1. This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of a new Illinois statute specifically designed to evade the judgment of Congress—and the Constitution.
2. On August 12, 2023, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Illinois House Bill 218 (“HB 218”), which radically expands liability in Illinois for members of the firearm industry—and them alone. Under HB 218, the “sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of a firearm-related product” anywhere in the country may be deemed to violate Illinois law (and justify the imposition of sweeping liability), even if it complied with all state and federal regulations, if an Illinois judge or jury later finds that such conduct “contribute[d] to a condition in Illinois that endangers the safety or health of the public.” 815 Ill. Comp. Stat. 505/2BBBB-(b)(1).
3. Although the statute purports to be aimed at preventing firearms from being used in such a way that endangers public safety or health, HB 218 does not regulate the use (or misuse) of firearms. Nor does it impose liability on individuals who misuse firearms to the detriment of themselves or others. Instead, HB 218 regulates selling, manufacturing, and advertising lawful (and constitutionally protected) firearms and related products. In other words, HB 218 regulates commerce in and speech relating to arms—even when that commerce and speech takes place entirely outside of Illinois, as will often be the case. HB 218 also removes traditional elements of tort law that ensure that judges and juries do not impose liability on private parties for constitutionally protected conduct. Making matters worse, the statute jettisons traditional proximate cause in favor of allowing state courts to impose liability on licensed industry members for the actions of third- party criminals with whom the industry members never dealt.
4. None of that is consistent with the Constitution. The First Amendment prohibits states from punishing wide swaths of truthful speech about lawful products, even if the products are dangerous or the speech is unpopular. The Second Amendment protects commerce in arms. Numerous constitutional provisions prohibit states from regulating conduct that takes place wholly beyond their borders, even when that commerce has effects within the state. And the Due Process Clause prohibits states from punishing one private party for the conduct of another.
5. All of that is reason enough to invalidate Illinois’ new statute. But there is an even more obvious problem with HB 218: It is squarely preempted by federal law. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, several state and local governments sought to use novel applications of common-law theories like negligence and nuisance to impose civil liability on manufacturers and sellers of firearms and ammunition when third parties misused their products. Congress saw these lawsuits for what they were: unconstitutional efforts to stamp out lawful and constitutionally protected activity. To end such incursions, Congress enacted the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005 by wide margins on a substantially bipartisan basis. The PLCAA expressly prohibits and preempts state-law civil actions “brought by any person against a manufacturer or seller of [firearms or ammunition] … for damages, punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, or penalties, or other relief, resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of [firearms or ammunition] by the person or a third party.” 15 U.S.C. §7903(5)(A).
6. Illinois is now trying to resurrect the very kinds of lawsuits that the PLCAA was enacted to eliminate. Under HB 218, state officials and private parties may bring civil actions against licensed manufacturers and sellers of firearms, ammunition, and related products for damages and other relief resulting from the criminal use of a firearm by a third party. HB 218 therefore falls squarely within the express-preemption provision of the PLCAA.
7. For these reasons and those set forth below, NSSF seeks a declaration that HB 218 is preempted and unconstitutional, an injunction preventing Illinois from enforcing it against NSSF and/or its members, nominal damages, and any other relief this Court deems proper.
* Capitol News Illinois, Lee Enterprises and ProPublica last month…
The findings about Choate administrators are particularly notable because Pritzker’s administration decided to retain the facility’s top three administrators in March when announcing a plan to reduce the size of Choate and move some residents to community settings or other state-run facilities.
All three administrators were previously indicted on felony charges in connection with their handling of an abuse allegation at the facility. Facility Director Bryant Davis and Gary Goins, who has served as quality assurance and improvements director, were both charged with official misconduct in 2021. Assistant Director Teresa Smith was charged twice with official misconduct and obstruction of justice, in 2020 and 2021. A judge dismissed the first case, finding there was not probable cause to sustain the charge. The prosecutor dismissed the most recent charges against the three administrators. Smith, Goins and Davis did not respond to requests for comment.
In explaining her rationale for keeping the administrators, IDHS Secretary Grace Hou said in March: “We’ve weighed a lot of different perspectives, but I think we need a leader who knows Choate inside and out, who has relationships with the residents and the parents and the staff to lead us through this challenging transition.” Pritzker publicly backed Hou’s decision at the time.
* Illinois Department of Human Services today…
“I am pleased to share that, effective August 16, Stephany Hoehner will serve as the Director of the Choate Mental Health Developmental Center (CMHDC). Hoehner, who currently serves as CMHDC Project Manager, brings with her a wealth of knowledge in continuous quality improvement and operational management. Prior to joining CMHDC, Stephany served as Continuous Improvement Specialist and Practice Manager at Southern Illinois Healthcare in Carbondale where she was responsible for leading daily operations, financial stewardship, change management, and continuous improvement. She has already proved to be a valuable team member assisting in quality assurance, investigations, training, and data analysis at CMHDC. I have the utmost confidence in Stephany’s leadership and know that she will be integral in creating positive, transformative change at Choate. I would like to extend my gratitude to Bryant Davis who has served as Facility Director of CMHDC for the past six years. He will provide ongoing support to Choate during a one-month transition period.” Tonya Piephoff, Director for IDHS’ Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)
“As a native of southern Illinois, I consider Choate to be foundational and instrumental to the betterment of our community. Words cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunity to serve the residents, their families, and staff. As we focus on improving safety, enhancing services, quality of care, and building relationships, I’m excited for the future of Choate.” Stephany Hoehner, incoming CMHDC Director
*** UPDATE *** DHS…
Bryant Davis will no longer work at Choate following a one-month transition period. At this time we are not able to share anything beyond that. Gary Goins and Theresa Smith are employed at Choate as certified State employees in accordance with personnel code and rules.
A state appeals panel today rejected a lawsuit brought by 61 human services providers who have received scant funding during the state’s nearly two-year budget impasse. The 1st District Appellate Court rejected all of the claims brought by the providers, who collectively billed themselves as the Pay Now Illinois coalition. […]
The panel rejected the coalition’s assertions that Rauner has acted beyond his gubernatorial authority by entering into contracts which weren’t funded, and then vetoing the appropriations bills that would have funded them.
“The governor was not obligated to approve any or all portions of appropriations bills by the General Assembly,” Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke wrote in the 35-page opinion on behalf of the three-judge panel. “Indeed, both the governor and the General Assembly are constitutionally constrained to propose or pass budgets and appropriations that do not exceed estimated available funds.”
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today issued the fiscal year 2024 Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) allocations, announcing an unprecedented number of fully funded districts. There are also zero districts under the 60% funding adequacy benchmark for the first time in Illinois history.
FY 2024 marks a historic number of fully funded districts. Only 146 districts were at or above 100% funding adequacy in the first year of EBF in FY 2018; that number has increased by 59% with 232 districts now fully funded in FY 2024. An additional 94 districts have met the 90% funding threshold.
Friday’s ruling upholding Illinois’ gun and magazine ban by the Illinois Supreme Court may not be the last word in state-level challenges. […]
Attorney Thomas DeVore said he plans to pursue the three readings rule challenge with his state-level cases consolidated in Effingham County. While temporary restraining orders for thousands of his clients could be dissolved soon, he plans to mount evidence to prove the equal protections argument.
“So what they said is ‘Dan Caulkins, you didn’t bring us any facts to show that you are similar to these exempt categories so for that reason you lose,’” DeVore told The Center Square. “Well, we’re going to build that case in our case if that proceeds.”
Some of the evidence DeVore plans to work at discovering includes the levels of firearms training for those in the exempt class like prison wardens, security guards and those in law enforcement.
“I wanna see the record of every law enforcement officer in the state of Illinois,” DeVore said. “What are they trained on? What guns do they handle, et cetera, et cetera, so we can build that similarity argument that we desperately need in order to win this case in front of the Illinois Supreme Court, to even have a chance to win it.”
Every record? Hilarious. Expect a trial sometime in 2045. At least the pension funds will be fully funded by then. /s
…Adding… As noted in comments, state law now requires DeVore to file his constitutional challenge in either Sangamon or Cook counties. He’ll have to get thru that issue if he stays in Effingham.
* Interesting…
We are back in the Tim Mapes trial, where Judge Kness has just announced he WILL allow the defense to call prosecutor Amarjeet Bhachu, who ran the grand jury interview of Mapes in March 2021.
These questions have the same hallmarks of fundamental ambiguity as the episodes above. They are ambiguous in their use of the terms “tasks,” “work,” and “assignments.” They are compound.
And, as demonstrated by the sequence of questions and answers both before and after those questions (none of which the grand jury found perjurious), Mr. Mapes’ answers are literally true. For instance, before the allegedly perjurious answer to the question in episode 3, Mr. Mapes testified that he did not “recall anything at the moment” but “something could come up as subject matter if you bring it and it pops my memory.” In his testimony, Mr. Mapes also gave high-level examples of Mr. McClain passing “along pieces of information” in the 2017 and 2018 time frame and before, and Mr. McClain providing his “perspective” to Mr. Madigan on various matters.
The prosecutor did not follow up on any of these matters—nor did the prosecutor attempt to refresh Mr. Mapes’ recollection on any specific subject matters that could “pop[]” Mr. Mapes’ memory.
Creates the Whipped Cream Charger Sales Restriction Act. Provides that no person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, or any other business entity doing business in the State shall sell or offer for sale a whipped cream charger to any person under the age of 21.
Penalty is a civil penalty of not more than $250 for an initial offense and not more than $500 for the second and each subsequent offense.
Whippets were a thing back in the early 90s. Didn’t know they still were.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Tribune | Don Madigan? Ex-FBI agent likens former House speaker to mafia boss in perjury trial of former Madigan aide: “Mr. Madigan ran his organization, as close as I can compare it to, almost the head of a mafia family,” former Special Agent Brendan O’Leary testified, noting that Madigan rarely used the phone, texts or emails to communicate orders. “The ability for us to hear about what happened generally came down to the people on the inside being honest, and that is what we relied on.”
* Sun-Times | Prosecutors accuse defense of playing games with witness list in trial of ex-top aide to Madigan: Over the weekend, lawyers in the case revisited a dispute that surfaced before the trial began. Mapes’ lawyers have named Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu as a witness they might call when it is their turn to present evidence. Bhachu is the chief of the public corruption section of Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s office and a supervisor of the case against Mapes. He has also played a central role in the Madigan investigation. He gave the final argument last April in the trial of four former political power players who conspired to bribe Madigan, calling them “grand masters of corruption.”
* Sun-Times | Migrant families say Rogers Park motel kicked them out after missing curfew by 7 minutes: Leon, 30, said the two families were asked to leave the motel around 2 p.m. Saturday because they had missed an 11 p.m. curfew the night before by seven minutes after they took their children out for pizza. Leon said they had gone out because the food they had been given was “old” and had made the children sick.
* Block Club | Emails Reveal How Lightfoot Closed A Backroom Deal To Hand Public Housing Land Over To A Billionaire’s Sports Team: Under the deal, the Fire will lease 23 acres on the Near West Side for at least 40 years so the team can build a new training facility on the site. The Fire are owned by Joe Mansueto, a billionaire business leader and Lightfoot campaign donor. The federal government has long reserved that land for housing, so by law federal officials have to ensure any sale or lease of it is in the “best interest” of low-income residents.
