* Capitol News Illinois…

An Illinois Senate committee advanced a bill on Tuesday that would strictly limit police’s ability to search a vehicle after smelling cannabis.

The Senate Criminal Law Committee voted 7-3 to advance Senate Bill 42, which would eliminate the requirement that cannabis be transported in vehicles in an odor-proof container. It would also prohibit police from searching a vehicle based only on the odor of burnt or raw cannabis if the occupants are at least 21 years old.

The bill comes after the Illinois Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings last year. The court ruled in September that the smell of burnt cannabis did not give police probable cause to search a vehicle, but three months later ruled the smell of raw cannabis was probable cause for a search.

“This sets up a contradictory situation for law enforcement,” bill sponsor Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, told the committee.

Alexandra Block, director of the Criminal Legal System and Policing Project at the ACLU of Illinois…

The General Assembly has an opportunity to clear up unnecessary confusion by adopting Senate Bill 42. It is highly unlikely that an officer, standing alongside a busy highway or city street, is able to distinguish between the odors of burnt and raw cannabis.

Drivers and passengers are legally able to possess cannabis in our state. This confusion over the odor of cannabis should not be a trigger for officers to continue to harass and delay motorists with intrusive searches. These stops and searches are targeted disproportionately against drivers of color in Illinois. We encourage the legislature to clear up this confusion by adopting the very simple language contained in the bill and Amendment #1.

* Common Cause Illinois…

Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill to preserve American self-government by closing a significant loophole that allows foreign-influenced corporations to spend money to influence Illinois elections.

The legislation, introduced in the House by Representative Amy Briel (HB3071), would prohibit corporations from spending money in Illinois elections if a single foreign investor holds more than 1 percent ownership or more than 5 percent ownership is held by an aggregate of foreign investors. It is similar to legislation that passed and is in effect in Seattle and San Jose and that is pending in several other states.

“This bill is a critical step toward protecting our democracy by ensuring that elections represent the voices of Illinois residents — not the deep pockets of foreign actors and interests. By closing this loophole, we’re preserving the integrity of our elections and standing up for transparency and fairness in the democratic process,” said state Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel.

“Illinois legislators have an opportunity to close the loophole that has allowed foreign-owned corporations to influence our elections. We are proud to support this innovative and important piece of legislation and we are grateful to Representative Briel for her leadership,” said Elizabeth Grossman, Executive Director of Common Cause Illinois.

“We commend Representative Briel for introducing this bold reform. It’s time for Illinois state law to stop multinational corporations from allowing foreign entities to do, either directly or indirectly, what they are barred from doing as foreign governments or individuals: spending money in US elections,” said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Campaign Director of Free Speech For People.

Across the country, companies with significant foreign ownership, like Amazon, Chevron, and Uber, have used their money to influence the outcome of elections and political agendas in their favor. While federal law prohibits foreign actors—including individuals, governments, and businesses—from spending any money directly or indirectly to influence federal, state, or local elections, the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission created a loophole for foreign interests to acquire stakes in U.S. corporations and then use that leverage to influence or control the corporation’s political activity, including campaign contributions, contributions to super PACs, and independent expenditures.

But though Citizens United created this loophole, nothing in that decision prohibits lawmakers from closing it. Citizens United held that a corporation is an “association of citizens,” and that First Amendment rights held by citizens individually therefore flow to the association. But under the theory of Citizens United, a foreign-influenced corporation is an association of citizens and foreign actors. And with regard to political spending, the First Amendment rights held by citizens do not flow to foreign actors.

This became clear in Bluman v. Federal Election Commission, a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, authored by now-Justice Kavanaugh while he was a circuit judge. Bluman, which the Supreme Court affirmed, held that political contributions and independent expenditures are “part of the overall process of democratic self-government” that the United States has a compelling interest in protecting democratic self-government by placing a complete ban on foreign actors spending any money to influence U.S. elections.

* SB1331 from Sen. Doris Turner passed through the Senate Higher Education Committee this morning…

Creates the Scholarship Accessibility Act. Establishes the Illinois Scholarship Database, to be developed, implemented, and administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, as a utility to improve Illinois students’ access to higher education scholarships, as well as to improve their knowledge of scholarships. Provides that to inform students and their parents on what scholarships are and how they are attained and maintained: (1) beginning in the 7th grade, a public school shall inform students of the Database and shall require them to create an account with the Database; (2) the account shall be created jointly by the student and the parent; and (3) both the student and the parent shall have access to the account and the ability to manage activity on the account. Provides that the Database shall allow the student to have and the student is required to complete a profile that: (1) presents a portfolio of the student and who the student is and the student’s current year of enrollment; and (2) lists any criminal charge that requires the student to be a part of a registry for a crime the student has committed, unless the student is legally protected under law or court order or another exigent circumstance. Requires the Database to include and display a comprehensive list of scholarships. Allows students 18 or older to be able to create an account with and have access to the Database.

* WAND…

A bill moving forward at the Illinois Capitol will allow agriculture courses to satisfy vocational education requirements for high school students.

Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) said students should be able to use their agricultural studies to fulfill graduation requirements. Her bill clarifies that agriculture education, business or any other ag-related course would meet the vocational requirement starting next school year.

“What is always encouraging to me as a teacher is the number of these students who take my class to fulfill those requirements but in the process discover their passion for the industry that feeds, clothes, and fuels us all,” said Liz Harris from the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers.

Senate Bill 1605 passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee Tuesday afternoon. The measure now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration.

* Sen. Sara Feigenholtz filed SB1559 earlier this month…

Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic study following the occurrence of any crash involving a pedestrian fatality that occurs at an intersection of a federal or municipal highway.

* Tri States Public Radio…

State Senator Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) believes that investing in education now will save the state money elsewhere in the long-term and should be a priority even when the state is facing fiscal challenges. […]

Halpin [the new chair of the Senate Committee on Education Appropriations] supports Senate Bill 13, which would create the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act. […]

The measure would establish a funding formula for the state’s public universities that is similar to the evidence-based funding formula for K-12 schools, which was approved in 2017.

The estimated cost of the proposal is $135-$150 million per year. The money would come out of the state’s general revenue fund.