* Crain’s…

A little-noticed bill teed up for action in Springfield would sweeten pension benefits for thousands of current and future Cook County retirees — an action the sponsor says is needed to repair a legal defect but one that, if taken statewide, could cost taxpayers “billions.”

At issue is a measure sponsored by state Sen. Rob Martwick, D-Chicago, that would revamp the $14.3 billion Cook County Pension Fund. Martwick introduced the bill at the request of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. […]

It’s a third clause that is drawing attention. It would boost the maximum wage base for purposes of pensions from $123,489 now to up to $160,000, the current cap used by Social Security.

Martwick says the change is needed to fix a flaw in the 2010 law that created a Tier 2 for newly hired government workers.

The law capped annual increases in benefits to the lesser of 3% or one-half of inflation — the consumer price index. Social Security uses a more expansive inflation measure. As a result, a significant gap steadily has grown between the county’s and Social Security’s maximum covered salary figures.

…Adding… [From Rich] The bill’s list of proponents does not include a single labor union. Opponents, however, include the Chicago Federation of Labor, Illinois AFL-CIO and AFSCME Council 31. The unions apparently don’t believe this is a “sweetener.”

* Sen. Bennett’s SB1488 was passed unanimously out of the Senate and now awaits action in the House. The Telegraph…

The test is known as the Teacher Performance Assessment, or “edTPA,” and it is intended to determine whether a prospective teacher has the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective in the classroom. It has been a requirement for teacher licensing in Illinois since 2015.

State Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, said he started hearing concerns about the test from people in his district, and he later learned that those concerns were shared by other lawmakers. […]

Bennett said that having outside evaluators who have never met or worked with the applicant scoring their portfolios is one of the issues that concerns him about edTPA. […]

Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, a cosponsor of the bill, said she has concerns that edTPA is so rigorous and intensive that it could deter some people from ever trying to become a teacher.

Governor Pritzker issued an executive order suspending use of the edTPA but it will expire on May 11. Bennett’s bill would continue the suspension through Aug. 2025.

* Chalkbeat Chicago has a handy list of education bills they’ve been following…

Anti-book banning bill: Amid a conservative-led push to challenge books about race and LGBTQ issues, House Bill 2789 stands out. It would prevent libraries and library systems from banning books, or risk losing state grants. This bill has moved from the House to the Senate.

Native American history curriculum: House Bill 1633 will require schools to teach Native American history in every social studies course related to American history or government. Students in sixth to 12th grade will study genocide and discrimination against Native Americans as well as tribal sovereignty and treaties made between tribal nations and the United States. This house bill is currently in the Senate.

Task force on children’s mental health: In February, Pritzker spoke about the need to bring together state agencies that focus on children’s mental health to make it easier for families to navigate and access state resources. To address this concern, Senate Bill 0724 would create the Interagency Children’s Behavioral Health Services Act and require the state to establish a Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Officer who will lead the state’s efforts to work across state agencies to make it easier for families to access services. This bill has moved from the Senate and is in the House. […]

Full-day kindergarten: Illinois allows school districts to provide either half-day or full-day kindergarten programs for young learners. If passed, House Bill 2396 will require school districts to provide full-day programs by 2027-28 school year — instead of 2023-24 in an earlier version of the bill. The bill will also create a task force to conduct a statewide audit of kindergarten programs and offer recommendations to the state board of education. This bill passed through the House and is currently in the Senate.

* Illinois Primary Health Care Association…

As Illinois makes mental health and substance abuse care a strong priority, leaders of community health centers, also known as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and their legislative champions will make a direct, powerful case at the state Capitol for increased funding to treat thousands more facing health challenges in underserved communities.

The Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) represents 53 FQHCs serving more than 1.5 million patients across Illinois at more than 400 sites. IPHCA will join with State Sen. Robert Peters and State Rep. Anna Moeller at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 19, for a Statehouse news conference to advocate for increased funding to address inadequate community health center payment rates in Illinois, especially the severely insufficient behavioral health rates.