* Daily Herald | ‘We can’t go on this way’: Lisle Township board calls on supervisor to resign: “[Township Supervisor Diane Hewitt] just creates a wave of chaos, and we’re spending so many hours undoing and unraveling the messes,” said Trustee Autumn Geist, a Democrat who ran with Hewitt in 2021. “I really believe her heart is in the right place, but her challenges overshadow her strength.”
* Block Club | Introducing Block Club Chicago’s New Investigative Team, The Watch: The new investigative team will work closely with our neighborhood reporters and be positioned to act on tips and pursue high-impact stories to improve government transparency and accountability. The Watch reporters, Mina Bloom, Rachel Hinton and Manny Ramos, have an impressive track record of serving the South and West sides through their investigative work and have a deep understanding of Block Club’s mission.
* Tribune | Black Chicagoans are tired of waiting for solutions to maternal mortality — so they’re creating their own: In Chicago, where recent hospital closings have rendered entire swathes of the city “birth deserts,” the issue is laid plain: Black maternal health-care conditions remain dismal despite years of criticism, Black health-care officials say. Tired of waiting on others to find answers, Black Chicagoans like Valrie-Logan are stepping up to create their own solutions to the lack of care. Nearly a decade after her miscarriage, Valrie-Logan, a midwife and mother of three, is on track to help open a South Shore birthing center dedicated to Black birthing people and their families by 2025.
* WBEZ | Lots of questions, few answers for Black and brown high schoolers applying to college: Colleges are still planning on collecting racial demographic information, but it’s not clear what admissions officers are going to do with it. And the Supreme Court Justices left the door open for students to write about their race in their personal statements. That raises another question: Are essays a loophole for application readers to give racially underrepresented students a leg up? […] In the end, Izzy decided against it. Instead, she’s writing about her favorite musicians and what their concerts have meant to her. She wants to go into music management.
* Sun-Times | A list of every known Illinois resident charged in the U.S. Capitol breach: More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the attack in almost all 50 states. That includes Illinois, where at least 39 residents face charges. They come from all around the state and include a onetime CEO, a Chicago police officer and a member of the Proud Boys.
* Block Club | Famed Cher Impersonator To Headline Lips Chicago Fundraiser For Domestic Violence Victims: ips Chicago, the iconic drag dining spot, is teaming up with Connections for Abused Women and Their Children to raise money for the domestic violence organization. This year’s annual Night of Stars event is 7 p.m. Thursday at Lips, 2229 S. Michigan Ave. Individual tickets are $80 and six-ticket bundles are $425.
* Sun-Times | ‘A feast for the eyes’ comes in a mixed year for summer/fall mushrooms: “Even though the past month overall has been rather wet, the drought of early summer knocked back my beloved chanterelles a good bit this summer,” Jay Damm emailed in an update last Monday. “It just confirms my experience that if a species experiences dry conditions during the pre-season, the true season can be weak to non-existent.
* WCIA | Child injured on ride at Illinois State Fair: A child attending the Illinois State Fair was hurt on Thursday after officials said an object flew off one of the amusement rides and hit them in the leg. […] The child was evaluated by medical personnel at the scene and needed only an ice pack. […] The IDOL’s chief inspector evaluated the ride after it was repaired and permitted the ride to resume operation. The fair’s Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Division manager revisited the Ring of Fire again Friday morning to make sure things were still operating smoothly.
* Pantagraph | A guide to food at the 2023 Illinois State Fair: Brown, of Gulfport, Miss., specialized in electrical automation and robotics in school. But there came a point where he said “Lord, I need something else.” And his first thought, believe it or not, was flavored watermelon. “A week later, I thought ‘that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of in my life,’” Brown said. “And 12 years later, here I am.”
In a year that saw exponential growth in the youth in agriculture movement, the Illinois State Fair, along with Governor JB Pritzker, announced that the Illinois State FFA Officers will serve as Grand Marshals for the annual Twilight Parade.
Since Governor Pritzker announced in 2022 that every student in the state of Illinois taking an agriculture class would have their FFA dues paid, FFA membership increased from 23,000 to over 41,000 members strong. Additionally, 5,500 students not enrolled in agricultural education courses joined FFA, demonstrating an appreciation of the value of the organization.
For the record, Thursday did mark Thaddeus Bergschneider’s first time being the grand marshal of a parade, one that left him pinching himself.
“I’m looking at all of the cars and the people who are lined up,” said the 18-year-old President of the Illinois FFA, prior to the start of the Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade, “and I can’t believe I’m a grand marshal of it. It really makes me proud to be a part of Illinois FFA and a part of the industry of agriculture that’s put us here and that’s valued. That says a lot.”
I happened to meet Bergschneider yesterday after I had a pork burger in the Commodities Pavilion ahead of the Alanis Morissette concert. FFA Vice President Riley Kessler was also part of the parade and was at the pavilion as well. They were both very impressive.
And both of those young people were still so excited about the opportunity to lead that parade last week and about the attention it brought the FFA. Whoever thought up this idea deserves major kudos.
I was in 4-H (Iroquois County, Milks Grove Challengers), but not FFA. It just wasn’t my thing, but my daughter was a member and it had a positive impact on her life.
* Press release…
Today Governor JB Pritzker signed HB3814 into law, allowing students attending work-based learning events like 4-H and FFA programs to count program participation towards school attendance. The bill advances the administration’s work to encourage Illinois students to pursue workforce and career development learning while in school. […]
FFA and 4-H programs encourage both urban and rural Illinois students to participate in hands-on projects across agricultural, STEM, and business development sectors. Students who participate in work-based programs have been shown to make healthier and safer choices and give back to their communities long-term, fostering a culture of collaboration and hard work at a young age.
This bill amends the Illinois School Code to allow students who miss traditional classroom days for events in work-based learning programs to have those events counted towards overall school attendance. The student’s parent or legal guardian are to be responsible for obtaining assignments missed while the student was participating in an eligible program.
* Bergschneider and 4-H youth leader Naomi Dolan spoke at today’s press conference and they did a tremendous job.
Bergschneider talked about how FFA members’ official school attendance records needlessly suffer because of the missed days, even though the kids are out there learning and improving themselves.
Dolan said she missed a month of school her senior year with conferences and other events, “but I was still keeping up on my schoolwork. I stayed up very late to work on my assignments because that’s something that 4-H and FFA tells the youth.”
Brian Mackey: I talk to advocates who say, as you pointed out, the Department of Corrections population peaked at more than 49,000 individuals 10 years ago. Now, it’s fewer than 30,000 this spring. It was even lower than that in the pandemic. We could have closed several prisons, many units within prison facilities. As you said, some of which date back to the 1800s. An advocate I was speaking to said, it doesn’t seem all that complicated, right? Population’s down, staffing is down, $2.5 billion is needed to fix these facilities that are unsafe and inhumane. Why not close them down?
Governor Pritzker: If you assumed that every prisoner was like every other prisoner? Yes, it sounds like a reasonable focus that we would just simply — let’s close some and push people into others. And we’ll have a perfect system. The reality is that we have a lot of different kinds, we have people who are in maximum security with people who are in minimum security, you know, we have facilities that are made more for older populations, we have women’s facilities. It’s just not as easy as I think people would like to think that it is, number one. Number two, we have to think a lot about location. Where are these prisons located across our state? Because as we’ve seen in our healthcare system in, for example, psychiatric hospitals; our need for nurses in developmental disabilities hospitals, and so on. We can’t find the kind of workers that we’re looking for in some parts of the state. That’s not a knock on anything, it’s just that when you get more rural, there are fewer people to choose from; there maybe are fewer people that got the kind of specific training that you need there. And it’s true in in our corrections facilities, too. So I think this has all got to be a public conversation. And it’s one that I think is accelerated by the study that we commissioned, and it’s now been delivered that everybody can read. […]
Brian Mackey: How do we get from here to there? How do we get to you’re making a future budget proposal that says we should have X fewer facilities? We’ve had the public conversation, how do we get from this study to there?
Governor Pritzker: Well, again, you’re assuming fewer facilities — I don’t know if that’s the right answer. I think there’s an argument to be made that having facilities that are less populated within a facility is one of the answers. Maybe we have facilities — the same number of facilities and fewer prisoners. In each one, again, we can talk about the the financial implications for the state of all of that, and we can talk about the implications for the human rights of the people who are incarcerated, not to mention the safety of the workers at a facility. I want the legislature to hold hearings about it, I think they should. And I want advocates on both sides to speak up — including, for example, corrections officers, who know their facilities well and know what works well. I think everybody should be heard here.
* Isabel did a quick roundup…
* WBEZ | Illinois prisons need $2.5 billion in repairs, and that’s just the beginning: Stories of dire conditions in Illinois prisons have been trickling out for years, but a new report from a consulting company hired by the state of Illinois to assess its prison infrastructure shows the situation might be even worse than previously revealed. In the report, obtained by WBEZ, consultants rated three of the department’s 27 facilities as approaching “inoperable” and estimated the prison system has at least $2.5 billion of “deferred maintenance,” the highest of any state agency. That number is expected to double in five years if unaddressed.
* Sun-Times | Despite horror stories and deaths, will Illinois keep an expensive prison health care provider?: Fifty percent of the health care provider’s jobs in Illinois are unfilled. Three Wexford doctors lack proper credentials. Patients in need of dental fillings at one prison are on a 104-week waitlist. And in a review of 17 deaths, an outside monitor found that medical staff gave two prisoners medications that contributed to their deaths.
* NYT | US Bureau of Prisons Is Closing Troubled, Violent Detention Unit in Illinois: The bureau plans to open some kind of specialized unit at the site in the future, but not before re-evaluating the prison’s mission, conducting intensive training and making changes to Thomson’s leadership to “better align the institution’s operations with agency expectations,” Ms. Giamusso said.
U.S. Reps Chuy García and Delia Ramirez are endorsing Jesse Reyes for Illinois Supreme Court. The endorsements come ahead of slating this week by Cook County Democrats for the 2024 election. The county Dems will also consider Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham for the post. Cunningham, who is African American, was appointed to fill an empty seat in December and now must run outright. The Supreme Court and other judicial seats will be slated today.
* As should be expected, that didn’t work out so well. 80 percent of the weighted vote went with the incumbent Black woman on the subcommittee…
Cook County Democrats will slate incumbent Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham for the Democratic primary for the court. Latinos pushed hard for them to back Appellate Court Justice Jesse Reyes, but he has once again been passed up. 80% of weighted vote for Cunningham #twillpic.twitter.com/wuTrTURx7I
Some of Chicago’s Black and Brown political leaders have been fighting over migrants, non-citizen police and the remap. Now this.
…Adding… The tweet I relied on wasn’t quite accurate. This was a subcommittee vote. That subcommittee doesn’t have a lot of Latinos on it. The full endorsement is tomorrow. The headline was also changed.
