* AP…

[Rep. Kelly Cassidy] is determined to keep pushing legislation in Illinois. She intends to bring back bills she sponsored this year to reform the Illinois Prison Review Board system — so that survivors can submit statements and that the board can provide video of the deliberations on its website.

The board came under fire when, earlier this year, it released a convicted domestic abuser who then attacked a pregnant woman with a knife and fatally stabbed her 11-year-old son in Chicago.

Cassidy’s bill — which had bipartisan support — also would mandate that the board notify people if their abuser is about to have a hearing and improve its protocol so people are immediately alerted when their abuser is released. This year, the legislation failed to get final approval before the state’s budget was finalized, but Cassidy is hopeful about getting it passed next session.

Her legislative to-do list also includes creating a fund for survivors to get to safety when that release alert comes through. Cassidy’s vision is to work with state agencies to establish a grant for people to use on temporary housing, transportation and moving expenses.

* WGEM…

Illinois lawmakers are renewing their calls to pass legislation increasing penalties for people who hurt workers at two state agencies, the Department of Children and Family Services and Department on Aging.

The push comes as a Sangamon County jury found Benjamin Reed guilty Thursday of the 2022 fatal stabbing of DCFS social worker Deidre Silas. […]

[House Minority Leader Tony McCombie] is sponsoring both HB1460 and HB1461, which would increase penalties for people who harm DCFS and Department on Aging workers. She believes state law should treat them similar to other first responders. […]

The bills would make harming a DCFS worker or Department on Aging Adult Protective Services worker a class-two felony. It’s currently a class-three felony. The bill would make it a class-one felony if the assault caused great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement. […]

Despite having received bipartisan support, the bills have not received a hearing during the 2023-24 general assembly.

* Rep. Sonya Harper filed HB5864…

Creates the Remedy to Remove Unauthorized Persons from Residential Real Property Act. Authorizes a property owner or authorized agent to request the sheriff for the immediate removal of a person or persons unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling. Creates a statutory form for the property owner to complete to give to the sheriff to use the provisions of the Act. Provides that if the sheriff verifies the information in the form, the sheriff must serve a notice on the unlawful occupant to vacate the dwelling. Authorizes the sheriff, if appropriate, to arrest any person for trespass, outstanding warrants, or any other legal cause. Authorizes the property owner to request the sheriff to remain on the premises to keep the peace while the locks are changed or the personal property of the unlawful occupant is removed. Authorizes the sheriff to charge a reasonable hourly rate to do so. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits a Class 4 felony if he or she lists or advertises residential real property for sale knowing that the purported seller has no legal title or authority to sell the property, or rents or leases the property to another person knowing that he or she has no lawful ownership in the property or leasehold interest in the property.

* Green Queen…

Two months after Florida’s ban on cultivated meat came into effect, and a month before one goes live in Alabama, Illinois has joined a number of other states to try and outlaw these proteins.

House Representative Chris Miller, a third-generation cattle farmer, has introduced HB 5872, a bill to make the sale, manufacture or distribution of cultivated meat a Class C misdemeanour.

It means that if you sell cultivated meat, you’ll be treated the same way as you would if you possessed less than 2.5g of marijuana, assaulted someone, or left a firearm in your house that could easily be accessed by a minor. The penalty can result in 30 days of jail time, and/or $1,500 in fines. […]

Miller’s bill, which hasn’t been referred to any of the committees yet, calls cultivated meat “a threat to the health, safety, and welfare” of Illinois residents.

A press release on the Representative’s website explains that HB 5872 was introduced as a response to “growing concerns from the notion of replacing real meat with laboratories”, and argued that it would protect “individual’s health, farmland, and agricultural products”.

* Rep. Kevin Olickal filed HB5871 last month…

Creates the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act. Provides that in setting the amount of rent to be charged to a tenant for the occupancy of a residential premises, including determining any change in the amount of rent to be charged for the renewed occupancy of a residential premises, a landlord shall not employ, use, or rely upon, or cause another person to employ, use, or rely upon, an algorithmic device that uses, incorporates, or was trained with nonpublic competitor data. Defines “algorithmic device” to mean a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. Provides that this definition does not include (i) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (ii) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a corresponding change. Provides that any person who violates the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

* HB5868 was filed by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford last week…

Amends the Secretary of State Act. Provides that the Secretary of State shall create an Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services to connect faith-based community organizations with grant opportunities, as well as provide assistance in completing grant applications. Provides that the Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services shall promote collaboration and unity among diverse groups, foster interfaith dialogue and interagency collaboration to offer comprehensive support services, ensure equitable distribution of resources across various community groups to support their missions and projects, leverage faith-based properties to increase housing opportunities, and develop guides on mental health, grant application processes, housing initiatives, and creating sensory-friendly spaces for the faith community. Provides that the Secretary of State shall appoint an Interfaith Advisory Council to advise the Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services and collaborate with religious communities in this State.