* SJ-R…

Meta is threatening to terminate news availability on Facebook and Instagram in Illinois as state lawmakers contemplate legislation forcing online platforms to pay publishers for using their content.

Senate Bill 3591, known as the Journalism Preservation Act, would require platforms such as Meta and Google to share advertising revenue with eligible online news outlets. Jamie Radice, a Meta spokesperson, told The State Journal-Register passage of the bill would force their hand.

“If faced with legislation that requires us to pay for news content that publishers voluntarily post on our platforms and is not the reason most people come to Facebook and Instagram, we will be forced to make the same business decision that we made in Canada to end the availability of news in Illinois,” Radice said in a statement.

Negotiations are admittedly early, bill sponsor and state Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, said during a Senate Executive Committee subject matter hearing last week. Given a challenging climate for newsrooms nationwide and locally, he urged lawmakers to get behind his legislation.

* Sen. Laura Ellman…

State Senator Laura Ellman advanced legislation that would target critical water issues and make appropriate recommendations to ensure the quality of local water resources.

“Water is a vital natural resource – we need to continue treating our local rivers, lakes and streams with care,” said Ellman (D-Naperville). “This measure will ensure recommendations from the State Water Plan Task Force are implemented in a sensible and timely manner.”

Senate Bill 2743 would require the State Water Plan Task Force to address water issues and reevaluate environmental needs by assisting state and local authorities in the implementation of recommended plans. The measure would also require the task force to publish a State Water Plan at least once every 10 years, meet once per quarter each calendar year. […]

Senate Bill 2743 passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee last Thursday and heads to the full Senate for consideration.

* Sen. Sara Feigenholtz…

State Senator Sara Feigenholtz passed Senate Bill 3679 — a bill three years in the making — out of the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday with bipartisan support, meaning Illinois could soon join 45 states with permissive language to establish Business Improvement Districts. […]

Senate Bill 3679 sets the foundation for businesses to form a BID and collectively fund improvement projects. Business owners would have direct oversight on how the funds are utilized for projects within the district. BIDs only apply to commercial properties, meaning homeowners and residential properties would not pay any additional fees.

BIDs provide a nimble economic development tool modeled on self-governance. It carves a path for participating businesses to be empowered to address shared goals for their BID’s unique needs.

A BID’s governing board can adjust how the BID is designed to ensure each business shares burdens and benefits equitably. Projects funded by BIDs can include crime reduction, community beautification, job creation and more — all of which will attract new businesses and fill empty retail space. […]

* WAND…

Independent pharmacies are pushing for state legislation to be passed to put tighter controls on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) while creating greater choice for patients filling their prescriptions.

Two bills in the Illinois legislature are being considered which pharmacists hope pass in the current spring legislative session. HB4548 and SB2790. […]

Among the main points:

- Assuring Patient Choice – prohibiting PBMs from directly or indirectly forcing patients toward their own mail order pharmacies.

- Allowing patients to be able to chose their pharmacies without being forced to use a pharmacy owned by a PBM.

- Requiring PBMs to provide data and information to the Department of Insurance to ensure open transparency on how patient, plan sponsor, and taxpayer monies are distributed through the claim process.

* Journal & Topics…

State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th), who filed a bill in the Illinois Senate to legislatively dissolve the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District (EGRFPD), said Thursday that the bill is on hold pending the results of a referendum question on the March 19 ballot. […]

Those bills join a referendum question to dissolve the district on the Tuesday, March 19 Primary Election ballot placed by a Cook County judge after a petition was filed by attorneys for the fire district. A hearing with that judge is scheduled for next month after the election.

Mount Prospect village officials are in the process of distributing a “fact sheet” to residents of unincorporated Elk Grove Township informing them about the recent history of the district — including the fact that it is no longer operating. […]

The Elk Grove Township Fire Dept., overseen by EGRFPD trustees, ceased operations on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, with little public notice to neighboring area fire departments or the public, as the district was quickly running out of money to operate because of annexations by neighboring municipalities.

* Capitol News Illinois…

The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony Thursday on two bills that seek to make Illinois-grown food more accessible to the state’s consumers.

Senate Bill 3077, by Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, would establish a $2 million per-year grant program within the Illinois Department of Agriculture to help fund projects to enhance local food processing, aggregation and distribution within the state. Those could include projects such as food hubs, canneries, mills, livestock processing and other kinds of infrastructure that help move food from a farm to communities.

“And this is important because while we have some of the best farmland in the world, we don’t actually have the infrastructure in place to feed ourselves,”said Molly Pickering, deputy director of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. “Ninety-five percent of the food that we eat here in Illinois is imported from out of state. That means every dollar that anyone spends on food is not going into our local communities. It’s being exported.”

Senate Bill 3219, by Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, would establish another kind of grant program through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to help fund equipment upgrades at farmer-owned grocery stores. […]

Both bills advanced out of the Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday and could be taken up soon by the full Senate.