In the fall of 2022, Ashley [who was 12] was raped by a stranger in the yard outside her home, her mother says. For weeks, she didn’t tell anybody what happened, not even her mom. But Regina knew something was wrong. Ashley used to love going outside to make dances for her TikTok, but suddenly she refused to leave her bedroom. When she turned 13 that November, she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. “She just said, ‘It hurts,’” Regina remembers. “She was crying in her room. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she didn’t want to tell me.” […]
[Ob-gyn Dr. Erica Balthrop] told Regina that the closest abortion provider for Ashley would be in Chicago. At first, Regina thought she and Ashley could drive there. But it’s a nine-hour trip, and Regina would have to take off work. She’d have to pay for gas, food, and a place to stay for a couple of nights, not to mention the cost of the abortion itself. “I don’t have the funds for all this,” she says. […]
Mississippi’s abortion ban is expected to result in thousands of additional births, often to low-income, high-risk mothers. Dr. Daniel Edney, Mississippi’s top health official, tells TIME his department is “actively preparing” for roughly 4,000 additional live births this year alone. Edney says improving maternal-health outcomes is the “No. 1 priority” for the Mississippi health department, which has invested $2 million into its Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program to provide extra support for new mothers. “There is a sense of following through, and not just as a predominantly pro-life state,” says Edney. “We don’t just care about life in utero. We care about life, period, and that includes the mother’s life and the baby’s life.”
Mississippi’s abortion ban contains narrow exceptions, including for rape victims and to save the life of the mother. As Ashley’s case shows, these exceptions are largely theoretical. Even if a victim files a police report, there appears to be no clear process for granting an exception. (The state Attorney General’s office did not return TIME’s repeated requests to clarify the process for granting exceptions; the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure and the Mississippi State Medical Association did not reply to TIME’s requests for explanation.) And, of course, there are no abortion providers left in the state. In January, the New York Times reported that since Mississippi’s abortion law went into effect, only two exceptions had been made. Even if the process for obtaining one were clear, it wouldn’t have helped Ashley. Regina didn’t know that Mississippi’s abortion ban had an exception for rape.
On a warm November night, Salia Issa had just begun her shift as an Abilene prison officer when she felt the intense pain of what she believed was a contraction. […]
Eventually, two and a half hours after the pain started, the expectant mother said she was allowed to leave the Middleton Unit. As quickly as the pain would allow her, Issa drove to a nearby hospital, where doctors rushed her into emergency surgery after being unable to find a fetal heartbeat. The baby was delivered stillborn.
If Issa had gotten to the hospital sooner, medical personnel told her, the baby would have survived, the lawsuit claims. […]
But the prison agency and the Texas attorney general’s office, which has staked its reputation on “defending the unborn” all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, are arguing the agency shouldn’t be held responsible for the stillbirth because staff didn’t break the law. Plus, they said, it’s not clear that Issa’s fetus had rights as a person.
The U.S. District Court decided Thursday that it would temporarily block enforcement of an Idaho law meant to prevent transgender students from using school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
Senate Bill 1100, which took effect July 1, would have required public schools to maintain two separate multi-occupancy restrooms, showers, changing facilities and overnight accommodations for students based on their sex assigned at birth. It also would have allowed students to sue the school for a minimum fine of $5,000 if they encountered a transgender student in the bathroom.
But in a legal order Thursday, the U.S. District Court granted a request for a temporary restraining order against the law — preventing schools from enforcing that mandate ahead of the school year.
Whether a student would like to go by Joe or Joanna — if it’s not the name designated on the school records, parents should be expecting a call from school administrators.
This new policy is due to the passing of House Bill 1608 earlier this year, which requires teachers and school administrators to inform parents if their child requests a change of their name, title or pronoun.
Originally, the law specifically targeted transgender students, but after the bill went through several changes in the legislative process, the current version of the law affects any student who wishes to be addressed by a name other than the one given when their parent or guardian registered them for school. […]
“We are interpreting this to the ‘letter of the law’ that our legislators have written as no guidance has been provided by State agencies,” Shawn Greiner, superintendent of the West Lafayette Community School Corporation explained in an email to the Journal & Courier.
The new regulations have created a bureaucratic tangle, with several counties sending parents forms that must be filled out if they want their child referred to by something other than their legal name.
In Orange County, in and around Orlando, the district told parents that they must fill out the form even if “Robert” wishes to be called “Rob” — or if a trans child now goes by “Roberta.”
But school staff members “may elect” not to use she/her pronouns when referring to Roberta, according to the school district’s attorney, John C. Palmerini. In a memo to district staff, he cited House Bill 1069, a law signed by Governor DeSantis in May, which defines “sex” as corresponding to “external genitalia present at birth,” and also broadly restricts instruction on gender and sexuality. […]
The new state regulations around bathroom use in schools are clearer. Students, staff members and visitors will be required to use either the bathroom corresponding to the sex they were assigned at birth, or use a single-stall restroom. Districts that violate this law can be fined up to $10,000.
While Florida joins Kansas, Texas, Mississippi, and a handful of other states in proposing crackdowns on immigrants lacking legal residency, no other state has mandated that hospitals question patients about their citizenship.
Doctors, nurses, and health policy experts say the law targets marginalized people who already have difficulty navigating the health care system and will further deter them from seeking medical help. […]
“Imagine if all the hospitals said, ‘This is wrong. We can’t do it.’ But they just stay silent because they may lose state funding,” Carrasquillo said. “We do have political leaders who are very vindictive and who come after you.” […]
Bailey Smith, communications director for the [state’s Agency for Health Care Administration], said in an email the information will deliver “much needed transparency on the burden of illegal immigration on Florida’s health system. Collecting this data allows taxpayers to understand where their hard-earned dollars are being exploited.”
* Arkansas…
Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Arkansas government will no longer pay for students to take the AP test in African American Studies. But the state will continue to pay for the test in European History. https://t.co/jtg4mS88q4
Drag shows in Branson will have to sashay away from certain parts of town.
The city’s Board of Aldermen approved a measure this week intended to “preserve the city’s values,” and maintain the city’s reputation as a “family-oriented tourist destination,” according to a city fact sheet on the bill.
Drag shows will only be allowed in Branson’s downtown zoning district. Businesses elsewhere that currently host performances will be allowed to continue doing so.
A bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house. […]
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate shall sign each bill that passes both houses to certify that the procedural requirements for passage have been met.
That second bit triggers the enrolled-bill doctrine. In other words, the courts are to assume the procedure is valid because those two people certify that it’s valid.
Under this [enrolled-bill doctrine] precedent, we will not invalidate legislation on the basis of the three-readings requirement if the legislation has been certified. In this case, plaintiffs acknowledge that Public Act 91-0935 was certified, thus precluding judicial review.
We noted in Geja’s Cafe and again in Cutinello that the legislature had shown remarkably poor self-discipline in policing itself in regard to the three-readings requirement. The same poor self-discipline is alleged to have occurred in this case. The record below has not, however, been sufficiently developed to support or contradict this claim. Nevertheless, because this court is ever mindful of its duty to enforce the constitution of this state, we take the opportunity to urge the legislature to follow the three-readings rule. While separation of powers concerns militate in favor of the enrolled-bill doctrine, our responsibility to ensure obedience to the constitution remains an equally important concern.
The interpretation of a constitutional provision depends, in the first instance, on the plain meaning of its language. Next, it depends on the common understanding of the citizens who, by ratifying the constitution, have given it life. A court looks to the debates of the convention delegates only when a constitutional provision is ambiguous.
There is no ambiguity in the provision requiring the legislature to read a bill on three different days in each house […]
If it were deemed desirable to foreclose inquiries into the regularity of the passage of bills, language similar to the enrolled-bill doctrine could have been included within the constitution. There is no such language. … There is no way that a voter could interpret the language of the constitution to mean that procedural requirements for the passage of a bill could be overridden by the signatures of two State officers. In truth, the signatures of the officers are merely prima facie evidence that the General Assembly has abided by the requirements of the constitution. In other words, it raises a rebuttable presumption that the requirements for passage have been met.
* The bill in question, HB5471, was introduced January 28, 2022 as an Insurance Code tweak dealing with public adjusters. It passed the House unanimously on March 4. On that same day, two Republican co-sponsors (Reps. McCombie and Hammond) withdrew their names from the bill, which sat idle until the veto session, when the Senate moved it to Second and then Third Reading.
Senate Floor Amendment 3, which contained the assault weapons ban, was introduced on January 9, as well as two technical amendments. The three amendments were approved for floor consideration by the Assignments Committee the very same day and the bill passed the Senate a little after 6 o’clock that evening.
The bill arrived in the House on January 10, where it was placed on the concurrence calendar. The Rules Committee sent the bill to the floor that same day, where it was approved by the House later that afternoon.
The bill was certified that day by the House Speaker and Senate President and sent to the governor, who signed it that evening.
In other words, a major bill with great import was introduced and passed by both chambers in somewhere around 24 hours.
In this case, the Insurance Code bill that received votes on three different days in the House in 2022 was in no way the firearms bill that passed the House on one vote in 2023. […]
Article IV, section 8, of the Illinois Constitution requires a bill be read by title on three different days in each house. Three different days in each house is all it would have taken for the legislators to consider the firearms bill before passage and thereby comply with the procedural requirements of the constitution. And three different days in each house is all it would take for the House and Senate to conduct the legislative process again if this court were to find a violation of the three- readings rule and declare the Act unconstitutional.
When, as in this case, the work of the legislature directly impacts a fundamental right, which this court has said the right to keep and bear arms is, the people of Illinois deserve nothing less than the procedural requirements of the constitution be followed by their elected representatives and senators.
Because the procedural requirements of the constitution were not met in the passage of HB 5471, I would find the Act unconstitutional in its entirety. Thus, until this court has before it a validly passed act of the legislature, we should make no determination on the Act at issue in this case. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
* The Question: Should the General Assembly follow what the Republican dissent termed the “plain meaning” of the Illinois Constitution, or should the enrolled-bill doctrine continue as-is? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
This important law will help deter reckless decisions and conduct that puts the lives of Illinoisans in danger and make Illinois a safer place to live and work.
For decades, Illinois law has allowed living plaintiffs to seek punitive damages in cases where a defendant’s reprehensible conduct causes injury. Punitive damages, while rare, serve to punish defendants for their reckless or intentional conduct, and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. It is up to the courts, on a case-by-case basis, to determine whether the misconduct warrants jury consideration of punitive damages.
The enactment of House Bill 219 provides that punitive damages are now also available when a defendant’s reprehensible behavior results in a victim’s death and are subject to the same burden of proof and standards of review applicable to punitive damages in injury cases. Now the inequity that perversely rewarded the reprehensible behavior of a defendant for killing the plaintiff versus “merely” injuring them has been removed. This law is fair and makes common sense.
We applaud Governor Pritzker for signing this important consumer safety measure, and thank Senate President Don Harmon and Leader Jay Hoffman for championing the bill through the legislative process. We also thank House Speaker Welch, Representative La Shawn Ford, and the many co-sponsors and supporters in the General Assembly that helped get the bill across the finish line.
