It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* The Senate Transportation Committee is holding subject matter hearing on transit bills SB 5 and SB 1938…
Click here to watch.
* House GOP…
Assistant Minority Leader CD Davidsmeyer (Murrayville) and State Representatives Jennifer Sanalitro (Hanover Park) and Bill Hauter (Morton).
What: House Republican members will discuss Democrats’ bad bills and misplaced priorities amid the ongoing challenges the State of Illinois faces.
When: 3:00pm on Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Where: Capitol Blueroom, Springfield
* Sportsmen Alliance…
Tuesday, March 11, the House Sales Tax Subcommittee is scheduled to hear a bill to add an additional “sin” tax on firearms and firearm component parts. A “sin” tax is levied on specific goods believed to be harmful to society and gun-control advocates are not shy about blaming sportsmen and gun owners for the state’s violent crime issues.
If passed by the subcommittee, it could be heard by the full House Revenue & Finance committee the same day. If not, it is already scheduled for Thursday, March 13.
House Bill 1177 imposes an additional 3.75% surcharge tax on purchase of each firearm and each firearm component part.
* Farm Week Now…
Senate Bill 2160, sponsored by state Sen. Patrick J. Joyce, D-Kankakee, would give landowners more tools to manage deer populations on their farms, encourage hunters to pursue more antlerless deer during regular hunting seasons and expand venison donations to Illinois food banks.
The legislation was officially introduced at the end of February but has been a continual initiative of Illinois Farm Bureau following reports of escalating crop damage from IFB members.
“Everything in Senate bill 2160 is a direct reflection of issues that members brought up at meetings or even the solutions that they brought with them,” said IFB Assistant Director of State Legislation Anna McKinley, explaining that this legislation reflects the grassroots efforts of county Farm Bureaus contacting their legislators and organizing deer informational meetings.
One major issue heard from farmers and landowners was the Deer Removal Permit (DRP) process. McKinley told FarmWeek long and varying wait periods to get ahold of a wildlife biologist can be frustrating.
* Advantage News…
House Bill 1616 amends the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act to allow both full time and part-time employees to use up to 10 days of leave within a 12-month period for organ donation.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, requires employers to calculate and compensate part-time employees for organ donation leave based on their daily average pay from the previous two months of employment. […]
Hoffman explained the mandate would apply to businesses with 51 or more employees and that the part-time employee would have to be employed for at least six months in order to receive the benefit. […]
The bill passed out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee 18 to nine and can now be considered on the House floor.
* The Illinois Family Institute’s list of opposed bills…
HB 1708 – Illinois State Representative Kam Buckner (D): The horrible bill allows election authorities to print/mail “Special Write-in Vote by Mail Voter’s Blank Ballots” if they run out of regular mail-in-ballots for a federal election. It also creates a new method of voting – ranked choice voting – where voters rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third, and so on, instead of casting one vote for one candidate. Write-in candidates would not be allowed. Vote tallying would proceed in rounds until a candidate receives the majority. All candidates would appear on a primary ballot and with ranked choice voting, two candidates from the same party could go on to the general election. Regular mail-in-ballots and ranked choice ballots would both be mailed to a voter. This is a ridiculous bill that greatly endangers our elections and opens the door to more fraud. *OPPOSE* Hearing in the House Ethics & Elections Committee, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 2:00 PM, Stratton Building, Room D-1. […]
HB 2493 – Illinois State Representative Nicole Grasse (D): Allows people to get married over a Zoom call. Gives a whole new concept to “shotgun” weddings. Hearing in the House Judiciary – Civil Committee, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, 8:00 AM, Room 114 Capitol Building. […]
HB 3049 – Illinois State Representative Tracy Katz Muhl (D): Damages the solemnization of marriage by allowing parties to marry themselves without an officiant. *OPPOSE* Hearing in the House Judiciary – Civil Committee, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, 8:00 AM, Room 114 Capitol Building.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 9:38 am:
HB 3049, it seems, eliminates the need for a witness’s signature. I think there is a risk of fraudulent marriages for financial gain. Without the witness signature, a notary or something might not be a bad idea.
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 9:57 am:
Unpopular opinion: I despise legislation that requires employers to give employees time off for taking part in specified activities, no matter how noble. It is just the State’s way of giving away a benefit and having someone else pay for it. And what about those who are self-employed or don’t have a job at all? Where is their benefit?
And how does the employer pay for it? Not only are they paying an employee who isn’t working, they also have to pay an employee to cover that work, frequently as overtime.
