* Senate President Don Harmon did an impromptu gaggle with reporters tonight on his way to a caucus meeting…
Reporter: Will there be any votes on budget bills tonight?
President Harmon: I doubt that but we’re going to caucus right now to discuss the schedule for today and tomorrow.
Reporter: So you will be here tomorrow, in session?
Harmon: We’re planning to be here tomorrow in session.
Reporter: Any plan beyond that? Sunday, Monday, Tuesday?
Harmon: I’m hoping the Senate will be able to wrap up its business tomorrow.
Reporter: What are the sticking points right now?
Harmon: Time.
Reporter: An amendment hasn’t dropped yet, what is the..?
Harmon: We agreed from the start that the House and the Senate would agree to every word and every number in the budget before filing. We are very close to that with the next amendment. We’re talking to both of our caucuses and we’ll move forward after that.
Reporter: What is the situation with the transit money coming out of the Road Fund? Local 150 is opposed to this, they seem to believe that they have been able to stall the budget over this. Do you think that can be overcome?
Harmon: I do. I do. I think it’s important to remember that a significant chunk of the Road Fund is dedicated to mass transit. We’d like to emphasize that the money going to the RTA for mass transit is coming from the portion of the Road Fund that supports mass transit, and not taking money away from the roads.
Reporter: The House is down like 10 people. I guess they’re going back up tomorrow. Do you see any need to run the bonding authority bill in the Senate before it goes to the House?
Harmon: We’re going to coordinate with the House, we’ll make sure that both chambers are in full agreement on which Bill starts where. We’ve worked very well in collaboration with the House through this whole process. We’re going to continue that to the bitter end.
Reporter: Will the Senate take up that prisoner review board measure?
Harmon: I expect so but I haven’t talked to the caucus.
Reporter: What about the Chicago School Board bill? There’s been some pushback.
Harmon: I need to talk to the caucus about that as well. Let me get the caucus since we’re late already. Thank you all appreciate it.
*** Adding ***
* The paper release…
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch released the following statement Saturday:
“The House and Senate are very close to an agreement on a final budget. Procedurally, the earliest an agreement could pass both chamber is next week. To let members and staff rest and spend time with family, we are adjourning for the holiday weekend and will return to complete this work.”
Miller (no relation): Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to speak to this bill.
Leader Barbara Hernandez: Would you like her to yield sir?
Miller (no relation): No, I just want to talk about this bill.
Leader Hernandez: To the bill.
Miller (no relation): Thank you, Madame Speaker. You know, I think that one of the things that I’ve done over the last 50 years is I’m a farmer, and I raise cattle. And when we’re raising cattle, I raise a lot of bulls, you know, and after listening to all this stuff, my ol’ BS meter’s going, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING! Because what we’re seeing here is a myth about climate change…
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Current merchant point of sales and card processors systems can’t separate tax from a purchase when applying processing fees and it may take several years for these systems to get updated. The proposed budget deal that would require separation of interchange fees on the sales tax portion of electronic transactions could mean consumers will have to swipe a credit or debit card twice for a purchase or worse, pay the tax portion in cash. In no uncertain terms – it would be a major disruption to the current electronic payments system in place today.
This proposal and disruption to the current system would undoubtedly affect Illinois consumers and beyond. How will constituents, tourists coming to the state this summer, and attendees at the DNC in August react to an overhaul in the way they conduct transactions? This could create a huge embarrassment to Illinois and require immediate retraction. Why take the risk? In the past 17 years there’s been 58 bills in other states trying to remove interchange fees from the state and local sales tax portion of debit and credit card purchases…none have passed because it’s a bad idea. Although this proposal is included in a potential budget deal, there is NO impact to the state budget based upon this component. It simply puts more money in the pockets of Illinois retailers.
The current interchange system in Illinois works. Illinois legislators should reject budget deals that increase profit to big box retailers.
* From Rich: Click here for our end of session cheat sheet. This live coverage software is not automated like the old one was, and today is Isabel’s first time handling these duties. She’s good at everything she does, but help her out in comments, please. Thanks…
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Protect Illinois Hospitality is a coalition of tipped workers, chambers of commerce, service operators, and local small businesses who strongly support keeping the tip credit available for Illinois businesses.
CLAIM: An Illinois bill would change how individuals who committed criminal offenses are referred to under state law, replacing “offender” with “justice-impacted individual.”
AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. The bill, HB 4409, would not relabel all people who commit crimes as justice-impacted individuals — just those in the state’s Adult Redeploy Illinois program. Adult Redeploy Illinois is intended to reduce incarceration, in part, by placing individuals with any probation-eligible offense in community corrections programs rather than in prison. […]
“HB4409 represents a small change to an incredibly successful diversion program that simply seeks to better reflect the program’s intention,” State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “Those who choose to fan the flames of misinformation and fearmongering do all of us a disservice. Focusing on semantics rather than substance is an insult to everyone’s intelligence.” […]
HB 4409 was passed by the Illinois state Senate on Tuesday after passing the House on April 16. In addition to the name change, it stipulates that an oversight board for Adult Redeploy Illinois will include two individuals who participated in programs funded by the initiative and adjusts how funding for Adult Redeploy Illinois is allocated.
Illinois could soon join a handful of states with digital IDs and driver’s licenses.
House Bill 4592, introduced by Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), passed by a unanimous vote in the state senate Friday. The bill cleared the state House of Representatives earlier this week and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature.
The legislation would not eliminate physical driver’s licenses but would allow the state to offer them as a companion to a physical card. […]
Some Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints are equipped to accept digital IDs, with support expanding.
State lawmakers are sending a plan to the governor’s office to create new funeral home regulations in response to the mishandling of human remains at the Heinz Funeral Home in Carlinville.
The Integrity in Death Care Act would create an identification system for all human remains to ensure funeral homes never mishandle human remains again.
Anyone intentionally violating preparation room procedures and rules could face a Class 4 felony. People engaging in funeral directing or embalming without a license would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. […]
Senate Bill 2643 passed unanimously out of the Senate Friday and previously gained unanimous support in the House.
A bill heading to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could help make schools safer through new student discipline procedures.
The Illinois House passed legislation Friday to require the Illinois State Board of Education to draft and publish guidance for development of reciprocal reporting systems between schools and law enforcement.
This measure also calls on ISBE to publish guidance for re-engagement of students suspended, expelled or returning from an alternative school setting. […]
Senate Bill 1400 passed out of the House on a 106-5 vote. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 54-2 vote.
* Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar…
State Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, D-Chicago, is expanding career opportunities for mental health professionals by passing legislation eliminating non-compete agreements for those who serve veterans and first responders.
Guerrero-Cuellar championed Senate Bill 2737 which prohibits non-compete and non-solicitation agreements for mental health services that support veterans and first responders. Current agreements would be void if they result in an undue burden on veterans or first responders seeking mental health services from licensed mental health professionals.
“Ensuring our communities have the personnel ready to aid and save lives is critical, but often you have competing organizations cornering the market and preventing employed personnel from doing their jobs. This puts everyday Illinoisans in danger,” Guerrero-Cuellar said. “Barring non-compete, non-solicitation agreements means more of our professionals can remain in the field, responding to emergencies and protecting us. While it’s unfortunate that some organizations have stifled emergency response, this legislation will make sure these personnel are there when we need them.”
The Illinois State Senate passed a bill to phase out fluorescent lighting on May 24th.