On the other side of this issue is Andrew Perkins, regional vice president – Great Lakes at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies…
Unfortunately, Governor Pritzker has chosen to protect special interests and add more regulation to Illinois businesses. HB 219 will have a significant impact on Illinois businessowners and consumers by increasing litigation costs through punitive damages. Opportunistic lawyers can now take advantage of these increased costs, opening the current legal system to excessive, unpredictable awards and to fraud and abuse that has been avoided for decades in Illinois. Further, this law unfairly prevents other entities, including state government, from facing similar damages. It makes no sense for state agencies to be excluded from requirements applied to businesses that create jobs and foster economic opportunity for Illinoisians.
The Illinois Pharmacists Association and the National Community Pharmacists Association are applauding a new law in Illinois that prohibits retaliation by pharmacy benefit managers against pharmacists and pharmacies for disclosing information to courts, hearings, legislative commissions, law enforcement or other government agencies if there is reasonable cause to believe the disclosed information is evidence of violation of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation. HB3631, which was led by Rep. Hoan Huynh (D) and Sen. Mike Simmons (D), was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Aug. 4, 2023. It has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
The top three PBMs control 80 percent of the market, and decide what medicines patients can take, where they must get them, and how much they pay. In recent years, they have leveraged their market power to implement abusive policies and practices that pad their profits at the expense of patients and pharmacies. Pharmacists who speak out oftentimes experience retaliation measures from PBMs that can include an exponential increase in audits, refusal to access future contracts and removal from preferred provider networks, among other punishments.
“PBMs for too long have been weaponizing contracting and auditing tactics to essentially force pharmacists into silence,” says Garth Reynolds, RPh, executive director of IPhA. “There’s more work to do to truly rein in these middlemen, but with HB3631, we can more freely share with government representatives how PBM policies harm pharmacy practice and our patients. IPhA is grateful to Rep. Huynh and Sen. Simmons for their leadership and support, and to Gov. Pritzker for signing this important bill into law.”
“For a marketplace to be free and healthy, there must be competition and transparency. PBM-insurers are fighting against both, even as policymakers at all levels of government look to crack down on business practices that stifle patient choice and disadvantage independent pharmacies,” says Joel Kurzman, director of state government affairs at NCPA. “This legislation is a great step forward in Illinois. Further PBM reforms and aggressive enforcement of policies like this one will be crucial if patients and taxpayers are to see the difference.”
* Women Employed…
Women Employed, which has been creating fundamental, systemic change for working women for 50 years, today applauded Gov. Pritzker for signing the salary transparency bill into law. The law amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act, and continues the state’s commitment to ensuring equal pay for all workers.
Sponsored by Rep. Mary Beth Canty and former Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, the new law requires businesses with 15 or more employees to publicly post the wage or salary and description of benefits offered for a job, promotion, transfer or other employment opportunity beginning January 2025. It also requires employers to provide employees their current wage or salary range along with a general description of benefits upon that employee’s hiring, promotion or transfer, upon the employee’s request.
“We are grateful to Gov. Pritzker, Rep. Canty, Sen. Pacione-Zayas and all the partners we have worked with to advance pay equity across our state,” said Cherita Ellens, President and CEO of Women Employed. “Today we take a major step forward in closing the racial and gender pay gap for Illinois workers, and ultimately creating more fair and inclusive workplaces for working people across the state.”
In Illinois, closing the gender wage gap would translate into a 16 percent increase in women’s earnings, totaling $20.5 billion, a huge boost for the state’s economy. It also means 1.1 million children would benefit from equal pay, potentially reducing the poverty rate for children with working mothers by 43 percent.
Pay range and benefits information helps prospective employees accurately assess job opportunities and negotiate in an informed manner. Disclosing the salary or salary range for a position helps keep employers accountable, levels the negotiating playing field, and gives applicants, employees, and enforcement agencies information to identify and remedy any unjustified pay disparities.
Pay range transparency also helps businesses of all sizes more efficiently and effectively find and match candidates who are interested and would take the position. This helps save costs and gives small businesses without an HR team an edge, which is why many small businesses already include pay ranges in job announcements. Earlier this year, Adobe’s Future Workforce Study found that the vast majority of recent and upcoming college graduates want to know how much a role will pay before even applying.
Recently, Women Employed was the lead partner for the Illinois FARE Grant project, spearheaded by the Illinois Department of Labor and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, which sought to ensure that women across the state, especially those in low-paid jobs, are aware of their equal pay rights, remedies, and resources. The effort reached millions of women across the state, helping them to better understand and advocate for their workplace rights.
In addition to advocating for the salary transparency law, Women Employed has advocated for all of the equal pay laws currently on the books in Illinois, including the No Salary History bill that passed in 2019. The law banned asking job applicants their previous salary and eliminated a practice that had perpetuated racial and gender wage gaps.
Illinois joins Colorado, Washington, and New York City with laws that require pay ranges be included in job postings.
* Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition on Governor Pritzker’s AV of HB 2878…
“We applaud Governor JB Pritzker for his amendatory veto of HB 2878, calling for greater public input into project planning and implementation. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gases and past transportation projects have not adequately considered impacts on communities, and especially environmental justice communities already overwhelmed by pollution from big trucks and other vehicles. That input should, at a minimum, include a greenhouse gas analysis of the project and whether there are alternatives that provide more efficient and affordable transportation options.”
* And I had a release or two Friday on this topic, but this is from the local park district, which has been fending off attacks from the Tinley Park mayor…
The Board of Commissioners of the Park District of Tinley Park today applauded Gov. JB Pritzker’s signing into law House Bill 3743 to transfer the site of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center to the Park District to finally begin cleanup and redevelopment of the long-vacant land.
Gov. Pritzker’s signature of HB 3743 begins the process of transferring the blighted property to the Park District for $1, saving Tinley Park taxpayers over $4.5 million to purchase the site, which the Village of Tinley Park had previously offered, in addition to an estimated $12-$15 million in cleanup costs to be provided by the state. Now that the bill is signed into law, the Park District can work with the state in the coming weeks to begin the process of effectuating the land transfer to officially own the property.
“After many years of inaction, we are incredibly grateful for Gov. Pritzker’s support to finally begin the process of remediating and revitalizing this eyesore in our community,” said Lisa O’Donovan, Park District Board Commissioner and Chair of a new committee being established to oversee the project. “We are excited and ready to move forward with the many steps it will take to clean up the property and redevelop the site. We look forward to engaging with Tinley Park residents, schools, community organizations, and all stakeholders to create new opportunities for our community and the entire southland area to love our Tinley parks.”
“Transferring the Tinley Park Mental Health Center to the Tinley Park-Park District was one of the best decisions the State of Illinois made this year,” said Sen. Michael Hastings, Senate bill sponsor. “They have a track record of working together with everyone in our community and the south suburban region. More importantly, they are capable and have a plan ready to demolish and redevelop the property when it is ultimately transferred to them.”
“Today is a great day for Tinley Park and all of our southland communities,” said Rep. Robert Rita, House bill sponsor. “I’m proud to have sponsored this bill to allow the Tinley Park-Park District to turn this eyesore into a destination for people across the region, and I thank Gov. Pritzker for his support.”
With today’s action by the governor, the Park District is now taking its first steps as part of the process of cleaning up the property. The Park District is engaging Tetra Tech, which will conduct an updated environmental assessment of the site to determine the extent of remediation
Serabi Medina’s family is currently raising money online to pay for her funeral. You’ve probably read or heard about how the 9-year-old girl was deliberately shot in the head and killed, allegedly by a neighbor in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood earlier this month.
But the fundraising shouldn’t be necessary.
Last year, House Bill 2985 created the Murdered Children Funeral and Burial Assistance Act. The measure unanimously passed both legislative chambers and was signed into law on May 10, 2022. The law was named after Mychal Moultry, a 4-year-old boy murdered in 2021. “My son will be remembered,” Mychal’s mom told a reporter last year.
The law allows the Illinois Department of Human Services to pay up to $10,000 for a murdered child’s funeral and burial starting July 1 of this year, but that spending was “subject to appropriation.”
That legalese means the services can only be paid if the program is specifically added to the state’s budget law with a dollar amount attached to it. And, as so often happens with legislation like this, the money was not properly inserted into the final bill, which means families like Serabi’s might not see a dime — although there is hope that a solution will be found.
]The problem with the system is that the buck doesn’t seem to really stop anywhere. The original Senate sponsor retired. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill at a Peoria event, but his budget office and the Department of Human Services didn’t include it in the spending plan Pritzker proposed in February. The legislative staff members also apparently don’t track bills to make sure programs are funded.
It looks like the program slipped through the cracks because, according to the governor’s office, the bill’s House original sponsor apparently made an honest mistake and mistook an appropriation for another burial program to be a funding source for the child burial legislation.
Rep. Camille Lilly is the original House sponsor of the murdered child funeral bill and also chairs the House Health & Human Services Appropriations Committee. She claimed first through a spokesperson and then in a phone conversation with my associate Isabel Miller that the law had been funded last year and, when no money was spent, $5 million was re-appropriated this year.
Trouble is, the law didn’t fully take effect until July 1, 2023, so it wouldn’t have been funded during the 2022 budget process.
More importantly, according to the governor’s office, the $5 million appropriations line Lilly pointed to is for an existing burial program for adults within three different Public Aid Code articles identified in the bill’s language, but not for the children’s program, which is in a different article of the code.
The Department of Human Services is “committed to implementing this law and is planning to utilize some of this appropriation to cover the children’s program,” explained Jordan Abudayyeh at the governor’s office. But the department will have to draft and implement rules to accomplish this because there’s no clear appropriation for the child program.
The rules, Abudayyeh said, will be “retroactive so funeral/burial expenses up to $10,000 may be covered related to tragedies that occurred between July 2022 and July 2024.”
Hopefully, this will all be fixed. But, as I mentioned above, this is all too common in Springfield. Legislators and advocates regularly pass bills that require government spending and then don’t adequately engage during the budget-making process (which is not what appears to have happened here).
The Department of Human Services was required by last year’s law to have new administrative rules in place by last month, but since the funding wasn’t in the budget, DHS put it on the back-burner. That shouldn’t have happened.
Staff members in both the legislative and executive branches are already stretched thin. The House’s appropriations staff is trying to form a union and their director recently announced his pending resignation. There’s lots of flux everywhere. Even so, somebody smarter than me needs to come up with a solution to this.
Separately, Lilly also pointed out to Isabel that the state still has trouble convincing funeral homes to conduct the services and then wait for reimbursement because of the state’s long history of extremely slow payments. State reimbursements flow a whole lot faster now, but it’s hard to live down a bad reputation.
…Adding… Another example of “subject to appropriation” from an email I received today…
Rich,
I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog and have done so for years. I am reaching with a legislative question since you are typically “in the know!”
