* ProPublica…

Citing an urgency to protect students’ civil rights in a second Trump administration, Illinois lawmakers filed a new bill Monday that would explicitly prevent school police from ticketing and fining students for misbehavior.

The legislation for the first time also would require districts to track police activity at schools and disclose it to the state — data collection made more pressing as federal authorities have signaled they will deemphasize their role in civil rights enforcement. […]

The bill introduced Monday in the Illinois House takes a new approach to end police ticketing at schools by making clear that police can arrest students for crimes or violence but that they cannot ticket students for violating local ordinances prohibiting a range of infractions, including vaping, disorderly conduct, truancy and other behavior. […]

Several advocacy groups, which have been drafting the legislation along with the Illinois State Board of Education, say there is new energy behind the stronger, more precise version of legislation that they unsuccessfully pushed in the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions.

* Illinois CPA Society…

As the accounting profession adapts to pipeline issues, shifting demographics, and changing standards, the current certified public accountant (CPA) licensure framework must also evolve, says the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS), one of the largest state associations serving the CPA community.

Currently, the Illinois Public Accounting Act and Uniform Accountancy Act require Illinois CPA candidates to pass all portions of the CPA exam, complete 150 credit hours of qualifying education, and gain one year of relevant work experience to become licensed in the state—a structure that’s been in place since 2001. ICPAS believes this structure no longer supports the profession’s current and future workforce needs given the ongoing talent shortage and growing need for CPAs to serve the business community and protect public interests.

For more than a year, ICPAS has been reviewing licensure pathway proposals and exploring options to eliminate unnecessary barriers to entry into the CPA profession. Most notably, the time and costs required to become a CPA have been under increasing scrutiny. ICPAS worked closely with the Illinois Board of Examiners and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to draft legislation to evolve the state’s CPA licensure model to better meet the profession’s workforce demands.

Today, ICPAS is incredibly pleased to have Reps. Natalie Manley, CPA (D-Joliet), and Amy Elik, CPA (R-Edwardsville), sign on to introduce House Bill (HB) 2459, which amends the Illinois Public Accounting Act to create two additional pathways to CPA licensure in Illinois and enhance CPA practice privilege mobility. These new pathways include:

- Obtaining a bachelor’s degree with 120 credit hours of qualifying education (including a concentration in accounting), completing at least two years of relevant work experience, and passing the CPA exam.
- Obtaining a master’s degree, obtaining a bachelor’s degree with 30 hours of concentration in accounting, completing at least one year of relevant work experience, and passing the CPA exam.

“To be clear, HB 2459 will not alter the state’s existing route to licensure. Instead, this legislation establishes two additional pathways to obtain a CPA license in Illinois,” explains ICPAS President and CEO Geoffrey Brown, CAE. “Similar new pathways to licensure are also being explored or pursued legislatively in many of our neighboring states, including Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin.”

HB 2459 also establishes new requirements for out-of-state CPAs regarding practice privilege mobility. The bill ensures that out-of-state CPAs can continue to serve clients in Illinois without having to obtain an Illinois license if their issuing state’s licensure requirements are equivalent to Illinois’. The bill also ensures Illinois CPAs will have the same practice privileges outside of the state. Though the existing mobility structure is going to change nationwide, Illinois’ alignment with a significant number of states will greatly diminish any threats to Illinois-licensed CPAs’ practice privileges and keep Illinois CPAs at the forefront of the national business landscape.

* Rep. Maura Hirschauer filed this legislation yesterday…

You can read more about the Illinois Supreme Court ruling by clicking here.

* WAND…

Small businesses and contractors often struggle with delayed payments and limited job growth due to state retainage policies. Lawmakers could pass a plan this spring to end the practice of withholding payments for contractors and adopt federal standards for project payment.

“Many of these contractors are fulfilling 100% of their work,” said Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago). “Yet, they’re having 10% of their contracts withheld for months and sometimes years. Imagine doing all the work, finishing the job, and not getting paid fully.” […]

“This is not removing any responsibility from any contractor to fulfill their obligation,” said Rep. Will Davis (D-East Hazel Crest). “When they sign and take on the responsibility of doing their part on a contract, they’re doing that work and they should be paid accordingly.” […]

Senate Bill 74 has been assigned to the Senate Executive Committee. Senators could discuss the plan when they return to Springfield this week. Identical legislation, House Bill 1224, is currently in the House Rules Committee.

* HB2435 from Rep. Michael Crawford…

Amends the Telephone Solicitations Act. Provides that no person shall solicit the sale of goods or services in the State through automatic dialing, the use of an auto dialer, or the use of a computer program designed to mimic a human operator, unless the person being contacted has expressly consented to be contacted in this manner. Provides that, if a person has previously consented to be contacted in the manner otherwise prohibited, the consent shall only be valid for a period of one year and the person shall be allowed to withdraw that consent at any time in the same manner that the consent was given. Provides that a person to whom consent has been given shall not sell, give, transfer, or assign that consent to another person. Provides for exemptions to the provision. Provides that any customer who is subject to a violation of the provision may bring an action for damages of $500 per violation, plus costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. Makes a change to the definition of “emergency telephone number”.

* WSPY…

Aurora State Senator Linda Holmes says her office is working on bills for the spring legislative session now underway in Springfield.

Among them is a bill to ban the practice of declawing cats.

"We're in the process right now of filing, so I'm not sure what all is going to actually come out. I do have one that has been another somewhat of a topic that generates some interest, which is the one to prohibit the ability to de-claw cats," Holmes said. “That one has been introduced couple of times but I think we're closer to it. And so many veterinarians nowadays won't even allow you to have the option to declaw cats”

Rep. Joe Sosnowski filed HB2515…

Amends the Township Code. Provides that all townships with a population less than 500 are dissolved 2 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides for the transfer of real and personal property, and any other assets, together with all personnel, contractual obligations, and liabilities of the dissolving township to the county containing the geographic boundaries of the dissolving township. Provides that, on and after the date of dissolution, all rights and duties of the dissolved township may be exercised by the county containing the geographic boundaries of the dissolving township solely on behalf of the residents of the geographic area within the boundaries of the dissolved township. Provides that the county board of the county containing the geographic boundaries of the dissolving township may levy a property tax within the boundaries of the dissolved township for the duties taken on by the county containing the geographic boundaries of the dissolving township. Provides that all road districts wholly within the boundaries of a dissolving township are dissolved on the date of dissolution of the dissolving township and the powers and responsibilities of the road district are transferred to the county containing the geographic boundaries of the dissolving township, and provides that municipalities within the dissolving township may elect to assume the duties and responsibilities of the road district or road districts. Provides that elected and appointed township officers and road commissioners shall cease to hold office on the date of dissolution of the township and road districts, no longer be compensated, and do not have legal recourse relating to the ceasing of their elected or appointed positions upon the ceasing of their offices. Amends the Motor Fuel Tax Law and Counties Code making conforming changes. Effective immediately.