* Sen. Sue Rezin’s SB76 to lift Illinois’ moratorium on nuclear power plant construction passed 39-13. Capitol News Illinois…

“The bill is going to come to the House with a lot of momentum,” Rezin said in an interview after the bill passed. “The unions are out and working their members to explain the importance of the bill and to just explain the technology.” […]

Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, said the bill was “still not fully baked,” adding that the question of what is done with nuclear waste still doesn’t have a solution.

“Whether it’s one pound or a thousand pounds, it’s still nuclear waste,” he said. “We can’t wait for a national strategy, in my opinion.” […]

Some of the state’s largest environmental groups, including the Illinois Environmental Council, oppose the measure. Jack Darin, the head of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, told Capitol News Illinois earlier this month that his organization doesn’t believe nuclear energy is “clean energy,” citing concerns over the environmental impact of nuclear waste.

A similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights. That measure, House Bill 1079, was approved in committee with a bipartisan majority, 18-3, although it hasn’t been heard by the full House.

* SJ-R…

Legislation from state Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, passed with only one dissenting vote, 55-1, and would change several stipulations of supplier licenses.

Under the Sports Wagering Act (SWA), signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019, applicants owed a nonrefundable license and application fee of $150,000 dedicated to the IGB. Currently, these initial licenses last for four years before the license holder would have to pay another $150,000 annually to maintain them. […]

Senate Bill 1462 from state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, would also deal with licenses and passed in a 44-12 vote mostly along party lines. Senate Minority Leader John Curran was among the six Republicans backing the legislation.

The bill updates eligibility standards for those seeking an occupational license, specifically with regard to their criminal record. IGB would be required to consider length of time since conviction, number of convictions and the severity of the charges among other factors when reviewing an individual’s application through the legislation.

* WAND…

The Illinois Senate unanimously approved a plan Thursday night to help address the shortage of firefighters and EMTs.

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) worked with Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) to create an EMT training, recruitment, and retention task force.

They hope this group can address the impact this shortage is having on the state’s EMS and health care systems. The bill also requires the task force to recommend how EMT testing and certification requirements affect recruitment and retention efforts. Senate Bill 761 notes that the group should also discuss how apprenticeship programs can be utilized to help recruit and retain EMRs, EMTs, and paramedics. […]

Nine members of the task force would represent rural and ground ambulance providers while three members would bring the perspective of hospitals. The proposal also calls for members representing the State Board of Education, community colleges, and a statewide association of nursing homes.

* Sen. Martwick…

State Senator Robert Martwick has passed a measure that would prohibit companies from using personal data gathered from retirement plan participants to sell products and services that are not related to the plan.

“When an employee deposits their money in a retirement savings account, they trust the people handling their money are working in their best interest,” said Martwick (D-Chicago). “As we have seen throughout history, unfortunately, this is not always the case.”

The measure enacts a series of strict conflict of interest provisions. Included in the measure are rules regarding companies who perform contracted recordkeeping services for public employee deferred compensation plans.

Current law does not prevent the recordkeeping companies from making use of the personal data provided to them to solicit plan holders. Martwick’s measure would ensure that they could no longer act outside the plan holder’s best interest, and solicit them with services they do not need.

“Account holders’ data should be kept safe from being used for financial product marketing and predatory practices from large financial corporations,” Martwick said.

Senate Bill 1646 passed the Senate Thursday sand now goes to the House for further consideration.

* Scott Holland…

When it comes to government, simple solutions are in short supply.

Consider House Bill 2500, which passed 107-0 March 24. State Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, filed the plan to waive animal shelter adoption fees for Illinois veterans, allowing one free dog or cat adoption every two years. […]

I’m not a veteran but we have two rescue mutts. Our fee covered micro-chipping, vaccines and the spay/neuter procedures at a partnering veterinarian. The rescue and its volunteers incurred expenses transporting the dogs to the suburbs and foster care, plus general website and office costs. […]

Perhaps the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare could certify veteran adoptions and send checks to the rescues, or the veterans could qualify for 1:1 state income tax credits. It’s easy to imagine the pushback if the state ordered county health departments to create veteran pet adoption funds, even if they could pass it along through increased rabies tag fees.