I know that the legislature passed a bill in May ensuring free breakfast and lunch for all students (“Healthy School Meals for All Program”). I checked the status of that bill indicating that Pritzker had signed it:
Bill Number: HB2471
Description: Creates the Health School Meals for All Program to provide free school breakfast and lunches to students in all participating schools. This program is subject to appropriation.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
I was naturally excited to read this and sent a question to my district superintendent and received the following disappointing response: “The bill signed by the Governor was done so with a condition that it was only required if funds were appropriated in the budget. My understanding is that implementation of the bill will cost approximately $200 million which is not currently appropriated in the state budget. If the bill were to be included in the FY25 appropriation, then I believe [redacted] would qualify for participation.”
I don’t understand the purpose of this bill having an immediate effective date with no money allocated. It seems as though school lunches will not be free for all for FY 24. Color me confused…
* March 27th New York Times article on Chicago’s mayoral race quoting Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara on candidate Brandon Johnson…
“If this guy gets in we’re going to see an exodus like we’ve never seen before,” he said, predicting “blood in the streets.”
Candidate Brandon Johnson has been criticized for being too close to the Chicago Teachers Union, but he has suggested that his close relationship with the union actually puts him in the best position to get CTU to bend. As he said, “Who better to deliver bad news to friends than a friend?” […]
Johnson, on the other hand, has called for shifting funds from police to other social services, and I worry that the FOP would go to war with him on day one, just as the CTU did with Lightfoot after she defeated the union’s preferred candidate for mayor in 2019. We would all continue to pay a devastating price for that conflict.
“[Larry Snelling, Mayor Johnson’s choice to lead the Chicago Police Department] was the one person that no matter which room we went in — from conservative rooms to progressive rooms to prosecutors to rank and file to community activists to the faith community, you name it — they all had great things to say about Larry Snelling,” [Anthony Driver, president of the new Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability] said. […]
Snelling “commands the room. He exudes leadership by his mere stature. The way he carries himself. The way he speaks. He’s a proven leader,” [19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea] said. “The men and women on the Chicago Police Department — they want that. They want a strong leader that they know is gonna walk the walk as opposed to just talking the talk. And they know that Larry Snelling is gonna have their back. Now, more than ever, they need to believe in that.” […]
John Catanzara, the president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, said he was pleased with the mayor’s choice and offered no criticism.
“We’re glad it’s somebody that we know and know we can work with, somebody who I think the membership trusts and has faith that there’s hope in this department still,” Catanzara said.
He noted that Snelling quickly responded to a congratulatory text message on Sunday and called the union boss back to talk about next steps — a “night and day approach” from the past administration. Catanzara acknowledged that morale among the rank and file has already improved over the summer.
“[Mayor Johnson’s interim superintendent Larry Waller] absolutely made a concerted effort to repair the damage done — not only by Lightfoot, but by David Brown, to the FOP,” he said.
Politicians are often reduced to one-dimensional cartoons by opponents, pundits, the news media and the general public. Sometimes, the caricatures are accurate. Often-times, they’re not.
It’s way too early to judge how Johnson is doing his job, of course, and he wasn’t responsible for placing Snelling on the list of three candidates, but the reaction to this pick is quite something and definitely worth noting.
* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker OK’s measure allowing civil action against gun dealers and manufacturers for improper marketing campaigns: Pritzker and other elected officials discussed the gun marketing liability law in Chicago at McCormick Place during a conference for the national gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the event on Friday. “You know, we hold opioid manufacturers accountable. We hold vaping companies accountable. We hold predatory lenders accountable. Gun manufacturers shouldn’t get to hide from the law and now they won’t be able to,” Pritzker said at the conference on Saturday.
* Patch | Pritzker Signs Bill Giving Mental Health Center Land To Park District: After months of tension between the Village of Tinley Park and the Tinley Park-Park District as both entities vied for the right to purchase the long-vacant Tinley Park Mental Health Center land, Gov. Pritzker on Friday signed a law that will turn the property over to the park district for $1.
* Tribune | Over free speech objections from ACLU, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs measure that targets doxxing: “Like a lot of things involving technology, the law is slow to catch up,” state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, a Glenview Democrat, said in an interview. “Here, the focus isn’t on how you get that information, or even necessarily the information itself, but what that person does with that information.”
* HF Chronicle | Three south suburban legislators say progress is being made on policing:U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who represents Homewood and Flossmoor in Congress, Illinois Rep. Deborah Meyers-Martin, who represents sections of Homewood and Flossmoor in the Illinois House, and Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, who represents Homewood on the county board, recently sat down for a discussion with the Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle to offer updates on topics they discussed after George Floyd’s death in 2020.
* Week in Review | State Gun Ban Decision; Top Madigan Aide on Trial: The Illinois Supreme Court upholds the state’s sweeping gun ban by a 4-3 decision. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris tells a Chicago audience of activists that their generation can end gun violence. More testimony in the perjury and obstruction trial of former House Speaker Mike Madigan’s confidant, Tim Mapes, who ran the Illinois Democratic Party. Mapes faces up to 25 years if found guilty.
* Scott Holland | Task forces can be the early work of significant legislation: Consider Monday’s signing of Senate Bill 1818, which creates the Illinois Flag Commission, or last week’s approval of Senate Bill 2123, which establishes a task force to study ranked choice voting. Strip away the fanfare or pushback to realize neither law actually does anything more than formalize the possibility of change.
* Sun-Times | Larry Snelling named mayor’s pick for Chicago’s new top cop: Snelling’s appointment by Mayor Brandon Johnson must be confirmed by the City Council. Before that crucial vote, he is expected to be introduced to Chicago residents — and face questions — during at least one public hearing.
* Crain’s | Chicago’s top public health official Allison Arwady is fired by Mayor Brandon Johnson: Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, was removed from her position on Friday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Arwady, who became commissioner in 2019 under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration, had previously said she intended to remain in her post at CDPH under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration. However, leading up to his election, Johnson criticized Arwady’s public health approach and said he would replace her.
* Herald-Review | Illinois reports 6% drop in uninsured vehicles since rollout of electronic verification: Last month, Sherman resident Joe Tavine was driving through his hometown when a local police officer pulled him over for going slightly over the speed limit. After supplying his license and insurance, Tavine was told that the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office had suspended his registration after being unable to verify his insurance policy back in October. As a result, his vehicle was towed.
* CBS Chicago | Chicago police officer reveals what new moms face on the force: For three years, Chicago Police officer Erin Kreho has documented filthy conditions inside rooms she was told to use when she needed to pump breast milk. She faced unsanitary conditions and a lack of privacy after having her children. Kreho also has filed formal complaints about the state and federal violations. Despite that, she says the Chicago Police Department has failed to fix the problems.
* Crain’s | WBEZ names new executive editor: In the new position, Bailon will “oversee editorial decisions regarding enterprise journalism, investigations, daily news and special projects,” according to a news release. Bailon’s duties will also see him partner on collaborative projects with the Chicago Sun-Times, which WBEZ parent Chicago Public Media acquired in 2022.
* News-Gazette | Inside Brooks & Dunn’s rider: 10 dozen bath towels, 17 types of beverage and a box of Cap’n Crunch: Technically, it’s the Vocal Duo of the Year Award — first presented at the 1970 CMA Awards to Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, before Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn’s four-year run. But in country music circles, it’s now informally known as the BROOKS & DUNN Award, named after the dynamic duo that turned 23 nominations into 14 wins, nine more than the next-closest act in that category (Sugarland and last month’s Champaign County Fair headliner, the Brothers Osborne).
* News-Gazette | 4-H opened door to new worlds for newest Illinois Alumni Award Winner: 4-H isn’t just for farm kids, and it isn’t all about raising cattle, says Craig Pessman, who today will be honored as the organization’s 2023 Illinois Alumni Award Winner. The Champaign resident credits 4-H for giving him all kinds of skills he still uses today, plus a drive to dedicate himself to various philanthropic efforts.
* ScribbleLive is still down. Twitter has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news. You can click here to follow the Tim Mapes trial.
Building on historic action to protect Illinoisans from gun violence and just a day after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the state’s assault weapons ban, Governor JB Pritzker signed the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act (FIRA) into law, holding accountable gun manufacturers who knowingly caused harm from unsafe marketing practices. Governor Pritzker signed the bill alongside lawmakers and gun control advocates at Gun Sense University, an annual training conference of more than 2,000 Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers and survivors, hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety.
“Today, I proudly signed the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act into law — finally holding gun manufacturers accountable for endangering the public safety and health of our people,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We hold opioid manufacturers accountable. Vaping companies accountable. Predatory lenders accountable. Gun manufacturers shouldn’t get to hide from the law—and now, they won’t be able to. Here’s to an Illinois where everyone feels safe in every corner of our great state.”
“No single industry should be given a free pass to engage in unlawful, unfair or deceptive conduct,” said Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “The Firearms Industry Responsibility Act clarifies my office’s ability to use the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which is a tool to hold businesses accountable for fraudulent or deceptive practices through civil litigation. It is how my office has protected the public from opioid manufacturers, vaping companies, tobacco companies and predatory lenders. By signing this legislation, Gov. Pritzker has taken an important step to protect consumers and increase public safety.”
“Thoughts and prayers are hollow if we do not also act decisively. That is why we are continuing to rise to the occasion through this bill that will hold gun manufacturers accountable for advertising to our youth and promoting dangerous, illegal acts that jeopardize lives,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “For too long our communities have lost loved ones to gun violence. In Illinois, we are standing up to say ‘enough is enough’.”
“Depicting guns as tools for carnage is a dangerously irresponsible sales tactic that will undoubtedly lead to further murder and maiming of innocent people,” said state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview. “It is tragic that we have to step in to ensure manufacturers exercise common sense. However, thankfully due to the law we are codifying today, any reckless companies participating in such behavior will face serious penalties for their wanton disregard for public safety.”
“As a society, we long ago established that it is irresponsible, unsafe and illegal to allow certain entities to target our children with their marketing,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). You see that with cigarettes and alcohol. This new law holds gun makers to the same standards, telling them to stop marketing to an audience that cannot legally purchase the product. It’s common sense.”
Under the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act (HB 218), gun manufacturers that engage in unsafe and unlawful marketing and sale will be held accountable for actions contributing to gun violence in Illinois communities. The proposed measure will prohibit advertising and marketing that encourages para-military or unlawful private militia activity and advertising to individuals under 18 that encourages the use of a firearm in an unlawful manner including advertising the uses of cartoons, stuffed animals and clothing targeted towards children.
Earlier this year, Governor Pritzker signed legislation to ban assault weapons, cap sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines, ban “switches” that convert legal handguns into assault weapons and extend the ability of courts to prevent dangerous individuals from possessing a gun through firearm restraining orders.
Governor Pritzker has also signed legislation to ban unserialized, privately made “ghost guns,” the first Midwestern state to do so (HB 4383). In 2021, Governor Pritzker signed legislation expanding background checks on all gun sales in Illinois and modernizing and strengthening the Firearm Owners Identification Card System (HB 562). Additionally, Governor Pritzker signed legislation (SB 337) to combat the scourge of illegal gun trafficking, making Illinois the 16th state to require gun dealers to be certified by the state after more than a decade of work. Governor Pritzker’s Reimagine Public Safety Act also established the first ever Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, providing a historic investment in community-based violence prevention for the communities most affected by firearm violence.
