It’s just a bill
Thursday, Jan 30, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* IPM Newsroom…
In 2018, Joseph Dole was one of a group of students facing about 20 lawmakers. He didn’t have any public speaking experience, so he was a little nervous.
The students were in Stateville Correctional Center on life sentences. They had studied law journals and studies and formed teams, each arguing for the most effective way to bring parole back to Illinois. […]
Although the Illinois Department of Corrections canceled the class soon after the public debate, the students kept pushing their vision. They wrote House Bill 3373 (also known as Senate Bill 2129) for last year’s General Assembly and are introducing the bill again this year. […]
The state abolished its parole system in 1978. Prior to that, a board could let people out before completing their sentence.
“What we have now is a determinate sentencing scheme where you give people a fixed sentence. There’s no reviewing their progress throughout the sentence,” said fellow student, Raúl Dorado.
* Sun-Times…
For more than four years, a bill to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board has floated through the halls of Illinois’s Statehouse to no avail. […]
[Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine,] and state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, filed the bill in each of their chambers of the General Assembly. Their biggest challenge could be just getting the bill to the floor. […]
In sessions past, the bill failed to reach that threshold. This year’s version is the same as past years, but while its substance hasn’t changed, Syed says legislators’ opinions have.
“I believe, especially now more than ever, we have the ability to get more than enough members on board to get legislation like this across… coming off of election season, many of my colleagues have heard at the doors that people can’t afford groceries, they can’t afford to pay their mortgage and they can’t afford their prescription drugs,” she said.
* Center Square…
A sexual assault involving school kids in a small central Illinois community has prompted an Illinois lawmaker to take action.
State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he was shocked to find out that the student who committed the sexual assault was allowed to stay in class. […]
McClure introduced legislation that would require school districts to expel a student for at least one year for committing a sexual assault or sexual violence. He said many people have reached out to him after he presented the legislation. […]
Democratic lawmakers in Illinois have a long history of rejecting legislation that is considered a “penalty enhancement.” McClure said he doesn’t classify the bill as a penalty enhancement but a safety enhancement, and it is his hope that the offending student will go to an alternative learning center and get the treatment needed to get them on a better path.
* Rep. Kam Buckner filed HB1894 yesterday…
Amends the Election Code. Provides that a person is not prohibited from photographing his or her own ballot at any time during the voting process or from viewing a photograph of a completed or partially completed ballot. Provides that any person who gives, promises to give, or receives any money or other valuable consideration in connection with the dissemination or viewing of a photograph of a completed or partially completed ballot is guilty of a Class 4 felony. Effective immediately.
Illinois election code…
Except as permitted by this Code, any person who knowingly marks his ballot or casts his vote on a voting machine or voting device so that it can be observed by another person, and any person who knowingly observes another person lawfully marking a ballot or lawfully casting his vote on a voting machine or voting device, shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.
* Sen. Willie Preston…
Today, legislators and advocates gathered to announce the filing of Senate Bill 74 and House Bill 1224, landmark legislation to reform Illinois’ retainage policies.
“This legislation is about fairness and modernizing our laws to support Illinois contractors,” said State Senator Willie Preston (D-Chicago), chief sponsor of Senate Bill 74. “Our small businesses and workforce deserve payment practices that reflect the realities of today’s economy.”
The bills aim to end the practice of withholding payments from contractors across the board and instead adopt federal standards that impose retainage only when specific project issues arise. The bills would only apply to state agencies and public universities, not local governments or private developments.
Advocates called on lawmakers to support the legislation and act swiftly to pass it during the current session. “We urge lawmakers to recognize the urgency of this reform. Retainage policies affect thousands of workers and businesses across the state. The time to act is now,” said Jaemie Neely, Executive Director of the Federation of Women Contractors.
Advocates emphasized the detrimental effects of the current policy on contractors and small businesses, noting how delayed payments disrupt cash flow, limit job growth and threaten livelihoods.
“Retainage reform is a critical step toward fostering a healthier business environment in Illinois. Contractors should not have to wait for money they’ve rightfully earned,” said Jacky Gomez, Executive Director of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association.
By aligning Illinois’ policies with federal standards, the legislation aims to provide contractors with the financial flexibility they need to complete projects efficiently while ensuring accountability in construction practices.
* WAND…
Sen. Sally Turner (R-Lincoln) has reintroduced a bill to allow tiny homes to be exempt from a 2023 state law requiring all homes to be built with electric vehicle charging capacity.