The switch to LEDs will save Illinois consumers more than $1.5 billion on utility bills, avoid 2.2M metric tons of CO2 emissions by cutting energy waste and prevent 419 pounds of mercury pollution by 2050, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. […]
Illinois will become the 10th state to pass clean lighting policies after Minnesota passed similar legislation last week.
“Energy efficiency is the foundation of the clean energy transition. The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use,” said Illinois PIRG State Director Abe Scarr. “We thank Senator Johnson and Representative Nicholas Smith for their leadership on this important policy.”
* Sen. Rachel Ventura…
State Senator Rachel Ventura advanced legislation that passed both chambers on Friday to address surplus state-owned properties by curating a report on its condition.
“We have an obligation to address the numerous state-owned properties that have either been vacant or unused, which in turn wastes taxpayer dollars through maintenance and security costs,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “This legislation will give us insight into each property’s maintenance and demolition costs to consider what to do with them in the future.”
Senate Bill 381 would require the Director of the Department of Central Management Services to assess surplus real property held by the State and determine whether or not the property is unsellable in its current condition.
Additionally, the director is required to submit a report, beginning on Feb. 1, 2025 and every other year, detailing the assessment to the governor and General Assembly. The report will include the annual state maintenance costs for said properties and attempts to sell the properties as well as the estimated demolition and remediation costs at the time of the last attempted sale. […]
The Senate concurred to Senate Bill 381 on Friday. It now heads to the governor for further consideration.
The Illinois House voted unanimously Friday to pass a plan requiring DCFS caseworkers to develop hair care plans with youth in care and their foster parents.
Members of the DCFS Youth Advisory Board worked with lawmakers to make this recommendation into legislation. They stressed that Black children are often placed with families or in residential settings where they aren’t allowed to wear their hair in ways that represent their cultural background. […]
The plan would allow DCFS to adopt rules to facilitate implementation of the changes, including responsibilities of caseworkers and placement plan specialists in developing the hair care plan, engaging parents regarding the hair care needs of youth and procedures to follow if the parents cannot be contacted, and factors to consider in granting children increased autonomy over hair care decisions.
House Bill 5097 passed unanimously out of the House Friday. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 49-9 vote. The proposal now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk for his signature of approval.
* Sen. Mike Porfirio And Rep. Stephanie Kifowit…
To protect our nation’s veterans from predatory business practices, State Senator Mike Porfirio and State Representative Stephanie Kifowit championed legislation through the General Assembly aimed at combating unaccredited companies that target veterans by offering benefits in exchange for financial compensation. […]
Common predatory practices include guaranteeing an increased disability rating or percentage increase, advertising expedited VA claims decisions, requesting login credentials to access a veteran’s personal information through secure VA websites and more. Senate Bill 3479 would combat deceptive business practices by ensuring transparency regarding these businesses’ lack of VA accreditation. To offer better consumer transparency, Porfirio’s legislation requires these entities to disclose that their businesses are neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Under the measure, which is a legislative priority of Veterans of Foreign Wars at both the state and federal level, veterans would be better informed about the services offered to them, reducing the risk of misleading or fraudulent advice. The goal is to protect veterans from these deceptive practices and establish a more secure environment when they are seeking assistance related to their veteran or military benefits. […]
Carbon capture and sequestration projects have been hot button issues in Central Illinois for years, and now lawmakers in the state capitol are trying to address it.
Proposed pipeline projects like the Navigator pipeline through Sangamon County and the Wolf/ADM pipeline ending near Decatur faced major backlash from residents due to the lack of regulations. Legislators believe they have the fix.
Some of the components of the bill include companies needing to prove their project will catch the carbon and not store it underground. It also creates more stringent rules carbon dioxide pipeline projects, versus other carbon sequestration projects. Finally, the bill puts in place a moratorium on all multi-state pipelines. […]
Not everyone is on board with the bill. The Illinois Farm Bureau still opposes the bill, as companies can use a version of eminent domain, even though companies would have to complete multiple steps first before claiming a farmer’s land.
The bill passed out of the committee Friday afternoon 21-7-1. It now heads to the House floor.
The Illinois hemp industry is in a frenzy over new legislation moving forward in Springfield that business owners say will put popular products out of reach and push the THC lounges and CBD shops that dot Chicago-area neighborhoods out of business. […]
[P]roducts like CBD lotions and infused drinks and treats made with THC derived from hemp are seemingly in a legal gray area under which businesses using hemp-derived THC have proliferated.
State Sen. Kim Lightford, D-Maywood, said that’s harming Illinois’ tightly-regulated cannabis industry and undermining the state’s goals to use the law to lift up people of color disproportionally harmed by the war on drugs. To be part of the legal marijuana industry, businesses had to compete for coveted – and expensive – licenses, with priority going to social equity applicants. […]
Lightford, the sponsor of the measure (House Bill 4293), which passed out of a Senate committee Thursday night, asks of the businesses: “Why did you go into the hemp business if you wanted to sell weed?”
Illinois lawmakers are addressing a growing form of cyberbullying in schools involving artificial intelligence.
The House passed House Bill 299 that would amend the Illinois school code to include sexually explicit digital depictions of students under the definition of cyberbullying.
State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, said the images generated by AI could have lasting effects on a young person. […]
A state bill that would prevent changes to Chicago’s selective enrollment schools and block the district from closing schools until 2027 appears to have stalled in the final scheduled hours of the legislative session.
The lack of movement comes after Mayor Brandon Johnson sent a letter to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon asking him not to call the bill for a final vote, arguing it “seeks to solve problems that do not exist.”
The situation is a win so far for Johnson, whose appointed Board of Education is mulling changes to the district’s school choice system and recently rolled out a new budget formula.
State Rep. Margaret Croke, a Democrat representing Chicago’s north side neighborhoods, filed the bill earlier this year that would prevent the board from making changes to admission requirements or cutting funding for selective enrollment schools until a fully elected school board is in place in 2027. She later added an amendment that would extend the moratorium on school closures and prevent any school from shuttering until 2027.
One lawmaker believes she can get everyone on board with her bill to make reforms to the Prisoner Review Board.
The proposal has already passed the Illinois House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support. […]
State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) said she’s worked with both sides of the aisle to come up with a bill she believes everyone can agree on. […]
The bill would make several reforms, including mandatory domestic violence training for board members every year, with focuses on areas like the legal process regarding orders of protection and the dynamics of gender based violence.
* ICYMI: Illinois Senate pitches budget, but talks continue into holiday weekend as Democrats struggle to reach consensus. Tribune…
- Senate Democrats filed a 3,374-page plan about 5 p.m. Friday but hours later hadn’t held a committee hearing or floor vote.
- Flagship spending proposals the governor laid out in his February budget address were part of the Senate measure released Friday, which Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said reflected “an agreement in principal” among the governor, Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch
- Despite ongoing uncertainty, a few details emerged Friday on the discussions between Pritzker and Democratic legislative leaders.
* WAND | Legislative session helps pick up business in Springfield: “Typically when session is going on we see higher occupancy rates through the city of Springfield,” said Darin Dame, the President of the Springfield Hotel and Lodging Association. “We always want to see if they can stay another night to go visit the visitor sites or have a convention here.” Dame said the goal is to connect with legislators so they come back for a future vacation, or stay there when they return for legislative work.
