* NBC Chicago…

Illinois lawmakers are pushing for greater accountability in how colleges and universities address sexual assault on campus.

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, is the House sponsor of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, which would give the Illinois Attorney General’s Office more power to compel colleges to publicly disclose incidents of campus sexual violence. […]

“The new bill will give more teeth to the Attorney General’s office to make sure the school has more policies in place and are turning over their reporting,” Canty told NBC Chicago.

The bill would require colleges to address digital sexual harassment, including revenge porn. The legislation would also give victims the ability to attend campus proceedings with both legal and mental health support and allow survivors to take legal action against a school if they believe it didn’t adequately address their case. […]

The bill passed the Illinois Senate with a bipartisan majority in the spring and is expected to be considered in next month’s fall veto session.

* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…

HB 4990 protects survivors from retaliation, strengthens victim support services and creates enforcement tools to hold institutions accountable when they fail victims. I thank @RepMBC, Sen. Guzman and advocates for working with our office to enhance protection for survivors.

— Illinois Attorney General (@ILAttyGeneral) October 26, 2026

* Press release…

Today, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) announced support for HB5828 (EDGE Essentials) – new legislation that would create a streamlined package of tax incentives for independently owned grocery stores and pharmacies, helping small businesses invest in their operations, retain and hire workers, and continue serving communities across Illinois.

Independent grocers and pharmacies play an essential role in Illinois communities, providing access to fresh food, prescription medications and other everyday necessities while supporting local jobs and economic activity. In communities with limited access to grocery stores or pharmacies, these businesses can be particularly important to residents who might otherwise need to travel significant distances to meet basic needs.

EDGE Essentials is designed to ease the strain of opening or maintaining an independent store during a time of increasing costs. This program would provide access to several tax benefits through a simple application process. The benefits would include enhanced incentives for businesses located in designated food or pharmacy deserts, where maintaining access to essential goods and services can be especially challenging. […]

Under the program, eligible businesses would need to be independently owned, with no more than four stores, and plan to make a qualifying capital investment of at least $500,000. Grocery stores with more than 15 employees would be required to make a capital investment of at least $1 million. Participating grocers would also be required to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits.

EDGE Essentials would establish two primary benefits for these businesses including:

- Payroll withholding credits: Businesses located in food or pharmacy deserts could receive a credit of up to 100% of payroll withholding for new employees and 50% for retained employees. Businesses outside designated deserts could receive credits of up to 75% for new employees and 25% for retained employees.
- Enterprise Zone High Impact Business benefits: Eligible businesses would be automatically enrolled in the Enterprise Zone High Impact Business Program, providing access to applicable tax benefits, including a sales tax exemption on qualifying building materials.

* Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments executive director Marlon Chamberlain…

Time served in prison should be just that: time served. Once men and women have completed their sentences, they’ve paid their debt to society, as the saying goes. But for too many people, their sentence stretches far beyond the amount of time set by a judge. Their record stands in the way of jobs, stable housing, education and opportunities for decades to come. […]

After successfully helping the passage of the Clean Slate Act into law, automating the sealing of eligible records, the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments is now working to ensure that this law is being implemented properly and funded accordingly. Clean Slate, once funded, will standardize and streamline the process of sealing records eligible for expungement, opening doors that were previously closed to the formerly incarcerated population.

Building on that success, we are pushing legislation to create a Permanent Punishment Review Task Force. This task force will study Illinois’ permanent punishment laws, identify factors for modifying or eliminating them, evaluate models for periodic review and recommend changes to the General Assembly. The House passed legislation that allows the creation of the task force — House Bill 5091 — in the spring. Now, we need to get it across the finish line when the Senate returns for veto session in November.

The Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments is also working to pass the Home for Good legislation through the Senate. This legislation aims to create a comprehensive statewide strategy to improve housing and support services for people returning from prison. Access to affordable housing is another key component to ensuring a smooth reentry back into society. Not only is stable housing vital to help ensure people can meet the conditions of their release, it also provides the security needed to maintain a job, pursue education and address physical and mental health issues. We also know that increasing access to housing reduces recidivism, which helps advance public safety while also saving taxpayers money.

* WAND…

A south suburban House Democrat has filed a plan to help provide financial relief to communities hardest hit by storms this summer. The bill calls for Illinois to use money from the rainy day fund to lift up counties still recovering.

Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) said he started to talk with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency about potential funding opportunities before the Trump administration denied disaster relief for Illinois. They started to draft language for a state relief plan in anticipation of FEMA’s rejection.

“We had complete devastation like we hadn’t seen, and it came repeatedly,” DeLuca said. “There were two storms in a row and three storms within five weeks.” […]

His plan would allow IEMA to create emergency rules for a grant program with money from the budget stabilization fund. Local governments in Alexander, Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Ford, Fulton, Kane, Lake, LaSalle, Marshall, McLean, Pulaski, Tazewell, Vermilion, and Will counties would be eligible for relief funds.