Turner told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the well-intended law is actually a costly mandate for nonprofit organizations like the Central Illinois Veterans Commission.
“One of our most unique services in the CIVC is our tiny home projects we provide veterans with affordable permanent housing, and it’s tailored to their specific needs,” Turner said. “We have many of them that are handicapped and need that handicap accessibility.”
The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and now heads to the Senate floor. Senators unanimously approved the same bill last year, but the plan died in the House.
- Mallory - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 9:23 am:
i think Prescription Drug Affordability Boards exist in other states and have for many years. I wonder how they are doing and whether they have a successful track record? With all of the craziness in DC, the last thing we need is another layer of government that really doesn’t do a whole lot for Illinois residents.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 9:33 am:
Re: exempting tiny homes for veterans from charging stations.
“the well-intended law is actually a costly mandate for nonprofit organizations”
The law doesn’t require charging stations to be installed, it only requires the *capability* for an electric charging station to be installed near a driveway parking spot/garage with reasonable conditions.
I don’t see how this is adding a prohibitive cost to any construction, especially to the point it should be waived for any type of construction. At worst the law would require a 240V outlet/port to be available. That’s not meaningfully more expensive than a regular outside outlet. Even a regular 120V outlet near a parking spot would still meet the construction requirements. There’s no way anyone can provide any data that the cost of a single outlet is a prohibitive part of construction even on a tiny home.
This looks more like a republican attempt to crush EV infrastructure in any form it exists, and this was the lowest hanging fruit. Cloaking it under the guise of pretending to care about charities and veterans is being likely done to bring the democratic side onboard, because there isn’t any actual data to support this change, so feelings have to be used to make the argument instead.
- Donnie Elgin - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 9:44 am:
=The bills aim to end the practice of withholding payments from contractors across the board and instead adopt federal standards that impose retainage only when specific project issues arise=
Without retainage, the building owner/project manager has no leverage on the contract to ensure the project will be finished as agreed. silly that this legislation would apply to state agencies and public universities- that is public tax dollars that should have protections built in.
- Illiana - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 10:28 am:
=This looks more like a republican attempt to crush EV infrastructure in any form it exists, and this was the lowest hanging fruit=
Based on the testimony from the committee hearing, it appears that the exemption was requested by a specific nonprofit within the Senator’s district. So I don’t really think this bill is that deep.
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 10:36 am:
- Without retainage, the building owner/project manager has no leverage on the contract -
Try reading the bill, it doesn’t eliminate retainage.
- Stix Hix - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 10:42 am:
I agree with TheInvisibleMan in all his arguments in favor of providing EV charging capabilities in all new construction. I believe including it in tiny houses for veterans is actually doing them a favor, and one they have earned. I also believe people will be stunned at how quickly EVs take over. Think about the change from analog to digital television broadcast. It really went fast.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 10:49 am:
It would seem pretty difficult to establish the “knowingly” criterion in the election code bill. Who is the witness to establish that? How close would the witness need to be standing to the accused voter? Is this like Bush looking into Putin’s eyes and getting a sense of his soul??
- Donnie Elgin - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:12 am:
=Try reading the bill, it doesn’t eliminate retainage=
I did - retainage is a standard and binding part of any contract at the point of awarding the contract - the retainage 5% or 10% percent is not released until all punch list items have been fixed. Under this legislation, there would be no automatic retainage - rather an outside group would determine when retainage may be used - the problem with that is that oftentimes time problems are not noticed till very late in the project and most pay requests will have been already made.
“if a State agency determines that satisfactory progress has not been achieved by a contractor or subcontractor during any period for which a payment is to be made, a percentage of the payment may be retained by the State agency.”
- Give Us Barrabbas - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:26 am:
Trying to imagine what purpose people taking pictures of their own ballots serves. I don’t need to imagine the horror that could ensue if the secret ballot is evaded by legitimizing photographs of the ballots. The very next thing that comes from allowing the photo for fun or whatever, is an employer or cop or government official wanting to see who you voted for. I’m adamantly opposed, and everyone should be.
- We've never had one before - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:31 am:
OMG, an anti-EV agenda?
>>>> That’s not meaningfully more expensive than a regular outside outlet. Even a regular 120V outlet near a parking spot would still meet the construction requirements.
Then why have it as a mandate at all?
Why? Because it was on someone’s EV agenda, and the rest of the parade went along.
EVs are losers. Hydrogen will win the day.
- We've never had one before - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:33 am:
How can I sell (not sell, wink, wink) my vote if I can’t photograph my ballot?