* WBEZ | CPS selective enrollment bill dead in Springfield after Johnson letter to Senate president: Johnson sent a letter to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon on Thursday asking him to hold House Bill 303, which had already passed the Illinois House and needed a final vote in the Senate. The mayor’s public pledge that he would not close or otherwise harm selective enrollment schools meant the bill would no longer be called in the Senate as the spring legislative session ends, according to two sources who were granted anonymity to share details about the legislative process. The bill could be revived in the fall veto session if the mayor reneges on his promises.
* Tribune | Lawmakers angry about NRG plan to only cap Waukegan plant’s ponds; ‘They’re hypocrites, and … don’t want to be held accountable’: Now required by the EPA to deal with a Coal Combustion Residuals Management Unit at the Waukegan site known as the grassy area, state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Gurnee, hoped NRG would remove two coal ash ponds rather than the utility’s previously announced plan to cap one and remove the other. […] NRG disclosed in an email Thursday it is developing an application to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to approve its plan to cap both coal ash ponds at its Waukegan generating station now used only for backup purposes.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Tribune | Lawmakers vote to name Loop high-rise after former Secretary of State Jesse White: Lawmakers voted to name a state-owned Loop office building after Illinois’ longest-serving secretary of state, Jesse White. Set to turn 90 next month, White stood in the House chamber earlier this month before lawmakers voted to name the high-rise at 115 S. LaSalle St. the Jesse White State of Illinois Building. The resolution’s main sponsor, state Rep. Harry Benton, noted the rarity of a state building being named after someone who is still alive.
* Capitol News Illinois | Measure targets ‘legacy’ admission at public universities: Senate Bill 462 would prohibit public higher education institutions from admitting applicants based on “legacy status” or relationships to donors, effective upon becoming law. […] It passed both houses unanimously and needs only a signature from the governor to become law.
* SJ-R | Lawmakers pass 2 bills strengthening child labor laws in Illinois. What you need to know: Senate Bill 3646 introduced by Peters is designed to strengthen up and remodel the general labor laws of the state. The bill includes rules about the number of hours a minor can work during school days and weekends. A minor can’t work more than eight hours on weekends during the school year, and depending on the job they can only work a certain number of hours on a school day. If an employer were to violate the rules they may receive various fines.
*** Statewide ***
* SJ-R | Illinois took in nearly $70M on marijuana sales in the final quarter of 2023: Twenty-three states, along with Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana and generated more than $3 billion in tax revenue in 2022. In the final quarter of 2023, the states that generated the most revenue took in a combined $457.7 million.
* Press Release | Illinois’ spring turkey hunters harvest record number of wild turkeys: Illinois hunters harvested a preliminary statewide record total of 17,208 wild turkeys during the 2024 Illinois spring turkey season. This year’s total compares with the 2023 statewide harvest of 16,123 and the previous harvest record total of 16,569, set during the spring season in 2006.
*** Chicago ***
* Tribune | Mayor Johnson, CPD announce Chicago’s summer safety plan ahead of Memorial Day weekend: Officials also encouraged parents to be watchful of their children once school lets out. It was unclear if Johnson planned to implement a youth curfew downtown, a tactic employed over the past two summers. In May 2022, a 16-year-old was fatally shot near the Bean, leading to a temporary ban on unaccompanied minors in the Millennium Park after 6 p.m.
* WGN | Citing lack of ‘allies,’ mayor’s nominee to RTA board withdraws from consideration: Still, Acree’s nomination was passed by the committee 14 to 2, with the two no votes coming from Ald. Scott Waguespack of the 32nd Ward and Ald. Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward. At the time, they said it was because Johnson’s staff had not prepared Acree for the meeting. “Our city is in need of leadership with the expertise and fiscal background to deal with the issues we are facing in this Johnson Administration,” Waguespack told WGN via text message. “There was no discernable vision for public transportation laid out in the appointment process by the appointee or the 5th floor and we have yet to hear one.”
* Sun-Times | ComEd flips the switch on Bronzeville microgrid in latest push for electric power: One of the country’s first solar-powered electric grids of its kind is now operating in Bronzeville, and there are already plans to replicate the project in northern Illinois. City and state leaders as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Energy gathered Friday at the Chicago Housing Authority’s Dearborn Homes to flip the switch on the Bronzeville Community Microgrid, part of a larger push to make Bronzeville one of ComEd’s “smart communities.”
* Crain’s | West Loop assessments show Kaegi’s rosier view of downtown offices: A Crain’s analysis of newly released assessments for more than two dozen prominent West Loop office buildings showed that recent valuations dropped by an average of just under 16% compared with Kaegi’s final estimates in 2021, the last time his office assessed all of downtown.
* Tribune | Chicago White Sox suffer another loss to Baltimore Orioles, falling 6-4 to drop 22 games under .500: The Chicago White Sox first baseman on Thursday was ruled out on an interference call near second base, part of a controversial ending in a loss. On Friday, he hit a solo home run to even the score in the seventh inning. “(Orioles reliever Yennier Cano has) got a demon sinker, it’s really good,” Vaughn said. “Just tried to go up there and make a good swing on a good pitch.”
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Southtown | Cook County program to fund infrastructure, projects throughout south suburbs: The Build Up Cook program “aims to extend a helping hand to municipalities most in need,” according to the county. The county identified 46 projects in 22 communities, primarily in the south and west suburbs, for funding. With a $30.5 million total budget from American Rescue Plan Act Funds, the county said construction on projects can begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
* Daily Herald | Accountability, education keys to stemming campus antisemitism, say suburban undergraduates: The Highland Park Democrat opened the forum defending a person’s right to speak freely “no matter how much I disagree … But when it crosses the line to intimidation, harassment, isolation, exclusion,” he said, the administration has an obligation to speak out. University of Michigan student Hannah Dalinka agreed. “People have a right to free speech, but a lot of what’s happening on our college campuses is beyond free speech.”
* Crain’s | ‘Home Alone’ house for sale in Winnetka: This is only the second time the house has been on the market since the movie was shot in the late 1980s. It joins another North Shore home with a cinematic past that went up for sale in recent weeks. The Kenilworth house that appeared in the Steve Martin and John Candy movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is on the market at just under $2.5 million.
*** Downstate ***
* News-Gazette | County board votes to censure Danos: After at least a month of discussion on the subject, the Champaign County Board has voted to censure county auditor George Danos for alleged failure to act as an “independent watchdog” of taxpayer funds and actions “unbecoming an elected official.” The Champaign County Board voted Thursday night to approve the censure resolution.
* WIFR | Winnebago Co. Board considers area-wide license plate readers: On Thursday, the Winnebago County Board votes on a five-year agreement bringing license plate readers across the area. The expansion in law enforcement technology arrives as the city of Rockford, Loves Park and Machesney Park have used them for years. “We put that in, if it goes through one of these LPRs, it flags immediately real-time, immediately,” says Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana.
* QC | Mississippi River at Rock Island expected to exceed 13-foot action stage by Friday: Due to the recent heavy rains the Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15, Rock Island, is expected to exceed its 13-foot action stage by next Friday, said Meteorologist Andy Ervin of the National Weather Service, Davenport. […] However, that forecast did not account for the observed rainfall that fell Friday, May 24, or the predicted rainfall that is expected to fall Saturday night into Sunday. An updated forecast will be available on Saturday.
* WAND | I-57 SB near Pesotum reopens after crash that caused 4 deaths: Illinois State Police Troop 7 was on the scene around milepost 212 where a truck-tractor semi-trailer was traveling northbound and crossed the median into southbound traffic. At least four people have been confirmed dead and one has been seriously injured.