Maybe pet food and supply companies could get tax credits for donating to a fund that would cover the adoption fees, perhaps with an annual cap on expenditures. The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars or other groups might consider helping such an effort, although it’s not as if those groups are presently flush with excess cash. […]

We’re not talking about huge sums, but whenever government pledges waiving a fee, it’s fair to ask who ultimately pays and if there might be a better option.

* Scott Reeder at the Illinois Times…

The options for disposing of human remains in Illinois are limited. You can be buried, entombed or cremated. But a bill pending before the Illinois General Assembly would add another option: composting.

That process turns human remains into soil over the course of a few weeks. Companies that offer this service place a person’s remains in a container with wood chips, straw and other organic material and heat it to accelerate the growth of bacteria that breaks down the body.

LeNette Van Haverbeke, a representative of Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association, told lawmakers that many in the field “oppose human composting as lacking the traditional dignity afforded to the dead.”

Call me a cynic, but could it be that some in the funeral home industry don’t like this idea because it limits their ability to upsell grieving loved ones on expensive caskets, vaults and burial plots?

* Sen. Mike Simmons…

To encourage cooperative housing developments, State Senator Mike Simmons advanced a measure out of the Senate on Thursday.

“Many communities across Illinois are experiencing a severe shortage of affordable housing,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “Cooperative housing models help to fill that gap by providing lower-income individuals access to long-term permanent housing.”

Senate Bill 1484 creates the Cooperative Housing Fund, which would be used by the Illinois Housing Development Authority to award up to $5 million 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 entities own 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.

* Senate Majority Leader Lightford’s SB16 passed the Senate yesterday…

Building upon her steadfast leadership to take a more holistic, trauma-informed approach in schools, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford passed a measure to equip schools with the training and resources they need to meet the diverse trauma and mental health needs of students. […]

Schools across the state would be equipped with training and resources to meet the diverse trauma and mental health needs of students, under Lightford’s measure. The Illinois State Board of Education would create a Children’s Adversity Index, which would measure community childhood trauma exposure across the population of children 3-18 years old by May 31, 2025.

ISBE, under the bill, would create a committee to make recommendations amending education licensing requirements to include training on adverse childhood experiences, trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and creating trauma-responsive learning environments and/or communities.

* Naperville Sun…

The Illinois House has approved a measure sponsored by state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, of Naperville, that would allow the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office to deny grant funding to public and school libraries if they ban books or fail to devise policies against removing titles from their stacks.

The 69-39 party-line vote in the Democratic-led House reflected the partisan divide on the book-banning issue both in the state and nationally. The bill is now being considered by the Senate. […]

Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin called the bill “a complete go-around and end-around on the local control and authority” of elected library boards.

“I think it’s (a) very blatant attempt to strong-arm our local communities and how they want to direct their libraries to operate and function,” said McLaughlin, of Barrington Hills. “I don’t understand why we have local elections anymore if a bill like this passes.”

Moments before the bill passed, Stava-Murray called the “local control” argument “disgusting,” saying it is “a dog whistle for allowing statewide or nationwide racist or bigoted policies to persist.”

* Sen. Ann Gillespie…

To further prevent discrimination while looking for a place to live, State Senator Ann Gillespie passed legislation out of the Senate on Thursday that prohibits the consideration of immigration status during a real estate transaction.

“Those looking to rent or purchase property in Illinois should not be treated differently because of their immigration status,” said Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights). “Putting these protections in place will promote fairness to ensure people are not unjustly denied housing.”

Senate Bill 1817 amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to provide that it is a civil rights violation to consider immigration status when renting or selling property, including a refusal to engage in a transaction, receive or transmit offers, or negotiate terms of a deal. It would also prohibit a third party loan modification service provider from refusing to engage in loan modification services or altering the terms of such services based on a person’s immigration status. Inquiry or use of immigration status would still be allowed when required by either state or federal law. […]

The measure will now move to the House for consideration.