- TJ - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:35 am:
I could be wrong, but it seems like the entire tiny homes fad was a thing that got more or less killed by COVID. That was something that was seemingly on the news and had shows about it everywhere, and then the 2020s roll along as this is honest the first time I’ve heard about tiny homes in who knows how long?
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:44 am:
- problems are not noticed till very late in the project and most pay requests will have been already made. -
That’s a project management failure. Plan the work and the pay schedule, keep track of progress. It’s not that difficult.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 11:49 am:
===entire tiny homes fad was a thing that got more or less killed by COVID===
More likely killed by common sense. Vertical is the way to go.
- Dan Johnson - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 12:00 pm:
The agency has a contract (often with liquidated damages), a pre-qualification process and often a bond to ensure performance. Striking out employers by holding onto their money for months at a time is dramatic overkill for the relatively few projects where contractors might not perform their contractual obligations. Works very well for the feds for decades to only retain for a reason.
The state agency / owner would determine when satisfactory progress has not been made, not an outside group. That’s project management.
- Donnie Elgin - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 12:14 pm:
= for the relatively few projects…for the relatively few projects where contractors might not perform their contractual obligations=
Collecting on a performance bond is a nightmare, having been involved in dozens of construction projects for public entities - more than half had had outstanding issues after substantial completion date - retainage got them out to fix the problem - payment delays were generally only one month rather than “months”. Lastly, why should our elected officials be on the side of connectors rather than on the side of taxpayers?
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 12:17 pm:
“entire tiny homes fad”
It has certainly changed a bit from its original origins.
Current building code in many areas is being changed to allow for more flexibility in creating ADU(accessory dwelling units) which in many cases would be commonly called a tiny home. Those are quickly gaining in popularity in many areas of the country, with Illinois not far behind.
As for;
“Hydrogen will win the day.”
Hydrogen for consumer vehicles is a pipe-dream imagined by oil companies and favored by city planners to soften the blow of losing all that existing gas station infrastructure. It’s an easy sell to those who don’t want to lose the status-quo in city planning of having to stop and spend money at a designated location for fuel, in contrast to the completely different model of EVs which can easily be charged at home overnight on a standard electrical outlet. Hydrogen for a vehicle also adds an additional and unnecessary energy conversion step, which lowers overall efficiency in the total energy supply chain.
Hydrogen would be a great stationary source of on-site clean energy generation for powering a steel mill or aluminum smelter. However, it is a terrible choice for a distributed transportation infrastructure.
“Then why have it as a mandate at all?”
For the same reason the law for new construction requires outlets to not be more than 6ft horizontally apart within a room in a house.
Because its cheaper and safer to allow for it at the start, than try to have someone shoehorn it into an existing build. The law requires an installation to be capable of providing EV charging. It does not require an EV charger to be installed when building. That means the law is no more complicated or more expensive than requiring an outlet. That’s it. The law requiring outlets along a wall to be closer than 6ft apart is more of a cost to these charities than adding a single EV capable outlet. If cost is really their concern, then they picked the wrong requirement to get a waiver for. Which makes me very much doubt cost is the motivation here.
- TJ - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 12:28 pm:
== More likely killed by common sense. ==
As someone that watched a lot of HGTV over the years, let me unequivocally say that common sense is something that a lot of those folks were very, very, very sorely missing.
My favorite will always be the person that wanted an old Victorian house completely untouched from the time it was built aside from simple upkeep, but kept getting upset that they couldn’t find such a house with an open concept floor plan.
- Lurker - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 1:02 pm:
@Barrababass, I realize that I only have heard this once but I would disallow for this reason. A guy in our neighborhood requires his wife to take a picture of the completed ballot to assure she voted as he instructed her (his words, not mine).
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 1:04 pm:
- retainage got them out to fix the problem -
Once again, the bill doesn’t eliminate retainage.
- Dan Johnson - Thursday, Jan 30, 25 @ 1:36 pm:
Mr Elgin,
Close-outs happen months (and years) after the first few months of major projects, so those subcontractors who dug the hole or delivered the supplies do in fact wait more than a year for their money.
Knowing this, what do you think that does to their bids? They are higher. And thus, taxpayers lose out when we impose retainage across the board for every single project, even when everything is going smoothly. Alll of these layers of extra protection and insurance (bonds to buy and retainage to float) are costly for everyone, especially taxpayers. If you’d like to lower construction costs in public works, this is one way to help do that.