One issue on which there appears to be broad agreement is repealing the 1% statewide sales tax on groceries. Ditching the tax won’t affect the state’s bottom line because the money all goes to local governments. […]
To make up for the lost revenue, municipalities — both those with broader home rule powers to raise taxes on their own and non-home-rule communities — would be granted the ability to levy their own 1% tax on groceries. Towns without home rule would be given the ability to tack on an additional 1 percentage point tax on general retail sales.
Along with other concessions, the proposal on the table was enough to win the support of the Illinois Municipal League, which represents local governments across the state.
“We are pleased with the overall framework of the issues affecting municipalities,” Brad Cole, CEO of the Illinois Municipal League, said in a statement. “Local leaders have long advocated for greater authority to provide for the programs and services their residents rely on every day, which they will be granted under this budget agreement.”
The locals will also receive tons of money from a variety of other sources.
I really didn’t think Pritzker would actually achieve this. The tax will go away in January of 2026.
* Subscribers were also told about this win. Sun-Times…
Another politically thorny Pritzker provision is also expected to be in the revenue measure — capping the discount that retailers receive for collecting sales tax at $1,000 per month. The governor’s office contends it would mostly impact larger retailers and generate another $101 million for state coffers.
Budgeteers tried to appease opponents from the retail industry by prohibiting processing fees on the sales tax portion of electronic transactions. Currently, financial companies can charge fees on the entire transaction, which includes the goods purchased as well as the tax.
A plan pushed by state Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, is also expected to be included in the revenue measure. Castro requested a tax on third-party entities that resell large blocks of hotel rooms but avoid paying the standard hotel operator’s room occupation tax. Her initiative is expected to bring in about $50 million.
The retailers also received some concessions in exchange for the agreement. The elimination of processing fees on taxes has received big pushback (you may have caught an ad on here yesterday), but it’s part of the deal. Again, I’d have bet against the governor on that.
Also, Sen. Castro’s re-renters tax will generate millions for local governments. And, as you saw yesterday, negotiators agreed to a graduated tax on sports betting companies.
A [now] former DuPage County prosecutor [Samuel Cundari] has been charged with threatening two state lawmakers and several gun control groups, and suggesting a bomb could go off at a downstate LGBTQ festival. […]
None of the victims was identified in the complaint, but state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the chief sponsor of Illinois’ assault weapons ban, confirmed to the Sun-Times that he was tagged in the post.
Another social media post on May 15 that prosecutors say Cundari made from a different X account with the user handle @jastownsends suggested a bomb threat at the Springfield PrideFest, which was held last week.
“I sure hope NOBODY leaves a pressure cooker filled with ball bearings, glass and nails, filled with diesel fuel and fertilizer, with the over pressure safety valve disabled, near a natural gas line. That would be VERY sad and VERY unfortunate,” read the post, which was made in reply to a separate post by an anti-LGBTQ organization, according to the complaint.
Springfield PrideFest was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The insurance company’s X profile received a similar bomb threat post May 16 from the same @jastownsends account, prosecutors said […]
Cundari, a Wheaton resident, met with an FBI agent the next day and admitted to making the social media posts but insisted the comments were made as a “joke,” the complaint says.
The complaint alleges that on March 17, 2024, the Illinois State Police were contacted by two Illinois State Representatives about a threat that they had received via the social media company X, formerly known as Twitter. The social media post stated, “Our patience grows short with you. The day we put your kids’ feet first into a woodchipper so we can enjoy their last few screams is coming.” Besides the two state representatives, five other individuals or groups were “tagged” with the post to include the Illinois Attorney General. As a result, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division began an investigation.
The complaint further alleges that on May 15, 2024, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received an online tip regarding a post on X that seemed to be in response to an advertisement about the Springfield PrideFest which occurred on May 18, 2024. In the post, it states: “I sure hope NOBODY leaves a pressure cooker filled with bail bearings, glass, and nails, filled with diesel fuel and fertilizer, with the over pressure safety valve disabled, near a natural gas line line [sic]. That would be VERY sad and VERY unfortunate.”
The complaint also alleges that law enforcement traced the two social media posts to Samuel Cundari of DuPage County, Illinois who used the internet to communicate the threats. At the time the posts were made, Cundari was an Assistant State’s Attorney in DuPage County. If convicted of communicating an interstate threat, Cundari faces a maximum sentence of imprisonment of no more than five years. The charge also carries up to three years of supervised release and a possible fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Springfield Field Office with assistance by multiple law enforcement agencies including: FBI Chicago and FBI Indianapolis Field Offices, the Illinois Secretary of State Police, the Illinois State Police, the Springfield Police Department, the Pierceton Police Department (Indiana), United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Investigations Unit, and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger.
* Cundari’s Springfield PrideFest tweet was apparently in response to this post from Awake Illinois…
The Illinois Freedom Caucus focused on Blue Cross, which Cundari also threatened, in its press release about PrideFest…
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is urging Blue Cross Blue Shield to pull its sponsorship of the Family Area at this weekend’s Springfield Pridefest in light of the blatant sexualization of kids as young as 10 years old with the Teen Drag Show.
Not sayin’, just sayin’. But when you gin people up with that sort of heated language, there’s no telling what could happen.
* Subscribers were told about the new graduated sports betting tax this morning. React from East St. Louis Mayor Charles Powell III…
The Governor and the legislature are currently considering including a graduated sports gaming tax in the budget that will, if passed, devastate East St. Louis. We will be forced to forfeit essentially all services to our citizens and its passage might cause the largest employer, the Casino Queen, to leave the City of Champions. Balancing the budget on the back of my Town and the inclusion of the graduated sports gaming tax will devastate one of the oldest, hardest working cities in the state of Illinois.
Friday, May 24, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Across America, families use credit cards to put food on the table, fill their gas tanks, and access the credit needed to make life work. Only 10% of consumers don’t have a credit card. At a time when inflation is hitting all of us, merchants want to squeeze consumers even further.
Removing sales tax from interchange calculations would disrupt credit card payment systems that work for families across Illinois. Consumers use cards as a safe and convenient payment method, and this would drastically change the way business is transacted by requiring separate calculations of the interchange fee based upon the purchase price of goods and the amount of state and local taxes.
This proposal will exponentially increase the cost of the electronic payments system. Retailers will continue to shift this cost of doing business to Illinois consumers at a time when they can least afford it.
Why put Illinois consumers at risk? There is NO benefit to the state in removing sales tax from the interchange fee calculation. For decades, special interest groups advocating for increased profits to big box retailers have argued for this change that governments across the United States have denied.
Illinois legislators should not support a retailer bailout that would set Illinois apart from every other state in the nation. Keep card transactions safe and convenient by supporting the current interchange system!
Disabled Illinoisans who make a sub-minimum wage in community workshops would eventually make the minimum, if a bill which passed the House Thursday becomes law.
The sponsor of the “Dignity in Pay” Act is State Rep. Theresa Mah (D-Chicago).
“One in four of us has a disability,” Mah said. “People with disabilities are our neighbors, our friends, and those we love. Our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, you and me.”
After a long debate Thursday, the Illinois state House of Representatives passed a bill requiring workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities be paid the full minimum wage.
Known as the Dignity in Pay Act, it would end Illinois’s 14(c) certificate program, allowing some employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Though administered by the federal government, Illinois lawmakers can outlaw the program from being used in the state.
