* I told subscribers about this angry floor debate the day after it happened. Here’s the Chicago Reader’s take…

In the statehouse, Democratic and Republican state representatives sit on opposite sides of a narrow aisle, but they might as well be on different sides of an ocean as far as their worldviews go.

The latest evidence is a contentious debate that occurred last month over the voting rights of pretrial detainees—folks who have been arrested and jailed but are awaiting trial so are not technically guilty of a crime.

On one side of the debate were Democrats, all of them black. On the other side were Republicans, all of them white.

Go read the whole thing.

* According to Rep. Litesa Wallace, that divisive debate and several other events helped spark her to introduce HB5877…

Creates the Racial Impact Note Act. Provides that every bill which has or could have a disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, upon the request of any member, shall have prepared for it, before second reading in the house of introduction, a brief explanatory statement or note that shall include a reliable estimate of the anticipated impact on those racial and ethnic minorities likely to be impacted by the bill. Specifies the contents, and provides for the preparation, of each racial impact note.

Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Prohibits racial discrimination and harassment by State officers and employees. Provides that each State officer and employee shall annually complete a racial bias, discrimination, and harassment training program approved by the appropriate jurisdictional authority. Expands the jurisdiction of the Executive Ethics Commission to include allegations of racial discrimination and harassment by persons registered under the Lobbyist Registration Act. Provides that the personnel policies of units of local government shall prohibit racial discrimination and harassment. Defines “racial discrimination and harassment”. Provides for rulemaking, including emergency rulemaking.

Amends the Secretary of State Act. Provides the Secretary of State’s Inspector General with jurisdiction to investigate complaints of racial discrimination and harassment by persons registered under the Lobbyist Registration Act.

Amends the Lobbyist Registration Act. Prohibits racial discrimination and harassment by persons registered under the Lobbyist Registration Act. Provides that each registered lobbyist shall annually complete a racial bias, discrimination, and harassment training program approved by the Secretary of State. Defines “racial discrimination and harassment”.

Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Requires the Department of Human Rights to establish a racial discrimination and harassment hotline for the anonymous reporting of racial discrimination and harassment in both public and private places of employment, and to provide for reporting by both telephone and Internet. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to provide for emergency rulemaking. Effective immediately.

Discuss.

* Other bills…

* ADDED: Bill providing more oversight on grant spending advances at statehouse: The measure also would provide a blackout period before elections to keep the state’s constitutional officers from putting their names on such programs or grants to gain a political advantage, “so they cannot make grant announcements and things that I think the public is suspicious of in the weeks before an election,” he said.

* Illinois lawmakers weigh ban on all formulas of synthetic pot after deaths: Now, a measure that cleared the state Senate this week would ban all types of synthetic cannabinoids instead of just specific formulas. It’s a “catch-all” approach designed to prevent manufacturers from circumventing laws that only ban specific chemical combinations. Drugs that would be prohibited include any synthetic cannabinoids as well as piperazines or synthetic cathinones that are not approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

* Video gambling brings millions to Illinois, but casino cities aren’t seeing the benefits: The Illinois Casino Association sees one area for future casino growth: internet gaming, said Tom Swoik, executive director of the association, which represents five of the state’s 10 casinos and does not cover those in Aurora or Elgin. It could encourage people, especially young people, to return to casinos, he said.

* Lawmakers Seek Change To Graduate Student Employee Contract: After a 12-day strike beginning in February, the University of Illinois and graduate student employees settled on a new contract that includes pay raises and tuition waiver protections. Now lawmakers want to clarify who is eligible for those benefits.

* Edwardsville legislator wants independent study of SIUE-SIUC funding split: “The days of Carbondale serving as the main campus and Edwardsville serving as a satellite campus are distant history,” Stuart said.

* Illinois lawmakers pass on proposal to get slowpokes out of the fast lane: There was little interest from the committee, which didn’t call it for a vote. Oberweis said he considers it a dead issue.

* Lawmakers debate governor’s pension cost shift proposal: “I would rather land on something that members of this body can vote for and the governor can sign than us file a bill, it gets called, it gets voted down and then we’re left with nothing,” Zigmund said.

* Measure requiring schools that are polling places to send kids home on election day heard in committee: State Rep. Margo McDermed’s House Bill 4557 would require – rather than encourage – a school district to close a school or hold a teachers’ institute day if the school is a polling place on election day. “Schools are getting rightly leery of such dangerous strangers as voters coming into their schools and interacting with children who may be there,” McDermed, R-Mokena, said Thursday in a subject matter hearing.

* Debate over driverless car technology continues in Illinois: Wednesday’s discussions also veered into some of the unanswered questions about the technology, including issues of liability. For instance, in case of a crash, who would be liable for injuries or fatalities, the owner or passenger or the manufacturer?