* Patrick Keck…

The Illinois House of Representatives moved House Bill 3957 to the Senate on Wednesday, a bill blocking drug price gouging on off-patent and generic drugs.

Consideration was postponed on the bill during a third reading frenzy before the legislature’s spring break last month. Democrats adjourned that April 18 without having enough members to move it forward despite having a super-majority in the chamber.

Wednesday’s vote proved to be much less dramatic and advanced on a 84-25 bipartisan vote. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie and Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, joined Democrats in supporting the legislation.

Specifically, the bill from Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, permits the Director of Healthcare and Family Services or Director of Central Management Services to inform the Attorney General when a price increase for a drug is merited as price gouging. From there, the AG’s office could request a drug manufacturer to explain why they have increased the medication and potentially file subpoenas to a circuit court.

* Illinois Times…

The Illinois House has passed a bill to make it possible for noncitizen residents to receive a standard driver’s license. Currently, such persons may only obtain a Temporary Visitor Driver’s License, which may not be used as identification. As of May 1 the bill was awaiting a final vote in the Senate. The legislation would prohibit state authorities from delivering personal information, including immigration status, to federal officials when individuals apply for a standard driver’s license.

The bill would also eliminate the current requirement that noncitizens either possess an unexpired passport or be able to prove residency in the state for a year before taking the driving exam. Instead, otherwise valid identification that has expired within the past two years would now be accepted. Noncitizens could only receive a standard driver’s license, not the REAL ID license, which remains available only to citizens.

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, is opposed to the bill and says it improperly accommodates people who are in the country illegally. “The federal government is failing on the issue of immigration,” he said in an email to Illinois Times. “Meanwhile it’s costing the state of Illinois hundreds of millions of dollars in ‘free’ services for individuals who are here illegally.” Davidsmeyer says that the new license is an attempt to evade federal immigration laws. “I don’t believe that we should be rewarding individuals who are operating outside of [federal] law.” […]

Members of Springfield’s immigrant community expressed optimism about the new measure. They report that obtaining a Temporary Visitor Driver’s License under current law is so difficult that many do not take advantage of it. For instance, if an applicant does not have an unexpired passport, he must prove residency in Illinois for the past 12 months. Many recent arrivals live in shared accommodations where the lease and utilities are contracted in someone else’s name. This makes proving residency difficult. “I know a lot of people who would like to get a driver’s license, but they don’t have the right paperwork because nothing is in their name,” says Cristina.

* Press release…

A coalition of community developers, affordable housing advocates and tax policy experts led by The Chicago Community Trust today applauded the House Revenue Committee for passing legislation to reform Illinois’ delinquent property tax sale system that research shows will increase investment in historically disinvested communities across the state.

Senate Bill 1675 Amendment 1 reforms the Illinois Property Tax Sale system by closing loopholes that prevent blighted properties from redevelopment and allows local governments to intervene to save abandoned properties after only one failed delinquent tax sale rather than allow them to cycle through the tax sale system for years while the property deteriorates, requiring taxpayer-funded maintenance and eventually demolition. The measure is supported by cities with high concentrations of vacant properties across Illinois, including Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, Decatur and Kankakee.

These common-sense reforms would empower local governments to work with community developers and residents to restore vacant homes and return them to viable properties. In Cook County alone, an estimated 50,000 vacant or abandoned properties are concentrated in its Black and Latinx neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and West sides and in the south suburbs. […]

Under the current Illinois Property Tax Code, county treasurers are required to conduct an Annual Tax Sale at which private tax buyers — typically institutional investors such as hedge funds or out-of-state private tax buyers — can purchase tax debt and seek repayment from the property owners including interest up to 18%. Tax buyers are given up to three years to pay off the tax lien if an owner fails to repay the taxes.

However, a loophole in state law known as a “Sale in Error” allows tax buyers to ask a court for a full refund — plus interest — paid by local governments if the tax buyers don’t want to possess the deed to the distressed property after that three-year period. Under current law, tax buyers can claim a “Sale in Error” for any number of trivial reasons — if the property has a $100 municipal mowing lien on it, for example. […]

Senate Bill 1675 Amendment 1 would limit reasons a “Sale an Error” can be granted, for example, when there is an actual error in the legal description causing a tax buyer to bid on a parcel that doesn’t exist.