The programs would be phased out, eventually ending Dec. 31, 2029. To help ease the transition, the bill comes with a $2 million annual grant program administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services. The bill would require annual progress reports on the plan’s implementation through Jan. 1, 2030, and then provide up on the employment of people with disabilities through Jan. 1, 2035. The bill also requires that at least two current 14(c) certificate holders sit on the task force.
“We can all agree Illinois should evolve in a way that respects the full dignity in all people with disabilities,” said state Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, the bill’s sponsor.
Though the bill passed with bipartisan support, not everyone’s on board with the change. Opponents fear it will put people with disabilities out of work.
Advocates, including House sponsor Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, said eliminating 14(c) certificates would build upon rights granted to people with disabilities in previous decades by giving them higher paying and more rewarding employment.
“After more than five years of dialogue and compromise, stakeholders have united on this bill – the Dignity in Pay Act – which is designed to expand work opportunities and improve the menu of services and supports for people with disabilities in Illinois,” Mah said.
Mah noted that workers with disabilities who work in 14(c) workshops could have a variety of conditions like epilepsy, cerebral palsy, visual and hearing impairments, and mood disorders.
State Representative Charlie Meier is leading a charge to oppose legislation that would require sheltered workshops like the Kaskaskia Workshop to pay minimum wage to their clients with intellectual and developmental disability.
Meier told a news conference in Springfield last week that the state needs to create opportunities before they close the others.
“There are 3591 clients we believe in the state of Illinois. Where this has been done in other states, a lot of times 70-80% of these residents never work again. So as you look at our clients here with the shirts on today, my work my choice, think about 2513 of them never working again at 70%.
Meier says service providers do a fantastic job, but many of them would be unable to pay minimum wage.
Many provisions that were not previously in the bill now have been added to the bill making it a better bill. But it’s not a perfect bill.
Many of the disabled concerns have been addressed and I gave my word- which has always been good- that if the House votes with more than 60 votes I would vote for the bill because it’s a lot better than we had last year.
* Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy was on WJPF Radio this week…
So for Democrats, big government’s an economic thing that they support because they benefit from it. Whereas Republicans, we Republicans, you know, we just want to be left alone to raise our families and to do our jobs. But they’re not going to leave us alone.
You know, we’re on a march to socialism now and Marxism.
And you know, they have a saying … you can vote yourself into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s nominee for the Regional Transportation Authority, West Side pastor Rev. Ira Acree, withdrew himself from consideration Friday after activists and some aldermen argued he was unqualified for the position.
Acree, pastor of Austin’s Greater St. John Bible Church, is a close ally of Johnson’s and a civil rights activist. As his nomination advanced in the City Council’s Transportation Committee earlier this month, Acree struggled answering questions about the transit system during a tense hearing. […]
The former nominee described the aldermen who resisted his nomination as “so-called allies” who are “enemies of African American advancement and empowerment” in an interview with the Tribune Friday. […]
When asked when he last rode Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains, Acree answered [during a committee hearing] that he took them as a kid going to school.
“As a man, I don’t have to use CTA. I’m fortunate to have a car,” he said. “But I use the CTA often when I come downtown because, even though I am a working pastor, these prices, parking tickets are super high.”
Isabel: Governor, IDFPR says it only has eight workers for processing licensing applications for 80 health-related professions. Why haven’t you budgeted more for application reviewers in this specific category in the budget?
Pritkzer: So we did. There are more than eight now, to be clear. There were eight at some point. But the truth is that as you’ve seen across state government over the last couple of years, it’s hard to hire. And so now we’re seeing the opportunity to hire more and more people.
So that’s happening. The process of bringing more people in as well as making sure that we have the software that’s necessary to process all of these things, that’s a procurement issue that I think we’re going to handle. But we’ve got to go back to the legislature and reduce some of the requirements around procurement because it’s just too onerous for most of the agencies to be able to procure the things they need, in particular around technology, which, as you know, needs to be upgraded every few years.
Isabel: Is that the holdup with the software? Is it a procurement issue? Are there steps that they still have to go through?
Pritzker: It’s the combination of being able to find, remember, we’ve got to have bidders for the software that we want, as well as having enough people to be able to run that once it’s installed. But those are both things that are working against us moving more quickly. Meanwhile, everybody’s working around the clock to try to get those licenses issued as fast as possible.
I followed up and was told that they’ve brought in two temp workers to help with processing the applications for those 80 health-related professions. The department, I’m told, is hiring more people, but its headcount is so far still limited to eight. I was also told that more processors will be hired with the new budget.
Friday, May 24, 2024 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will not close high-performing CPS Selective Enrollment Schools, at least not until a fully elected Chicago Public School Board takes over the system in 2027.
The mayor made his promise in a letter sent on Friday to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, asking for Harmon to kill statewide legislation that would protect those schools.
“The district will not close selective enrollment schools, nor will the District make disproportionate budget cuts to selective enrollment schools,” the letter states. “The district will maintain admissions standards at those schools. Any narrative to the contrary is patently false.”
Johnson and his Chicago Teachers Union allies have lobbied hard against legislation passed by the house that would explicitly protect those schools, along with magnets and charter schools. The legislation was filed due to concerns those schools could be on the chopping block, after Johnson’s handpicked school board released a five year strategic plan that alluded to redirecting resources away from them and toward neighborhood schools. The bill’s house sponsor, State Rep Margaret Croke, says she is disappointed that Harmon has apparently agreed to sit on the bill in the senate.
“While his letter agreement with the Mayor contains some concessions,” Croke said. “It does not protect magnet or charter schools and still allows for changes in admissions criteria for selective enrollment schools.”
Selective enrollment schools were created to foster integration in CPS, not to codify segregation. pic.twitter.com/IRIWprn3k5
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) May 23, 2024
…Adding… Somebody just pointed out the fine print on Mayor Johnson’s tweet: “Note: Selective high school data includes Jones, Lane Tech, Whitney Young, Payton and North Side.” The city has eleven selective enrollment schools, and the ones not mentioned above have significantly higher Black and Brown enrollment.
…Adding… IML…
“We are pleased with the overall framework of the issues affecting municipalities,” said Brad Cole, Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Municipal League. “Local leaders have long advocated for greater authority to provide for the programs and services their residents rely on every day, which they will be granted under this budget agreement.”
As subscribers know, the municipals did pretty well, considering.
After a last-minute plea from Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is expected to put the brakes on legislation that would extend a moratorium on public school closings in Chicago. […]
Sen. Robert Martwick, an ally of Johnson and the CTU, said he was glad to see the issue resolved without the city’s hands being tied by legislation, because “the mayor has made it very clear that his intention is to wait for the fully elected school board to take place before major changes are made.”
“As the mayor has publicly provided assurances that there will be no dramatic changes to the role of selective enrollment and magnet schools in the school district, the need for the legislation is obviated,” Martwick, a Chicago Democrat said. “We don’t need it anymore.”
…Adding… He’s not helping his legislative cause…
Jessica Handy, Illinois Executive Director of Stand for Children…
“HB 303 would extend the moratorium on school closures for ALL Chicago Public Schools until the fully elected school board is seated. ALL of them. Magnet, charter, neighborhood, selective enrollment. ALL of them.
This isn’t a bill about protecting a small group of selective enrollment schools from closure. A commitment to not close a narrow segment of selective enrollment schools is not an alternative to HB 303.
Opponents have called selective enrollment schools racist, while promising they have no intention of closing them. The same assurances have not been given to charter, magnet, and neighborhood schools from closures. CPS’s charter schools serve a student body that is 98% Black and Latino/a. Sixty-five percent of CPS’s Black students attend a school of choice rather than their zoned school, including 84% of Black high school students in CPS. Half of CPS’s Latino/a students attend a school of choice rather than their zoned school, including 71% of high school students.
