* The Center Square…

The Illinois House Executive Committee has passed an amended version of nonprofit investment legislation that Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed last summer.

House Bill 5045 allows the state treasurer to set up an investment pool and electronic payment system for nonprofit organizations. […]

“I think we had the votes to override a veto, but we decided to work with the governor to pass legislation. It was a long process, but we’ve got something with this amendment that I think should pass muster,” Frerichs said.

When state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, asked for specifics, Frerichs said the amended measure restricts the organizations eligible to participate.

* Subscribers know more. Capitol News Illinois…

The Chicago Bears will have to wait until at least April for action on a property tax measure that would boost their efforts to build a domed stadium in Arlington Heights. State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, the top House Democratic negotiator, confirmed to Capitol News Illinois that the bill won’t move before the House adjourns Friday. […]

“I’d say there’s a few obstacles,” state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, told Capitol News Illinois on Thursday. “I think they’re all scalable, but work needs to be done.” He said things had been “somewhat stagnant” since the PILOT bill passed out of a House committee last month. […]

Buckner said the caucus meeting last week was “impactful” and “helped us kind of work through what needed to be addressed.” And despite “a lot of talk around here about these artificial deadlines” calling for action by the end of March, Buckner said the team hasn’t conveyed a hard deadline. […]

Buckner said his top priority is getting the legislation right. His second? Getting it done as quickly as possible, and he thinks it can happen next month.

* Capitol News Illinois…

A bill that would overhaul the way Illinois funds its public universities advanced out of a House committee Thursday and could face a vote by the full House soon, despite continued opposition from the University of Illinois System, the state’s flagship institution.

House Bill 1581, titled the “Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act,” would establish a needs-based formula for distributing new funding for universities similar to the Evidence-Based Funding mechanism that has been sued for K-12 school funding since 2018. […]

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, currently at 89% of its adequacy target, is considered the most adequately funded school under the proposed model and would therefore be last in line for new funding.

Nicholas Jones, executive vice president for the U of I System — which also includes campuses in Chicago and Springfield — said that would be unfair to an institution that serves 53% of all public university students in Illinois.

* Tribune…

On Thursday, [Rep. Laura Faver Dias] joined state legislators and clean energy advocates in Springfield to announce the Plug-In Illinois Act, or SB 3104, a bill that would expand access to plug-in solar to all households, including renters. […]

Plug-in, or “balcony,” solar involves small, portable units, typically less than 390 watts, that can be connected directly to a standard wall outlet – without altering the building.

“People can install on their balcony, on a patio, in the yard, wherever that they’re able to in order to just shave a little bit off of their monthly electricity bills,” said Kavi Chintam, Illinois campaign manager of Vote Solar, a nonprofit group advocating for nationwide solar accessibility. […]

The bill, which passed the state Senate’s energy and public utilities commission earlier this month, is poised to go to the Senate floor for a full vote next.

* WGLT…

Democratic state Rep. Sharon Chung, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal and Peoria plus rural areas along Interstate 74, has introduced a bill that would change the definition of corporation powers in the law by stating corporations cannot engage in activities related to primaries or elections. […]

Chung said she is confident her bill will be heard, but it has not made it to committee.

“It might have to mean that we have to deal with some hard truths and look at the mirror and look at ourselves a little bit. Personally, I’m okay with that,” Chung said. […]

Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois, a nonpartisan good government group, said any law trying to limit corporate influence in elections would meet legal challenges because of Citizens United.

* Capitol News Illinois…

House Bill 4844, which would require employers to pay employees their regular rate of pay when they are selected for jury duty, passed 13-7 out of a judiciary committee.

Bill sponsor Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, said jurors can face financial challenges if they’re selected for a case that lasts several weeks, adding he hopes the legislation would make it more affordable for people to serve on a jury.

But Republicans voiced concerns the bill would be burden for businesses because they have to pay an employee who isn’t showing up to work.

* More…

* Injustice Watch | Steps Illinois lawmakers could take to reform the state’s tax sale laws: Under the most sweeping of the three bills, SB3940, sponsored by state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, private investors would no longer be able to purchase tax debts in Cook County; instead, the county would be required to sell tax-delinquent properties at auction to collect taxes and return any proceeds that remain to homeowners. Other counties would also be allowed — though not required — to hold similar auctions. Villanueva’s bill, which is awaiting a committee hearing, was introduced in February, two months after a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the tax sale system in Cook County violated the rights of homeowners by allowing private investors to seize more than what the owners owed.

* WAND | IL Senate passes bill allowing not-for-profit fire departments to receive state grants: This plan allows the State Fire Marshal to create and award grants for not-for-profit fire departments and protection districts across the state. “My expenses are the same as everybody else. I have to pay the electric bill. I still have to pay Renew Apparatus,” said Signal Hill Fire Chief Tom Elliff. “I pay for the maintenance of the building. It’s the same throughout every other fire department in the state of Illinois.”

* WAND | IL Senate passes bill increasing awareness of ag education programs: Senate Bill 3326 now moves to the House for further consideration. The House companion bill passed unanimously out of the House Education Policy Committee last week and awaits action on the House floor.

* WGN | Illinois lawmaker proposes renaming portion of I-57 to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Expressway: Buckner issued the following statement on his Instagram page regarding HJR 58. […] “We’re naming the Cook County portion of I-57 the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Expressway. Not a memorial. Not a marker. A full name – joining Dan Ryan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Bishop Louis Henry Ford on the green signs that define how we move. And that matters, because I-57 doesn’t just cut through land – it connects communities. The South Side. The South suburbs. Places where Rev. Jackson didn’t just visit, he organized. He marched. He preached. He built coalition. He fought for dignity, for jobs, for access, for people who too often felt like the system was designed to move past them instead of with them.”