If the State wants to encourage certain behavior then the State should pay for it.
- ChicagoBars - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:02 am:
I very much enjoy Senate Transportation holding today’s hearing on the flailing CTA/Metra future in a building named after a Chicago Mayor who lost his job after botching a snowstorm response once.
- Jack in Chatham - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:23 am:
It appears the House Sales Tax subcommittee has confused alcohol with a constitutional right. Most violent crime is fueled by alcohol use.
The White-tailed Deer population is much too large by a factor of two to four. The Department of Natural Resources needs to present a plan for larger harvests over a handful of years to bring their numbers in line.
- Walter - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:32 am:
HGOP upset they have to defend the First Felon’s reckless policies…when are gas prices going down? lol.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:37 am:
===House Bill 1616 amends the Employee Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act===
I really am looking forward to the House GOP suggesting people will be donating kidneys just to get out of work, or that folks will be lining up out the door to donate bone marrow just to avoid work and spend all day playing video games.
- Perrid - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:41 am:
I just want to highlight the fact that GOP members oppose to organ donation bill because it’s too onerous for businesses. Instead, apparently, they want to make life harder for donors and sick people, instead of having business pay for a few days off for less than 500 people a year. Personally I think they need a transplant, since they obviously do not have a heart.
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:46 am:
Perrid - Why not have the State pay for this benefit by giving the employee a per diem for their volunteering efforts? Then volunteers who don’t have a job with a medium sized company will also get the benefit.
- Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 10:51 am:
” … an additional “sin” tax … .”
Public finance professor wryly remarked to the class a “sin” tax was something that could be implemented as a “user and / or remediation fee” … but was “unpopular” … .
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:00 am:
===It is just the State’s way of giving away a benefit and having someone else pay for it. And what about those who are self-employed or don’t have a job at all? Where is their benefit?
And how does the employer pay for it?===
The State has the authority to levy taxes. There is literally no benefit that the State provides that isn’t “paid for by someone else.” That’s sort of the core principle of having a government. It is the thing that all of us to together to help all of us.
We’ve done a poor job with creating a healthcare system that works for everyone and provides healthcare to everyone in this country and continue to fail to implement universal single payer. As a result of our weird healthcare system we look to our employers to provide health insurance so the employer is already in this role that Government is supposed to be doing for all of us.
Sick leave, vacation leave, and so forth, are all leaves that the employer is supposed to be paying. Other governments in other countries have done a much better job with making leave available for employees.
A company of 51 employees should be fine paying 2 weeks of wages for someone to donate an organ. This is the system we have. We have better options available, but this is the one we have. This is how we do it and I get it that in the 19th century it would be considered a crime against business owners to pay for an employee’s sick leave, but we kind of moved passed that.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:07 am:
==It appears the House Sales Tax subcommittee has confused alcohol with a constitutional right==
It’s a sales tax. Nobody is taking away your guns for crying out loud.
- Captain Obvious - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:09 am:
To farmers and motorists deer are rats with hooves. The population is way too large. Farmers should be permitted to take deer on their own property during growing season without having to wait to consult DNR.
- Occasionally Moderated - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:34 am:
It has been my experience farmers greatly overestimate the crop damage that deer cause and underestimate greatly the damage that turkeys and raccoons cause
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:37 am:
==If the State wants to encourage certain behavior then the State should pay for it.==
Or maybe businesses should do the right thing. If businesses would do the right thing there wouldn’t be an need for such legislation.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:53 am:
== It’s a sales tax. Nobody is taking away your guns for crying out loud. ==
No. It’s currently only 3.75%. That will add about $20 - $40 to a typical pistol or rifle purchase. Not a large amount for most people.
However, that is not the point. The typical sin tax on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, etc. does not affect a product tied to a constitutional right. That is one of the several grounds that the FOID lawsuit, which continues to grind through the courts, raises … the need to pay an extra fee to exercise a right guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
If this bill is passed, I fully expect it will also be challenged the courts. I wouldn’t count on seeing any revenue from it for a number of years, if ever.
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 11:53 am:
=== This is the system we have. ===
What I hear is an acknowledgment that we have a bad system and that my complaint isn’t without merit, but politicians don’t have the political will to enact something better. Politicians hate to raise taxes, but yet love to spend money, so they create a system where they spend other people’s money and pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
- Give Us Barabbas - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 12:04 pm:
Ranked choice voting is interesting and might help break down the two party system so I would like to see it developed in Illinois.
- Jerry - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 12:20 pm:
Well done @chicagobars!