In December, the CPS school board passed a resolution imposing its vision to “transition away from” selective enrollment, charter, and magnet schools. We polled Chicago families to ask how they felt about that vision, and 82% of respondents believe CPS families should be able to choose the public school that best meets their student’s needs, whether that’s their neighborhood school, a school in another neighborhood, or a magnet, selective enrollment, or charter school. Sixty-four percent of voters believe eliminating school choice would limit opportunities and increase segregation.
A student’s zip code should never determine the quality of public education they receive. Public school choice will always be available to families who can afford to move and live in areas with better quality schools. The students who will be hurt by “transitioning away from” schools of choice are not the ones with resources – they are those who are already the most disadvantaged and marginalized. If ‘HB 303 seeks to solve problems that do not exist’ and CPS truly does not intend to close or disproportionately cut options schools, then it makes very little sense to fight HB 303.”
The Illinois legislature has passed a bill that would cap patient costs for prescription inhalers at $25 a month. […]
The bill passed the House 87-21 on Wednesday, and now moves to the governor for his signature. When asked whether the governor plans to sign the bill, a spokesperson for Gov. J.B. Pritzer’s office said in an email Thursday that he “will give it a careful review” once it reaches his desk.
No insurance industry group opposed the bill, but some Republican lawmakers spoke against it during floor debate, before it passed. […]
The bill would not apply to all insurance plans, only those regulated by the state. Many large employers have plans that are regulated by the federal government.
The Illinois House unanimously passed a plan Thursday to curb the amount of young people purchasing fruit flavored malt drinks containing 4-6% alcohol.
This bill requires retailers to separate soda and juice from liquor that looks like soda. The proposal prohibits retailers from displaying alcopop drinks next to soft drinks, bottled water or snacks catered to young customers.
“If it’s an area that is designated where individuals who are not 21 shouldn’t be, then you don’t have to worry about those items being co-branded or alcohol-infused products being adjacent to those others because it’s in the area that’s supposed to be for 21 anyway,” said Rep. Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago). […]
Senate Bill 2625 passed unanimously out of the House and now moves to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk for his signature of approval. The legislation previously gained unanimous support in the Senate.
A proposal to reform the requirements of owning mobile home parks has passed both chambers of the Illinois statehouse.
Under the bill, the Illinois Department of Public Health would be required to conduct annual inspections on all the mobile home parks in the state.
The bill would also require increased licensing fees for mobile homes park owners and IDPH to come up with an annual report on the state of mobile home ownership. […]
The bill passed the Illinois House 93-12 and the Illinois Senate 47-12.
* Sen. Celina Villanueva…
State Senator Celina Villanueva advanced a measure to allow driver’s license holders more notice for court appearances prior to suspension.
“By eliminating license suspensions for a failure to appear in court, we are able to more effectively use law enforcement resources,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “A lot of the time, these initial court notices are not reaching people at their correct addresses. It is simply unfair to revoke driving privileges when people are not even getting proper notice.”
Under House Bill 277, if a person fails to appear in court, the court may text, call or email the person’s last known contact information with notice regarding the continued court dates. The notice will include a statement that a future failure to appear could result in a warrant or consequences affecting their driving privileges. The current penalty for failure to appear in court is immediate license suspension by the Secretary of State.
“It is imperative we offer drivers the courtesy of an electronic continued court date notice before we issue warrants or license suspension,” said Villanueva. “Individuals who lose their licenses are likely to continue to drive out of necessity, leading to further legal penalties and creating a cycle of legal non-compliance.”
House Bill 277 passed the Senate on Thursday and heads to the governor for further consideration.
Authorities in Illinois would not be allowed to aid another state’s investigation of people coming to Illinois to seek abortions or other reproductive health care under a bill that cleared the General Assembly Thursday.
House Bill 5239, which needs only a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law, also gives individuals the right to sue for civil damages if their information is improperly disclosed.
Further, it gives minors the right to apply for public aid to obtain family planning services without the consent of their parents. And it gives the state exclusive authority to define and regulate “lawful health care activity,” prohibiting local units of government from exercising similar authority.
The bill is one of several responses Illinois lawmakers have passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade. It came in response to legislative efforts in other states to ban or severely limit access to abortion services.
* Rep. Dagmara Avelar…
Working to help people engage with government and access critical services in their preferred language, state Rep. Dagmara “Dee” Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, passed legislation through the House expanding language offerings in state offices.
“Illinois faces a critical opportunity which can change lives for residents statewide — providing accessible resources for a significant community of people who don’t use English as their first language, or not at all,” Avelar said. “It’s more important than ever that we consider and adapt to the state’s colorful range of cultures and languages — we can do so by reshaping our state agencies to provide accessible and equitable assistance to all, especially the non-English speaking, immigrant communities that have been residing in and contributing to our state’s longevity for decades.”
The Avelar-led Senate Bill 3762 seeks to ensure each state agency has the resources or staffers to assist Illinoisans with limited English proficiency. By ensuring agencies have a communication plan to cater to preferred languages noted by Illinois respondents in the U.S. Census, Avelar’s bill will help people access state services, activities and resources, plus resolve issues in the language they are most comfortable with.
Senate Bill 3762 passed out of the House Thursday and awaits the governor’s action.
* Sen. Omar Aquino…
State Senator Omar Aquino led a measure through the Senate that calls on Illinois’ labor oversight boards to work together to streamline the resolution process at worksites involved in unfair labor complaint proceedings. […]
The Illinois Labor Relations Act lays out the rights public sector employees are entitled to in Illinois, including the right to form, join or assist a labor organization without fear of penalty, discrimination or retaliation. When a public employer or labor organization interferes with the exercise of rights provided under the ILRA, the employee, union or employer can file unfair labor practice charges with the labor board overseeing their sector. In recent years, labor unions representing public sector workers have seen wait times as long as 400 days on their unfair labor practice claims.
To ensure there is publicly available data on how long it takes to resolve cases and begin taking steps to speed up this process, Aquino worked with the AFL-CIO on legislation calling on the Illinois Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to expedite their consideration and resolution of unfair labor practices and report the timeline of these steps annually to the governor and General Assembly. […]
House Bill 5324 passed the Senate Thursday and is one step closer to becoming law.
* Sen. Celina Villanueva…
State Senator Celina Villanueva championed a measure through the Senate to ensure reproductive health care records are not being improperly disclosed.
“As the war on reproductive rights continues throughout the nation, we must ensure that those who are seeking reproductive health care are protected in every way possible,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “As a safe haven state, we have a responsibility to protect individuals’ rights to care and ensure their health care records remain private.”
Last year Villanueva led House Bill 4664 – a law to shield out-of-state patients and in-state providers from legal action originating from other states regarding abortions performed here. To expand upon that measure and provide further protections, Villanueva led House Bill 5239 this year.
The measure would ensure that location information and health records for reproductive health care performed in Illinois would not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Further, it would ensure that units of local governments could not assist in imposing a civil or criminal liability against a person or provider who received reproductive or gender affirming care in Illinois. […]
House Bill 5239 passed Senate Thursday and heads to the governor for further consideration.