“There’s an attitude in the gun industry that they’re not responsible for what happens with their products,” said David Pucino, deputy chief counsel of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Pucino said the Gun Violence Victims’ Access to Justice Bill, which passed both houses this week and is on its way to Gov. Pritzker’s office to sign, would make it easier for victims of gun violence and their families to take this type of legal action in the state of Illinois.
“There’s an explicit exception in the federal statute that says if a gun company is breaking state law, they don’t get any protection,” Pucino said.
Prior to the measure’s passage in May, Senate Republican Leader John Curran, of Downers Grove, raised concerns about the “vagueness and the lack of notice and guidance” that the measure gives firearms businesses when they try to comply with such a law by implementing certain safeguards.
“We already heavily regulate those who sell and transact weapons in this state. What this proposal before us does, it really just sets a whole myriad of additional liabilities for gun dealers, and quite frankly there’s parts of it that would be impossible for them to follow,” Curran said during a Senate floor debate. He also said he thinks the measure could be challenged in the courts.
Before the bill passed, at least one of its other opponents argued it violates federal law, which provides protections for firearms manufacturers against civil liabilities. During the Illinois Senate floor debate, Senate President Don Harmon sought to assure others in the chamber that the bill “does not conflict with federal law.”
“I want to emphasize why we’re doing this. One of the key components of this is to prevent marketing to children,” said Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park.
The measure passed on a party-line vote earlier this year, and Republicans warned at the time that it will face legal challenges on Second Amendment grounds.
“What we have here is, at best, a constitutionally-questionable bill that is going to require our state to expend resources in defending it because it’s already been said that a challenge is going to come,” Rep. Dan Ugaste said to the State Journal-Register. “It’s happened in every other state that’s passed this legislation.”
Robert Bevis of firearm manufacturer and retailer Law Weapons in Naperville said the measure is another example of an infringement.
“Automobile manufacturers are not responsible for people that drive drunk and crash their cars,” Bevis said. “We can’t be held responsible for the way somebody uses a firearm if it’s in a nefarious way.”
Bevis is a lead plaintiff in one of the cases pending in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals challenging Illinois’ and Naperville’s gun and magazine ban. In a separate state-level case, the state’s ban was upheld Friday by the Illinois Supreme Court. […]
The new law mirrors one signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022. Assembly Bill 1594 created the “firearm standard of conduct,” requiring members of the firearm industry to “enforce reasonable controls” to prevent the sale of firearms to a downstream distributor that does not enforce the same controls. The National Shooting Sports Foundation challenged the law in federal court in May 2023, asking the judge to stop it from taking effect while it’s litigated. Attorneys for Attorney General Rob Bonta and the NSSF on Friday agreed on a Sept. 11 deadline for the state to respond to the injunction request.
* G-PAC…
Today, Gun Violence Prevention PAC Illinois (G-PAC) released the following statement from Kathleen Sances, CEO of G-PAC, following Governor JB Pritzker signing H.B. 218 – also known as the Firearms Industry Responsibility Act — into law. This law will hold gun manufacturers accountable through the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act for their dangerous and deceptive marketing practices, including advertising encouraging para-military or unlawful private militia activity and advertising directed to children. The bill’s signing comes on the heels of the Illinois Supreme Court ruling to uphold the state’s ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.
Three months ago, G-PAC launched the #NotInOurHouse campaign to educate Illinoisans on the immunity the firearm industry enjoys and how it has targeted kids as future customers — all to advocate for the passage of this bill.
“Today, we took an important step in the fight against dangerous disinformation from the gun industry. Governor JB Prizker’s signing of the Firearms Industry Responsibility Act into law will end the gun industry’s deceitful advertising tactics and hold manufacturers accountable for the harm they have caused.
“This win for gun safety comes a little over a year after the devastating Highland Park mass shooting. Since then, we have made tremendous strides in curbing gun violence in Illinois and setting the stage for our children to have futures free from this burden. We have shown the gun industry that we will not be complicit in their manufactured political wars to push their anti-public safety agenda for financial gain.”
* AG Raoul…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today applauded Governor JB Pritzker for signing into law his Firearm Industry Responsibility Act to hold bad actors in the gun industry accountable for unlawful sales and marketing tactics.
“No single industry should be given a free pass to engage in unlawful, unfair or deceptive conduct,” Attorney General Raoul said. “The Firearms Industry Responsibility Act clarifies my office’s ability to use the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which is a tool to hold businesses accountable for fraudulent or deceptive practices through civil litigation. It is how my office has protected the public from opioid manufacturers, vaping companies, tobacco companies and predatory lenders. By signing this legislation, Gov. Pritzker has taken an important step to protect consumers and increase public safety.”
Raoul’s legislation amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to clarify that businesses in the firearms industry are and have always been subject to civil liability if they engage in unlawful business and marketing practices.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz sponsored House Bill 218.
“At its core, this legislation will protect consumers,” said Senate President Harmon. “These are reasonable, manageable steps we can take to help curb the scourge of gun violence in our state.”
“In 2020, guns surpassed traffic fatalities as the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. In 2023 alone, there were 58 unintentional shootings by children,” said Gong-Gershowitz. “HB218 is designed to hold those in the firearms industry who violate Illinois law accountable and ensure families devastated by gun violence have a path to justice in Illinois civil court.”
The law is the most recent step in Attorney General Raoul’s work to comprehensively address gun violence throughout Illinois and across the nation. The Attorney General’s office has been defending, and will continue to defend, the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act in both state and federal court.
Raoul created a state-of-the-art crime-gun tracing database for Illinois law enforcement called Crime Gun Connect. Raoul’s office also collaborates with local law enforcement to combat gun trafficking and has used the office’s jurisdiction to prosecute multi-county gun trafficking offenses. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office works with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to increase awareness of Illinois’ red flag law and to address gaps in Illinois’ firearms licensing system. The office also continues to prosecute individuals who lie on FOID card applications.
The Attorney General’s office partners with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to try to avert violence by hosting trainings for law enforcement officers, educators, religious leaders and other community members that are designed to prevent targeted acts of violence.
Attorney General Raoul has persistently advocated at the federal and state level to strengthen the regulation of 3D-printed guns and ghost guns. Illinois law now prohibits ghost guns, but the office continues to fight in federal court to help defend a recent rule closing the federal loophole.
Nationally, Attorney General Raoul successfully filed and resolved a lawsuit to get the federal firearm license of an unscrupulous arms manufacturer revoked. The office has also led several multi-state amicus briefs supporting commonsense gun safety laws in other states.
In addition to supporting law enforcement, the Attorney General’s office supports victims service providers around Illinois that offer trauma-informed services for crime victims and their families. Raoul’s Crime Victims Services Division administers a host of programs and services to assist survivors of violent crime. More information is available on the Attorney General’s website.
* I think there may be more words on this blog right now than any other day ever. Whew. Anyway, have a great weekend and we’ll talk Monday.
Many moons ago, my friends and I would gather every Sunday night at Bruce’s Tavern at 11th and South Grand for Tom Irwin’s open mic. At one point nearly every Sunday, the Bruce’s Tavernacle Choir would gather around the microphone to sing this song. Thanks, Robbie, for writing it. Rest in peace…
People seeking reproductive and gender-affirming health care in Illinois can now count on additional privacy protections, thanks to legislation spearheaded by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz that was signed by Governor JB Pritzker on Friday.
“In Illinois, we will not let this technology be abused and weaponized as a tool to hunt people down based on a lawful decision that took place during an appointment with their doctor,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “We have a long history of welcoming those seeking refuge in our state – and this law will help protect that important aspect of our history.”
According to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, Automatic License Plate Reader data – including real-time location – was previously accessible to out-of-state law enforcement with little to no restrictions. Under Feigenholtz’s law, ALPR data from drivers in Illinois is now protected from being shared with another state’s government or law enforcement for the purposes of investigating or enforcing a law regarding a person’s reproductive health care, gender-affirming care or immigration status.
Under the new law, an out-of-state law enforcement agency who seeks to use ALPR data must now provide a written declaration that the data will not be used to enforce laws that deny an individual the right to obtain lawful health care or detain a person based on their immigration status. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias worked closely with Senator Feigenholtz and Representative Ann Williams, the bill’s sponsor in the House, to introduce the legislation.
“We have witnessed 20 states systematically dismantling the right to choose in this country plank by plank,” Feigenholtz said. “As anti-choice zealots around the country continue to look for every nook and cranny to criminalize those seeking reproductive health care, we continue to protect them.”
House Bill 3326 was signed into law Friday.
* Equality Illinois…
Advocates celebrated Governor JB Pritzker’s signing of House Bill 1286, legislation that will reduce barriers for businesses serving their communities and customers by allowing for the adoption of gender-neutral multiple-occupancy restrooms by businesses, universities, and building owners who wish to do so.
Sponsored by State Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) and State Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago), the legislation passed the Illinois Senate 35-20 and the Illinois House 63-41.
House Bill 1286 leaves decisions to adopt a gender-neutral multiple-occupancy restroom up to business and building owners as they determine how best to serve their communities and customers. For those businesses that adopt the restrooms, the bill establishes strong requirements to ensure safety, privacy, and inclusion.
HB 1286 is necessary because existing law and regulations require that gendered facilities be adopted before a gender-neutral multiple-occupancy restroom can be implemented. Thus, existing provisions prevent smaller businesses with less resources from serving their customers by adopting gender-neutral restrooms. In 2021, the City of Chicago adopted an ordinance similar to HB 1286.
* Illinois Trial Lawyers…
For nearly 8 years, rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft operating in Illinois have benefitted from a unique loophole in the law that has exempted those companies and their agents from the “common carrier doctrine”, which applies to all other carriers (buses, airplanes, trains, taxis and others) that provide for-hire livery services to passengers. The common carrier doctrine holds that these operators and their agents owe passengers the “highest duty of care” in ensuring safety of their operation, and is grounded in the recognition that passengers surrender control of their safety to such operators when they utilize these transportation services.
The enactment of House Bill 2231 removes the special common carrier exemption that was granted to the rideshare industry in 2015, and ensures that all for-hire livery operators in Illinois are held to the same safety standard.
We applaud Governor Pritzker for enacting this common-sense safety measure, and we thank the sponsors Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Senator Rob Martwick for championing this bill through the legislative process, and the host of co-sponsors and supporters in the General Assembly that helped put consumer safety ahead of corporate profits.
Rideshare services are a convenient option for Illinois consumers, and certainly have a place in the menu of options for passengers seeking transportation services. Eight years ago, rideshare services were fledgling companies taking on an established industry; today, in many locations, rideshares are the industry. The enactment of this bill strikes an important balance of helping ensure the safe operation of rideshare companies, while allowing those companies to continue to thrive in the marketplace.
* Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition…
The Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition applauds Governor JB Pritzker’s approval today of legislation that will ensure cultural competency is part of continuing medical education for a range of healthcare providers in Illinois.
