That’s going to be one very long reading list.