* Sen. Mary Edly-Allen…
State Senator Mary Edly-Allen passed an initiative to align nutrition and restraint protections for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals in state prisons. […]
House Bill 5431 seeks to align rights statewide to address the lack of humane treatment of pregnant and postpartum people. Additionally, this legislation requires annual reporting on pregnancies, births, miscarriages, and the use of restraints in facilities as well as requiring supplemental nutrition for pregnant and breastfeeding prisoners. […]
House Bill 5431 passed the Senate on Tuesday and now heads to the governor for further consideration.
After years of negotiations and continued opposition from service providers, Illinois appears poised to prohibit employers from using a federal exemption that allows them to pay individuals with disabilities less than the minimum wage.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum wage law, but created an exemption for businesses, rehabilitation and residential care facilities to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage if they obtain a special certificate permitted in Section 14(c) of the law. This “commensurate wage” is based on the worker’s individual productivity in proportion to the wage and productivity of workers who do not have disabilities but are performing the same or a similar task. […]
House Bill 793, which passed the House 78-30 on Thursday night, would prohibit companies from holding 14(c) certificates beginning in 2030 – a timeline that was extended in a late amendment to garner further support, including from Republicans. […]
It now heads to the Senate, where it will need to be read on three separate days before it can pass. It’s unclear how long the Senate will remain in Springfield before it adjourns its spring session, making it possible that the measure will have to wait until the fall veto session or later until it can be moved to the governor’s desk.
Here’s the moratorium language. No pipelines “…until the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has adopted final revisions to its pipeline safety rules…” or until after July 1, 2026. #twillpic.twitter.com/dTag5rgQ8z
A bipartisan group of Illinois senators passed the massive Healthcare Protection Act Thursday night. The legislation, a top priority for Gov. JB Pritzker, could curb predatory insurance practices and protect consumers.
This plan would make Illinois the first state to ban prior authorization for in-patient adult and children’s mental healthcare. The bill would also ban step therapy, or the fail first method, where insurers force people to receive less effective drug treatments before moving to options initially recommended by doctors.
The measure would also require prior approval from the Department of Insurance before large group insurance plans can increase rates and require premiums to align with the actual cost of providing care. […]
House Bill 5395 passed out of the Senate on a 45-14 vote and now heads back to the House on concurrence.
The House passed two bills that would regulate battery collection and storage.
Senate Bill 3481 would require automotive parts recyclers that store over 5,000 kilograms of used electric vehicle batteries – or approximately 10 EV batteries – to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency by Feb. 1, 2026. […]
The bill passed the House Tuesday on a 77-35 bipartisan vote, but since it was amended in that chamber, it goes back to the Senate for concurrence.
Senate Bill 3686 would create the Portable and Medium-Format Battery Stewardship Act.
Beginning July 2026, battery producers would be required to create and facilitate a battery stewardship plan, and retailers would be prohibited from selling batteries from producers who haven’t submitted plans. Producers would be required to submit an annual report and pay an annual $100,000 fee to the IEPA. […]
It cleared the House Tuesday with bipartisan support in a 77-35 vote. Since it was amended in the House, it will go back to the Senate for a concurrence.
Just after popping the lid off a new market, hemp beverage makers fear a proposal to ban intoxicating hemp products in Illinois would end their new business. […]
The ban, as originally proposed by state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, would put a two-year moratorium on all intoxicating hemp products, including those sold widely at vape shops and gas stations, until a committee can propose regulations. A newer version, put into an existing bill for fast approval, would allow the sale of products, but only by businesses licensed under the current state cannabis law.
Hemp business owners say that would cause widespread closures of businesses and put many people out of work. Instead, they are calling for restricting products to adults 21 and older, requiring testing and labeling of potency and purity, and imposing a wholesale tax of 10% plus a retail tax of 10%.
State-legal cannabis companies have pushed for the legislation, saying it’s unfair they have to follow tight restrictions while hemp businesses are unchecked.
* Labor leaders send letter of support of Enhancing Equity in Education tax credit scholarship program…
As the final days of the 2024 Spring Session of the 103rd General Assembly begin to wane, we would like to express our support for Enhancing Equity in Education, the new Illinois tax credit scholarship program. Designed to help the most impoverished in Illinois, many parents and children across our State would benefit from this program, and we urge you to act now.
As Labor Unions representing workers across Illinois, we know all too well the importance of a quality education. Electricians, laborers, carpenters, operating engineers, bricklayers, plumbers, and all other skilled tradespeople in the private and public sectors must have a quality education to be successful in their careers. We are fortunate to live in a state that not only provides quality public school options for parents to choose from but also provides options for low-income parents who desire other educational alternatives - including private and parochial schools.
The Enhancing Equity in Education program would not only offer children from low-income families traditional educational options for their individual needs but would also include opportunities for those who may want to attend an approved technical academy to provide coursework and training in career and technical education.
On behalf of those families who would benefit from this new scholarship program, we urge you to support the Enhancing Equity in Education tax credit scholarship program, so those families in need have an opportunity to receive a scholarship to thrive in a school of their choice.
Chicago Public Schools moved a step closer to finalizing a new school safety policy Thursday, following a Board of Education vote in February to remove uniformed Chicago Police Department officers from all district schools as of the end of the school year.
The board approved a new “Whole School Safety Framework” presented by the district Thursday. But a state bill that could supersede the district’s plans may also be voted on this week. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Gill, D-Chicago, HB5008 would allow high school Local School Councils to contract directly with CPD to employ school resource officers, known as SROs, through February 2027. […]
Proponents have argued that LSCs should continue to vote on whether to keep SROs, given that different schools have different needs.
Lynn Morton of Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI), one of four community-based nonprofits which have partnered with CPS to reshape its safety policies, recognized that removing SROs makes some community members nervous.
* HB5008 passed out of committee and heads to the House floor on Second Reading.
* Press release…
The following is a statement from the coalition of supporters for The Small Business Financing Transparency Act (SB2234 - Belt/Tarver) disputing misinformation from opponents of the bill:
“Unfortunately, high-priced lenders (a.k.a. ‘financing companies’) that oppose the Small Business Financing Transparency Act are circulating misinformation about the supposed impossibility of disclosing an APR for revenue-based financing (a.k.a. ’sales-based financing’).
“APR is simply the price of a loan expressed as an annualized percentage, i.e., the yearly cost of the loan. Lenders obviously know the price of their own products.
“Disclosing an estimated APR based on future revenue is not a new concept. Federal regulations pertaining to consumer loans account for the need to estimate APR under certain circumstances. For example, in income share agreements and refund anticipation loans, the lender knows how much it expects to earn on the loan and calculates the APR based on its expectations of the amount and the timing of the payments.
“A more plausible reason for not disclosing APR is because the opponents don’t want their borrowers to know when they are being charged in excess of 100% APR.
“In 2021, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’s Economic Access Pillar significantly elevated Illinois’s standing for consumer financial protection. The Small Business Financing Transparency Act is the natural extension of that work considering that businesses in Black, Brown, and lower income communities are disproportionately driven to the ‘nonbank’ lenders that the bill would cover. Empowering entrepreneurs to make informed decisions about their businesses is good for small business, and thus, good for our state’s economy.”
* ICYMI: Cook County plans to replace juvenile detention center with smaller ‘centers of care’. Injustice Watch…
Cook County officials plan to drastically reduce the size of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, the nation’s largest juvenile jail, long criticized for its inhumane treatment and ineffective care of vulnerable kids, and replace it with community-based treatment centers.