“We are a coalition of civil rights, community healthcare, and labor organizations. HB 2450 will ensure that healthcare providers are equipped with critical information and tools to deliver culturally competent care for the diverse communities they serve. Thank you, Gov. Pritzker, for approving this important legislation that keeps Illinois moving forward. We also appreciate the leadership of our legislative sponsors, Sen. Ram Villivalam and Rep. Dagmara Avelar, for their fierce championing of this important legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support.”
The required healthcare cultural competency education will support healthcare providers, such as physicians, nurses, and dentists, with the tools and information they need to effectively and affirmingly serve communities of color, people with disabilities, people of diverse faiths, undocumented individuals, LGBTQ+ people, people living with HIV, intersex people, and other communities that have been marginalized in the healthcare system. HB 2450 also provides healthcare professionals with the flexibility they need to fulfill their continuing medical education requirements. The bill does not eliminate or repeal any currently mandated topics.
In May, HB 2450 passed the Illinois House with a bipartisan 103-01 vote and the Illinois Senate with a bipartisan 52-04 vote. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2025.
* Sen. Lightford…
Recognizing staff shortages in the EMS workforce, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford led a new law to attract and retain EMS workers.
“The pandemic further exacerbated how vital the EMS professionals are,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “We need to expand the workforce by prioritizing recruitment and retention of highly-skilled workers.”
Senate Bill 761 works to tackle the emergency medical field workforce shortage head on by allowing more flexibility for EMS directors to use alternative staffing models and creating a task force to bring greater training, recruitment and retention to the field.
Currently, there is a shortage of EMS instructors in particular. Lightford’s law will allow people interested in becoming an instructor to bypass taking an IDPH-approved course if they have sufficient experience to become a director. This will help recruit individuals from other states by eliminating unnecessary hoops when moving to Illinois.
“There are plenty of well-trained people who are ready and willing to step up to lead,” said Lightford. “Let’s put that opportunity in reach. Helping EMS workers helps our community.”
Senate Bill 761 was signed into law Friday.
* Sen. Hastings…
The long awaited renovation to the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center will soon be underway thanks to the advocacy of State Senator Michael E. Hastings.
“Transferring the Tinley Park Mental Health Center to the Tinley Park – Park District was one of the best decisions the state made this year,” said Hastings (D-Frankfort). “The Park District has a track record of working together with everyone in our community and the south suburban region. More importantly, they are capable and have a plan ready when the property is ultimately transferred to them.”
This new law will allow the Tinley Park – Park District to renovate an abandoned property into a first class recreation destination to include a sports park and recreational space for residents in the community to use.
The former Tinley Park Mental Health Center site located on a 280-acre plot of land has been vacant since 2012. The facility was the last of 12 state-owned properties of its kind when its doors were closed a decade ago. Shuttered without maintenance and nestled in the heart of the village, the state-owned property underwent an environmental study in 2019 that lead to the discovery of numerous environmental concerns, including asbestos infested buildings and black mold, among other things.
House Bill 3743 will authorize a land transfer of the presently unoccupied and unused combined campuses of Tinley Park Mental Health District and the Howe Development Center to the Tinley Park - Park District. The Tinley Park – Park District envisions transforming the long-vacant property into a hub of athletic fields, track and field facilities, a domed sports complex and open recreational space to meet the needs of the Tinley Park community and expand opportunities for neighboring communities.
Rep. Rita on the same bill…
State Rep. Bob Rita today is praising a new state law he led this year to create a new recreational and parks showcase in Tinley Park that will create exciting new opportunities for the South Suburbs.
Gov. JB Pritzker has signed House Bill 3743 into law. The bill’s passage was led by Rita in the House from his work with the Tinley Park Park District, his colleagues in the Illinois House and Senate who represent Tinley, and a large coalition of local supporters.
The bill calls for the state of Illinois to sell the rundown former Tinley Park Mental Health Center property to the Park District to move ahead with building a multi-million park and sports complex on the site. Rita also helped ensure $15 million was included in the state budget to clean up the property and prepare it for the Park District to take over.
Rita, D-Blue Island, joined supporters in Tinley in late June to call on the Governor to sign the bill into law.
“This is what the community wanted. They wanted to see a friendly, safe green space, recreational hub, for the entire South Suburbs,” Rita said at the news conference.
Rita said the site will bring people together, and draw activity to the area that doesn’t exist today. The project will serve adults and children, including those with disabilities, and attract sports tournaments and other programs that benefit the entire region.
“We have watched this site sit and waste away for years and years. It’s time to act, and this new complex is the right fit for Tinley Park and the Southland,” Rita said.
“I look forward to working closely with the leaders at the Park Board to make this a turning point for the region, and to build a recreation and park area that makes us proud for many generations ahead. Thank you to Governor Pritzker and my colleagues in Springfield for working together to support our plan.”
* Sen. Villanueva…
State Senator Celina Villanueva championed a newly signed law to allow gender-neutral, multi-occupancy restrooms to be installed in private and public businesses.
“Businesses now have the autonomy to decide how to best show up for their communities,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “The inclusivity of this law not only benefits members of the LBGTQ community, but also those with disabilities, the elderly, and people with young children.”
A 2020 law, required that all single occupancy public bathrooms in Illinois become gender neutral.
House Bill 1286 expands on that law, allowing businesses to create gender-neutral multi-occupancy restrooms. However, the legislation is permissive – gender specific multiple-occupancy restrooms are still allowed.
Gender-neutral, multi-occupancy restrooms would be required to include inclusive signage, floor to ceiling stall dividers with locking mechanisms, trash receptacles in each stall, a menstruation supplies vending device, a baby changing station, and be ADA compliant.
“Today we have taken a monumental step to promote privacy, safety and gender inclusivity,” said Villanueva. “We are signaling to parents, caregivers and many other people across the state that their voice matters.”
House Bill 1286 was signed into law Friday.
* Rep. Ammons…
Legislation passed by state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, will assist people who have been incarcerated with building new skills and advancing their higher education.
“If the goal of our criminal justice system is rehabilitation, then giving people convicted of crimes the opportunities to learn and develop new skills is absolutely essential,” Ammons said. “Incarceration without rehabilitation is simply revenge, and, in that case, we are inviting offenders to repeat mistakes that pose a threat to their communities.”
House Bill 3648, the Higher Education in Prison Act, requires the Department of Corrections (IDOC) to create a report on higher education programs within IDOC facilities. The goal of this report is to provide the foundation for up-to-date reforms that may be necessary.
The legislation received robust bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and was signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on Friday.
“By helping people get jobs and avoid destructive patterns, this law is a victory for public safety, a victory for our justice system and a victory for incarcerated people looking to earn a second chance,” Ammons said.
* Rep. Canty…
A measure spearheaded by state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, that promotes equal pay by requiring employers with 15 or more employees to include the pay scale in job postings, was signed into law on Friday.
“It’s past time we relegate unequal pay practices to times past, and this law brings us much closer to making that goal a reality,” Canty said. “Too many generations of workers, especially women, have fought for equal pay and been stymied by employers unwilling to clarify salaries. That ends now. When our kids begin their careers, there will be absolute clarity about pay scale.”
To ensure prospective employees have access to all information on their potential earnings and benefits when determining if they should accept a job, this initiative would require employers with 15 or more employees to publicly post the wage or salary and description of benefits offered for a job, promotion, transfer or other employment opportunity. It also requires employers to provide employees their current wage or salary range along with a general description of benefits upon that employee’s hiring, promotion or transfer, upon the employee’s request.
If an employer does not comply with the act, the Department of Labor would be allowed to conduct its own investigations or file complaints. Any individual who has been aggrieved by their employer’s violation of the wage and salary provisions of the act would also be able to file a complaint with the Department within one year after the date the individual learned of the violation.
“While women have historically been the chief targets of pay inequality, this measure represents progress for all workers,” Canty said. “Simply put, a more transparent workplace is a fairer workplace.”
* Sen. Morrison…
This summer is the perfect time to take up fishing or to reconnect with an old hobby, thanks to a new law from State Senator Julie Morrison that lowers the price of fishing licenses.
“Growing up near a river in Illinois, one of my favorite memories is fishing with my family in the summer,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “Over the past few years, we have grown a greater appreciation for the outdoors, and I want to make sure people have easy access to grow that appreciation and love even more.”
To encourage more people to take up the hobby of fishing, Morrison’s law lowers the annual fee for fishing licenses to $5 for Illinois residents who have not purchased a license in 10 or more years. Non-residents will pay $10.
“There’s nothing better than the bond families can make grabbing a rod and reel and enjoying quality time together,” said Morrison. “From young children to grandparents, fishing is an activity all can grow to love.”
House Bill 2317 was signed by the governor Friday.
* Sen. Koehler…
With the rise of social media influencing, all someone needs to reach fame now is a cell phone. While traditional child actors are protected by the Child Labor Law, there has been nothing on the books for young social media influencers until now, thanks to State Senator Dave Koehler.
“The rise of social media has given children new opportunities to earn a profit,” said Koehler (D-Peoria). “Many parents have taken this opportunity to pocket the money, while making their children continue to work in these digital environments.”
Under Senate Bill 1782, minors under the age of 16 featured in vlogs or other online content are covered under the Child Labor Law. The measure calls for the child – also known as a “kidfluencer”— to be accurately compensated.
The idea for the legislation came from Shreya Nallamothu, a 15-year-old high school student in Koehler’s district. Shreya brought her proposal to Koehler with concerns that money made by child influencers is not protected and that too many young people will fall victim to a parent or guardian taking the assets for their own use.
“When scrolling on social media, I always saw young children and families, called family vlog channels, posting videos online. After finding that users could make money off of platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, I learned that, often, these kids are made to participate in videos without any guarantee of the income generated from the content,” said Shreya. “I wanted to work with Senator Koehler to protect the money that these kids have rightfully earned.”
According to CBS News, kidfluencers with one million followers can earn $10,000 or more per sponsored post. Young children are often featured in social media content without any guarantee of the income they have earned. Because of the age restrictions on online platforms, the content is not created in the child’s name, but rather the parent or guardian who runs the account. While traditional child actors in Illinois have the Child Labor Law to safeguard their earnings, there is nothing in place for kidfluencers. Thanks to Senator Koehler and Shreya, Illinois is now the first in the nation to protect child influencers and ensure they are appropriately compensated under the Child Labor Law.
“This new digital age has given us tremendous opportunities to connect with one another, but it’s also presented legal issues that have never existed before,” said Koehler. “We need to work with our children to see the problems they face and tackle them head-on before any further harm is done.”
Senate Bill 1782 was signed into law Friday and goes into effect July 1, 2024.
* Rep. LaPointe…
A pair of bills spearheaded by state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, to connect more residents with mental health support and transform the state’s approach to children’s behavioral health are now law.
“It’s critical that we break down barriers to accessing mental health support for our kids and adults - both day to day and in times of crisis,” LaPointe said. “We should think of mental health care as health care, and continue to change policies so more people can easily pursue support across the spectrum, including annual wellness visits through their insurance.”
LaPointe’s House Bill 2847 will require most insurance plans to offer an annual mental health wellness visit at no cost and no diagnosis. Illinois is the third state to enact this kind of law, which encourages Illinoisans to integrate mental health and wellness into their day to day.