- BE - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 12:38 pm:
I wish more time was given to folks that donate platelets. That takes much longer than blood donation (about a half hour or so for blood, while 2+ hours for platelets) and can be needed more, as platelets cannot be stored for as long as whole blood can. And it’s not like there are platelet drives at work…
- Tax & Spend - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 12:44 pm:
Already buy firearms and ammunition in Missouri.
- Notorious JMB - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 12:45 pm:
Agree with RNUG. Gun and ammo tax will be challenged. Looks like the funds are going to mass transit and local municipalities but not earmarked specifically for law enforcement, violence prevention programs, etc. If they want to implement a user fee to counter gun violence, use court fees.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 12:53 pm:
Re: the gun tax… My understanding is the state can tax pretty much anything it wants, so a surcharge on sales tax for guns seems legit.
- Huh? - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 1:12 pm:
“House Republican members will discuss Democrats’ bad bills and misplaced priorities”
Their bills and priorities are bad, our’s are good. We want Illinois government to be doged.
- H-W - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 1:27 pm:
=== the need to pay an extra fee to exercise a right guaranteed in the Bill of Rights ===
Tell that to the accused who must pay for a lawyer.
=== However, that is not the point. ===
Exactly. The point is, you do not want to be inconvenienced for the ability to experience your rights of citizenship. That is not how freedom works, right?
- Just Another Anon - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 1:32 pm:
Its a bit funny that they are calling it a “sin” tax. Afterall, sin is a translation of the hebrew word “Cheit” and the Greek word “Hamartia” which both in literal terms mean “to miss the mark”. Perhaps a tax on errant ammunition or a fee for inaccurate shooters would be a bit more appropos.
- Elmer Keith - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 1:46 pm:
“…to add an additional “sin” tax on firearms and firearm component parts.” The language about “component parts” could get pricey. Pretty broad non-definition.
Will Todd Vandermyde chime in on this, or is he just the lobbyist for Jack Daniels distillery now?
- Just a Random Guy - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 1:48 pm:
==Tell that to the accused who must pay for a lawyer==
Huh? The “Right to counsel” means a defendant has a legal right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant’s legal expenses.
- Remember the Alamo II - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 1:59 pm:
=== Ranked choice voting is interesting and might help break down the two party system so I would like to see it developed in Illinois. ===
How would it break down the two party system in Illinois?
- H-W - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 2:18 pm:
@ Just a Random Guy
The right to be appointed a lawyer because you cannot afford to buy one is not the equivalence of being able to purchase a very good law firm.
Appointed lawyers are paid horribly by the state, and are quite often predisposed to get a plea deal, rather than fight vigorous and by all means necessary to get the case dismissed.
But surely you know this. The right is something that is purchased. Those who cannot afford to purchase are not the equals of those who can afford to purchase representation. The data are overwhelming on class-based inequalities before the law. It’s called, differential justice.
- @misterjayem - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 2:46 pm:
“How would [ranked choice voting] break down the two party system in Illinois?”
The proposal would have every candidate compete in the same non-partisan primary with the two highest vote-getters (regardless of their party affiliations) facing off in the general election.
– MrJM
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 2:53 pm:
Welp. I’ll try this again.
Why should I care whether someone gets married via Zoom? Or whether they perform their own ceremony? As long as they sign the required paperwork I’m not seeing where any of this should be my business.
- Remember the Alamo II - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 2:55 pm:
=== The proposal would have every candidate compete in the same non-partisan primary with the two highest vote-getters (regardless of their party affiliations) facing off in the general election. ===
But that doesn’t explain how the two party system will be broken down. Nothing about RCV changes the fact that the vast majority of people (if not all) elected through a ranked choice system would be either a Republican or a Democrat. Do you disagree?
- H-W - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 3:00 pm:
@ Demoralized
Its in the story above. You should care because as the opponents say, allowing Zoom “damages the solemnization of marriage.” Its about the solemn vows, not the legal vows. Remember the Family Institutes opposition to same-sex marriage? It’s the same solemn thingy. /s
- Stephanie Kollmann - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 3:50 pm:
An organization concerned about marriage coercion would be more concerned with ending child marriage (HB1744) than adults being on zoom.
If IFI has supported any of those bills over the years, I haven’t heard about it.
- low level - Tuesday, Mar 11, 25 @ 9:01 pm:
I guess the Illinois “Family” Institute doesn’t realize that ranked choice voting allowed Republicans in Alaska to defeat the Democratic congresswoman last year. Hey fellas - try Google if you are uncertain next time.