The plans, which have the backing of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans, call for downsizing the five-story detention center on Chicago’s West Side and replacing it with “centers of care,” which would be semi-secure facilities to house youths who judges deem can’t be released to their homes, according to a proposal submitted for a federal grant to support the effort.
Officials plan to repurpose the JTDC, which currently houses nearly 200 teenagers in single-occupancy cells, into “less traumatizing dormitory-style conditions” for the fewer than 50 youths expected to require secure detention. By the end of next year, the footprint of the more than 600,000-square-foot detention center is expected to shrink by 60%, according to the plans, which Injustice Watch obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The move would be the most significant reform to juvenile detention in Cook County since the JTDC was released from federal court oversight nearly a decade ago and would put Cook County at the forefront of a nationwide push to reduce the incarceration of young people.
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* AP | The Justice Department is suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation. What does that mean for concertgoers?: The lawsuit could potentially lead to a breakup of Live Nation Entertainment, a company that resulted from Ticketmaster’s 2010 merger with concert promoter Live Nation. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the aim is to allow more competition and to let smaller players gain more of the U.S. ticket-selling market — which Ticketmaster controls a whopping 70% of. More competition could lead to cheaper tickets. But experts say live event lovers shouldn’t expect changes any time soon.
* Tribune | Illinois fails to protect immigrant victims of crime, report finds: The report released Thursday reveals widespread violations by the state’s law enforcement agencies of an act that attempts to provide greater access to protections for immigrants who are victims of crime or human trafficking. Amid a migrant crisis in Chicago in which over 42,000 people have arrived in the city in nearly two years sent on buses from the southern border, the report shines a light on an intractable problem: that some will inevitably be victims of crime but won’t rely on police or law enforcement agencies for support because they’re worried they will face trouble with the law for their immigration status.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Pantagraph | Quantum leap? Pritzker’s tax incentive proposal moving forward in state legislature: The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, sailed through the House on a bipartisan 98-14 vote on Wednesday. It heads to the Senate, where it could be considered later this week. In addition to quantum, the package bolsters a menu of existing economic development initiatives, such as the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit, its program targeting electric vehicle manufacturers and suppliers and its research and development tax credit.
* WSIU | Area lawmakers remain vigilant on a plan prioritizing the wellbeing of Choate residents: Members of the Illinois Senate stated that the cameras are working as intended, but there is room for further oversight and improvement to ensure those housed at Choate are protected. They add management must do more to create an environment where employees have no reason to fear retaliation for reporting cases of abuse.
* Tribune | Ahead of Memorial Day, Illinois treasurer seeks to return a dozen unclaimed Purple Heart medals: The medals were submitted to the treasurer’s office through its unclaimed property program, but their stories remain shrouded in mystery. A Purple Heart is awarded to those who are killed or wounded in service. “These Purple Hearts are priceless. You can’t put a price tag on them,” Frerichs said at a news conference Thursday morning. “We’re not going to stop until we get them back into the rightful owners’ hands.”
*** Chicago ***
* Crain’s | Shootings in Chicago are concentrated in the summer, yes. That’s only part of the story.: A new analysis from the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab found that more than a third of annual shootings in Chicago happened in the summer, with July alone accounting for 12% of the year’s incidents. Those shootings are not only concentrated in the summer months, they overwhelmingly impact a small geographic region of the city. Read the Crime Lab’s full findings below. […] Of those nearly 7,000 grids mapped across the city, 10% of them accounted for 58% of annual shooting incidents across the five-year period. Those numbers worsened when examining summer shooting incidents, with 10% of the grids accounting for 64% of those shootings. Neighborhoods in the South and West sides accounted for the highest share of shootings.
* Sun-Times | NASCAR Chicago Street Race is the focus of Chicago History Museum pop-up exhibit: Visitors to the Chicago History Museum will be able to relive last year’s NASCAR Chicago Street Race weeks before the roar of engines echoes through downtown as the race returns to the city for the second consecutive year. The museum, 1601 N. Clark St., hosted a preview of its NASCAR Chicago Street Race Experience pop-up exhibit on Thursday ahead of its public opening Friday.
* Block Club | Lollapalooza Releases 2024 Schedule: The annual Chicago fest released its schedule Thursday with individual set times, allowing attendees to start mapping out their Lolla stage-viewing plans. The detailed lineup includes headliners SZA, Tyler, the Creator, blink-182, The Killers, Future x Metro Boomin, Hozier, Stray Kids, Melanie Martinez and Skrillex.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Sun-Times | Did the Kane County sheriff’s office blow a chance to arrest suspect hours before killing him?: That’s what family and friends of Jim Moriarty want to know. He was shot to death by sheriff’s deputies on May 24, 2023, after a carjacking and chase and repeated comments about “suicide by cop” amid what people close to him called a mental health breakdown. Records say the sheriff’s office “compromised” a stakeout in Aurora a day earlier aimed at bringing him in safely.
* Daily Herald | Wait and see regarding concerns over District 128 superintendent, new initiatives: As seniors from Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools graduated Thursday to their next chapters, they leave behind a district also facing an uncertain future with new initiatives and the 293-member teachers union voting “no confidence” in the superintendent. Parents and community members also had a lot to say regarding educational initiatives planned for the 2024-25 school year during a six-hour Libertyville-Vernon Hills High School District 128 school board meeting held in the Vernon Hills High School gym.
* Fox 2 Now | Madison County Jail adds golden retriever to staff: Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor has added a new sergeant to the staff: Doug, a one-and-a-half-year-old golden retriever. Inmate Justin Baker was in jail before Doug joined the staff. Though jail is still nowhere Baker wants to be, he says interacting with Doug and being able to pet him takes the edge off from not being able to leave.
* Intelligencer | Illinois governor attends celebration for new Madison County Transit building:
The new MCT site is a two-story, 26,416-square-foot building just south of West Chain of Rocks Road. The new site houses administration, human resources, marketing and communications, accounting procurement, information technology, engineering and planning and capital projects. Building amenities include a state-of-the-art boardroom, a new video surveillance system and access control system for the building and grounds in addition to a new bus pull-off and shelter.
*** National ***
* AP | Who gets paid? How much? What to know about the landmark NCAA settlement: The plan, which still needs approval from plaintiffs and a federal judge, calls for paying damages to thousands of former and current college athletes who say now-defunct NCAA rules prevented them from earning endorsement money. It also calls for setting up a first-of-its-kind revenue-sharing system for college athletes, which will impact hundreds of schools across the country as early as fall 2025.
* Mayor Brandon Johnson’s full letter to Senate President Don Harmon is here. Here’s his tweet…
Selective enrollment schools were created to foster integration in CPS, not to codify segregation. pic.twitter.com/IRIWprn3k5
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) May 23, 2024
* Rep. Margaret Croke’s full statement…
I am deeply disappointed to learn that President Harmon may not call this bill. While his letter agreement with the mayor contains some concessions, it does not protect magnet or charter schools and still allows for changes in admissions criteria for selective enrollment schools.
The CPS school budgeting process has been hidden from both the public and from Springfield legislators, and I fully expect that disproportionate cuts will be made to magnet schools and charters will eventually be close.
Most of us in both Chambers voted in favor of an elected school board. We should ensure that Chicago voters maintain the right to have their elected school board members make these decisions. I hope when the Senate realizes that this letter falls horribly short from how it is being spun that they will reconsider and run this bill.
* The elections omnibus bill is here. More on the pink slime sites issue is here. Background on the red light cam story is here. Background on Tiffany Henyard’s salary ploy is here.