Sen. Peters and Rep. Moeller will explain their sponsorship of legislation that would increase historically low reimbursement rates for meeting patients’ medical, dental, and behavioral health needs under the Medicaid program – where Illinois’ rates trail neighboring states by about 80 percent. The result will be tens of thousands more patients receiving care, including substance abuse treatment, dental services, transportation and more, with the federal government picking up half the cost.

Leaders of community health centers will explain the needs their centers are seeing for increased funding to support additional services and programs, as they come to Springfield Wednesday to meet with legislators on their annual advocacy day.

* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) may soon be required to digitize all master record files thanks to a measure recently passed through the Senate by State Senator Rachel Ventura.

“In the long run, having digital access to these records will not only save the state money, but also ensure that those who have been waiting to be released and go back into their communities are not idly waiting for months on end simply because Illinois didn’t have an updated records system,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “It’s about time we digitize these records instead of having our old paper files in place.”

The digitization of the records system would include medical and dental records and all other information IDOC maintains concerning its institutions and facilities by July 1, 2029.

Additionally, Senate Bill 422 would require IDOC, in consultation with the Department of Information Technology (DOIT), to conduct an impact study to be completed on or before Jan. 1, 2024. The study is subject to appropriation.

“Restore Justice is proud to support SB 422. This bill makes necessary and important changes regarding documents and recordkeeping in Illinois,” said James Swansey, policy manager at Restore Justice. “It would make sure important files and documents are accessible and require our state to study the best ways to digitize all IDOC records, which would be an important step toward ensuring people who are incarcerated can access their records.” […]

Senate Bill 422 moves to the House for further consideration.

* WAND…

House Bill 1468 could create the task force chaired by an OB-GYN and pediatrician specialized in child abuse and neglect. Advocates told the House Adoption and Child Welfare Committee Friday that the Departments of Children and Family Services, Human Services, and Public Health would also be at the table to help figure out how the state can best implement a safe family recovery approach.

“Children should not be removed solely because of substances used, but only when there is an actual identified risk to the child that cannot be mitigated with supports,” said Danielle Gomez, supervising attorney for the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office. […]

Meanwhile, the longest-serving Illinois House Democrat believes children should not be considered abused, neglected, or dependent solely because their parents or guardians use controlled substances. Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) has long been an advocate for keeping families together instead of forcing kids into DCFS care. […]

“We do not take a newborn baby away from her mother and indicate the parents for neglect because she smokes cigarettes,” Flowers said. “Nor do we take the child away from the mother because she does alcohol while she’s pregnant. But we do it because of substance abuse.” […]

Each of these bills are locked in the House Rules Committee. Although, language can always be filled into shell bills to pass before session ends next month.

* Sen. Laura Murphy and Rep. Maurice West…

No matter your political party, we can all agree that elections should be free and fair. But under our current system, not everyone’s vote counts. Not because of fraud or other election-related conspiracies, but because many people wind up voting for someone who isn’t viable.

Let us explain. With more and more people getting access to the ballot via early and absentee voting, some voters cast ballots for candidates who end up dropping out of the race before Election Day. Others vote for a candidate who receives so few votes that they will never win. Colloquially, this is known as a “wasted vote.” A whopping 70,000 Democrats wasted their votes in Illinois’ 2020 presidential primary; the same thing happened to 30,000 Republicans in our state’s 2016 presidential primary.

Ranked choice voting, or RCV, solves these problems, which is why we are working to pass legislation in Springfield to allow for RCV in presidential primaries.

Under RCV, voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so on. If their first choice is not viable, their vote counts for their highest-ranked candidate who is. The ability to rank backup choices ensures that voters’ voices are heard and makes sure no one wastes their vote. In addition, RCV ballots are easy to audit, which improves election security.

RCV also favors candidates with broad appeal and encourages positive campaigning, which would reduce the growing toxicity of our current political landscape.