Importantly, the legislation would also stop abandoned properties from continually passing through the tax sale cycle while sitting vacant. The measure would allow county governments to intervene more quickly after only one failed delinquent tax sale and then work with land banks, community developers and local residents to rehabilitate the properties before the property deteriorates beyond the point of rehabilitation.

* Fox Chicago…

There is new hope for a revival of the Hotel Florence, with House Bill 779 continuing to make its way through the Illinois General Assembly.

HB0779 would provide $21 million in state funding to restore the once-opulent structure back to its former glory. Hotel Florence — named after George Pullman’s daughter — was built in 1881 as a 50-room hotel at the corner of 111th and Forrestville, complete with reading room, billiards room, bar, and restaurant. It sits within the footprint of the Pullman National Historic Park. […]

Quiroz used to spend time as a boy playing in the front yard when his mother was Hotel Florence’s head housekeeper. That was in the 1940s. But decades later, the hotel’s heyday is a distant memory. The building was barely saved from the wrecking ball in the 1970s, and despite efforts by the State of Illinois — which has owned it since the 1990s — to preserve parts of the structure, it has sat mostly empty for decades. […]

HB0779 has passed the state House and is now making its way through the Senate.

* Press release…

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford is leading a measure to require all schools in the state to provide an option of full-day kindergarten.

“Kindergarten is pivotal for children’s learning journey,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “Full-day kindergarten classes across the state will ensure equal access to early learning opportunities for all our families.”

Currently, it is optional for school districts to offer full-day kindergarten. Parents who live in districts without the option of full-day kindergarten are often faced with additional barriers to preparing their children for early elementary school. These barriers include, but are not limited to, mid-day transportation, loss of income due to being home with the child or finding additional childcare, and ensuring developmentally appropriate activities are being provided throughout the day. […]

House Bill 2396 passed in the Senate Education Committee and heads to full Senate for further consideration.

* Illinois Senate Democrats…

Opioid overdoses in Illinois alone increased 33% between 2019 and 2020 – a jarring statistic that has led members of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus to champion measures to tackle the epidemic.

“The ongoing opioid crisis deserves our full attention, and expanding access to overdose prevention supplies is a critical step in our efforts to prevent overdoses and save lives,” said State Senator Paul Faraci (D-Champaign).

Faraci is sponsoring a measure to expand access to overdose prevention supplies for providers enrolled in the Illinois Department of Human Service’s Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Division Drug Overdose Prevention Team. House Bill 1121 would increase access to fentanyl test strips and improve public health outcomes by preventing fatal overdose.

“All providers enrolled in the Drug Overdose Prevention Program must store testing supplies so that they are accessible only by authorized personnel, including other trained overdose responders,” said Faraci.

Fentanyl abuse is on the rise, leading State Senator Laura Ellman to sponsor House Bill 3924, which seeks to combat the risk of overdoses by requiring all high school students enrolled in a state-required health course to learn about the dangers of fentanyl and fentanyl contamination.

“I’m proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to increase access to naloxone and protect people seeking help for someone experiencing an overdose from being arrested, but our work to address this crisis is not over,” said Ellman (D-Naperville). “Educating people of all ages on the dangers of potential overdose is an effective way to save lives and combat overdoses long-term.”

To increase patron safety at concert venues State Senator Karina Villa is championing House Bill 1557. The measure would require for-profit music venues that have an occupancy of 1,000 or more to have opioid-overdose antidotes, such as naloxone, on hand and have staff members who are sufficiently trained in administrating it.

“People go to a music festival or concert to enjoy themselves — one bad decision should not cost them their life,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “Whether someone consumes a harmful substance on purpose or accidentally, this bill will save lives by expanding first aid in concert halls to include treating overdose.”

The Senators will work over the weeks leading up to the May 19 adjournment to pass the measures.