* Capitol News Illinois…

While rank-and-file lawmakers awaited the budget details Friday, several other major, wide-ranging initiatives were filed in a similar last-minute fashion. That included an expansive cannabis regulatory bill, a change to Illinois’ strongest-in-the-nation biometric privacy law, a broad elections bill and an ethics proposal prohibiting political donations from red light camera companies among other reforms.

CANNABIS: A bill that aims to implement a variety of reforms to Illinois’ burgeoning cannabis industry would change dispensary operations and restrictions on craft growers. […]

The amended Senate Bill 1559, among other things, would increase canopy space for craft growers from 5,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet. It would also allow dispensaries to operate drive-thru windows and offer curbside pick-up services, making sure they prioritize medical patients.

BIOMETRIC PRIVACY: Business groups balked Friday after Democrats dropped a bill that would change Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, a first-of-its-kind law that allows individuals to sue companies over improper collection or storage of information such as fingerprints or facial scans. […]

Friday’s amendment to House Bill 3811 stipulates that “the same biometric identifier from the same person using the same method of collection has created a single violation,” but business groups said the language was too vague. They also assailed the proposed fine increase for negligent violations from $1,000 to $1,500 and decried the addition of another type of biometric data to the law – electronic signatures – as a giveaway to trial lawyers.

* SB281 passed through the GA on Friday in shell bill HB2862. The Labor Tribune…

The Illinois AFL-CIO and Chicago Workers Collaborative stood with legislators, advocates and workers on Latino Unity Day to urge the passage of the Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act (SB281).

“Passing the Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act is a crucial step to address the uptick we are seeing in workplace deaths among Black and Brown workers,” said Senator Robert Peters, the bill’s Senate sponsor. “We cannot continue to ignore the plight of these workers and their families. We must take action to ensure that they are protected from exploitation and unsafe working conditions.” […]

The Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act would support workers by improving safety standards, and mandating equal pay for equal work after a 60-day grace period. It creates a whistleblower right of action to allow worker advocates to bring enforcement actions against abusive employers. […]

The Illinois workforce includes 650,000 temp workers, 85 percent of whom are people of color. Data shows that temp workers are seriously injured at three times the rate of direct hire employees. Furthermore, these workers face high rates of wage theft and are paid, on average, $4 per hour less than their direct-hire colleagues doing the same or comparable work.

* Bloomberg…

Lawmakers are advancing pioneering legislation that would protect people traveling to Illinois seeking abortions from being tracked by out-of-state police.

The bill, approved by the Illinois Senate Friday night, would prohibit local police from sharing data collected by license plate readers with out-of-state law enforcement departments that seek to use it in abortion-related investigations.

An increasingly hostile abortion access landscape, combined with an explosion of law enforcement surveillance technology, has created new risks for pregnant people traveling to obtain abortions even in states where it is legal. Privacy advocates have warned that automated license plate readers (ALPRs) especially, which are used by traffic and law enforcement officials to identify law-breaking drivers, could be a powerful tool for investigators looking to track people’s movements into abortion-friendly jurisdictions. […]

Illinois’ legislation, which is now going back to the House for final adjustments before being sent to the governor, applies not only to law enforcement agencies, but to private businesses or even individuals that have access to license plate reader data.

* State Journal-Register…

Senate President Don Harmon introduced an amendment to House Bill 3062 earlier this week, which sets courtrooms in Sangamon and Cook counties as the only locations where actions alleging constitutional violation brought-on by legislation or executive orders can be heard.

Harmon, along with Gov. JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, have often been at the center of recent constitutional challenge lawsuits. The bill passed on a 37-16 vote and now returns to the House for a concurrence vote as part of next week’s extended session.

“These cases are all going to end up in Springfield or Chicago,” he said during floor debate Friday evening, referring to the Illinois Supreme Court’s presence in both cities. “It’s our judgment that it is best to simply, streamline that process and make sure these cases are all heard in an organized fashion.”

Spirited debate led by Senate Republicans claimed the bill would be unfair to many downstate communities due to the extended travel time needed to make it to these courtrooms.