LaPointe also led the passage of Senate Bill 724, which implements recommendations from the Governor’s Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative. The new law aims to increase and streamline access to care, provide for earlier intervention, improve accountability and transparency in service delivery, and create greater flexibility for state systems to respond to the changing needs of the youth population.
“Drastically improving children’s mental health care in Illinois is a ‘must do’,” LaPointe said. “It’s unacceptable that most Illinois parents don’t know where to turn, and often have to send their children out of state for acute residential care. We have tremendous work ahead to build out our state’s mental health services, including the workforce and system navigation help, but I’m encouraged by the direction we are going and the momentum to expand access for families across the state.”
Both measures passed with bipartisan support and were signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday.
“I appreciate the strong advocacy from state Sen. Laura Fine and state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz who led efforts in the Senate to get these passed,” LaPointe said. “I also want to thank Thresholds who was the lead advocate behind House Bill 2847. These bills are the result of hard work and dedication from passionate advocates across our state who are making an impactful difference to improve the lives of countless residents. I am incredibly grateful for their partnership.”
* Sen. Aquino…
Legislation sponsored by State Senator Omar Aquino expanding licensing opportunities and procedures for internationally trained and licensed health care professionals was signed into law Friday.
“The demand for qualified health care professionals in our state will continue to grow in the coming years,” said Aquino (D-Chicago). “This law creates a licensing liaison to serve as a resource for international applicants and streamline the process so we can continue to grow our health care workforce.”
Under Aquino’s legislation, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will create an Office of the Ombudsman for International Applicants. This office will employ a full-time licensing liaison for international applicants to assist applicants in answering questions and providing information on education requirements for licenses.
During the 102nd General Assembly, Aquino supported a law creating the Task Force on Internationally-Licensed Health Care Professionals to explore strategies for removing barriers to licensure for international health care professionals. The Task Force identified the need to create a full-time position at IDFPR dedicated to helping applicants navigate the process of gaining licensure in Illinois.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, international medical graduates worked on the front lines providing critical care to patients across our state,” Aquino said. “Creating a permanent office to help applicants navigate the process of re-establishing their licensure in Illinois is a small way to show our appreciation for their dedication to public health while also helping to combat the shortage of qualified medical professionals.”
House Bill 2948 was signed into law Friday and takes effect Jan. 1, 2024.
* Sen. Feigenholtz…
To set forth concrete guidelines, supports and collaborations that will transform the way Illinois delivers high quality behavioral and mental health care to children and youth, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz championed the Interagency Children’s Behavioral Health Services Act, which was signed into law Friday.
“Families of children with behavioral health challenges seeking help have faced barriers for far too long,” said Feigenholtz (D-Chicago). “The evidence-driven solutions in this plan will create a more streamlined, accessible and responsive system of care for youth in Illinois.”
The plan implements recommendations from the Governor’s Behavioral Health Transformation Blueprint that was released in February. The initiative, which set out to research the current state of mental and behavioral health issues facing children in Illinois and develop recommendations to better help families, was spearheaded by Dr. Dana Weiner and Senator Feigenholtz in collaboration with experts and state agencies that currently serve youth and families.
Feigenholtz’s law creates a centralized intake portal to manage information and provide parents with guidance and referrals to state and community-based programs they are eligible for. It also broadens the supports and placements that community-based providers can offer to youth in crisis, creates a Parent and Guardian Navigator Assistance Program, increases transparency in staffing at residential and institutional facilities and lays the foundation for a plan to provide annual mental health screenings to all K-12 students in the state. Additionally, the law establishes a Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Officer and Children’s Behavioral Health Services Team in response to the nationwide youth mental health crisis.
“The need for timely and appropriate care cannot be overstated – families and children need access to services now,” Feigenholtz said. “Soon, parents and providers will be able to rely on this legislation as a roadmap to finally get children the care they need.”
Senate Bill 724 was signed into law Friday and takes effect immediately.
* Sen. Belt…
State Senator Christopher Belt led a new law that will ensure fair compensation for teachers and protect school boards from undue financial burdens.
“Our state’s educators deserve a fair salary that keeps pace with the rising cost of living,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “This shows that we care about all teachers in the state who are educating our future leaders.”
The new law will establish the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability as the agency responsible for adjusting the teacher minimum salary in accordance with annual increases in inflation rates. In addition, the law addresses concerns related to potential higher pension contributions resulting from increased minimum teacher salaries. It ensures that school boards will not be penalized for fulfilling their obligation to provide competitive compensation to teachers.
“I’ve always been a vocal advocate for education and a champion for teachers’ rights, and I’ll continue to work hard to support and value them,” said Belt.
House Bill 300 was signed Friday and takes effect immediately.
* Sen. Peters…
Recognizing the humanity of individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, State Senator Robert Peters championed a new law that will end the requirement of disclosing criminal background information in certain license applications.
“There’s no need to disclose criminal background information when it can’t be used against an applicant for licensure,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “Once individuals impacted by the justice system disclose this information, they often face discrimination despite rectifying their mistakes.”
Under previous law, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation would consider mitigating factors and evidence of rehabilitation contained in an applicant’s record after finding that the applicant for a license, certificate, or registration was previously convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
Peters’ law forbids inquiry into criminal history by IDFPR if the licensing statute states that criminal history cannot be used against an applicant. With this new prohibition, IDFPR would only need to perform a mitigating factor analysis in limited circumstances.
“One of the goals of the justice system is to rehabilitate individuals, not blacklist them once they are released from detention centers,” Peters said. “Second chances are given endlessly to those without justice system involvement. This same opportunity should be extended to everyone seeking to improve their lives and the community around them without judgement.”
House Bill 2826 was signed into law Friday.
* Sen. Peters…
State Senator Robert Peters’ measure establishing an annual report on the racial and ethnic makeup of applicants denied licensure by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional regulation was signed into law Friday.
“Appropriate licensure of businesses is an important stepping stone that allows businesses operate,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “We want businesses to thrive in Illinois. To make sure this is happening, we need our ears to the ground at every level to make sure we are doing everything we can to remove bias in the licensing process.”
Peters’ new law will require the Department to request and report information regarding applicants’ ethnicity, race, sex and disability. By March 1 each year, IDFPR is now required to publish a report with the demographic information it collected, the number of applications for licensure and renewal, and the number of applicants denied licensure in the preceding calendar year.
Under previous law, IDFPR was not required to collect this type of data in licensure applications.
“There comes a time when every information system, no matter how big or small, needs to be updated,” Peters said. “The system update required by this new law will shed light on areas that may need further action, such as a pattern in licensing application denials.”
House Bill 1612 was signed into law Friday.
Today is the first time the House Democrats have been out with timely bill-signing statements in a while.
* Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation executive director Kaethe Morris Hoffer writing in the Tribune…
With the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the end of money bail, a more victim-centered system will start in September. Survivor advocacy groups such as the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation were vital leaders in drafting the Pretrial Fairness Act to support survivors of gender-based violence.
Our attorneys provide free legal assistance to survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. Under the money bail system, we saw the courts disregard victims’ safety by allowing people who caused harm to buy their way out of jail, regardless of risk.
We fought to change this by putting survivor needs front and center while helping draft the Pretrial Fairness Act. Now, when a person is charged with a serious crime, such as rape or domestic battery, they’ll go before a judge for a thorough, risk-based assessment before a decision about their release is made. If a judge decides a person is a “real and present threat” to someone or the community, the person will be held.
Proponents of the money bail system claim that it is a critical source of funding for victim services, but in reality, victims receive minimal funding this way. According to a 2021 state report, of the $1.27 billion collected by Illinois courts, excluding funds refunded to defendants who paid bond, only $11.5 million went to victim restitution across Illinois, and it exclusively went to a small minority of crime victims — those whose perpetrators were arrested, prosecuted and found guilty. […]
Rather than opponents undermining a critical reform like the SAFE-T Act based on spurious concerns about victim services, we encourage lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to improve direct funding to victim services and move away from reliance on court fees and fines. This would enable all survivors, not just those who report to police, to get the legal aid, advocacy and mental health care they need to heal.
This year, due to federal cuts, 78% of rape crisis centers statewide will cut staff, 72% will put survivors on waitlists for services and 40% will shut down, the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault predicts.
We urge lawmakers to fully fund rape services programs and ensure all survivors can get support.
* IDPH…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that the CDC is reporting that all 102 Illinois counties remained at a low level for COVID-19 hospital admissions as of the end of July. IDPH is continuing to closely watch COVID-19 data and also monitoring other respiratory viruses, particularly flu and RSV ahead of the fall and winter seasons.
* Governor’s office…
Governor JB Pritzker today signed legislation which will allow individuals with certain felony convictions the opportunity to apply for non-gaming positions at Illinois casinos, largely in the hospitality industry. The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) worked cooperatively with UNITE HERE Local 1 and Senate Bill 1462’s sponsors Senator Robert Peters and Representative Kam Buckner to draft the bill. […]
Currently under state law, people who have a felony conviction are ineligible to work at a casino in both gaming and non-gaming positions. SB 1462 removes automatic disqualification for non-gaming positions and allows the IGB to consider individual facts and circumstances about past criminal convictions when making a licensing decision for casino occupational license applicants.
The jobs affected by SB 1462 are for non-gaming positions such as restaurant staff, maintenance, and housekeeping.
The IGB will consider the following factors when determining an applicant’s eligibility for licensure including:
• Length of time since the conviction occurred
• Number of convictions that appear on the conviction record
• Nature and severity of the conviction and its relationship to the safety and security of others and/or the integrity of gaming
• The facts or circumstances surrounding the conviction
• The age of the employee at the time of the conviction
• Any evidence of rehabilitation efforts.
The UpRising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills made national news last year when its plan to hold an all-ages drag brunch sparked not just outcry and protests but threats of violence against its owner and employees, and multiple instances of vandalism to the business.
Among those paying attention was state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz. A year later, legislation the Glenview Democrat wrote in part because of what happened to UpRising — which went out of business in May — is on its way to becoming state law.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker last Friday signed Gong-Gershowitz’s Civil Liability for Doxing Act, which will allow some victims of online harassment to sue their tormentors for monetary damages.
“One thing we’ve been seeing is the ability of perpetrators to use the internet to crowdsource hate,” Gong-Gershowitz told us Thursday. “This (law) creates a way to hold accountable those who perpetuate hate online.”
* Governor’s office…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1378, which will create the Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Act to establish a new program that allows students majoring in technology fields to receive tuition grants. The iGROW program will be administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and will be open to students enrolled in associate or bachelor’s degree programs at public or private colleges and universities. Students in IT fields can receive a grant amount up to the total cost of attendance.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Sun-Times | Illinois Supreme Court upholds state’s semiautomatic weapons ban Friday: The suit from state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, was part of a flurry of challenges to the constitutionality of the ban after it was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 10. Some of those challenges are still being fought in federal court.[…] Caulkins tried to get O’Brien and Rochford disqualified from taking part in the weapons ban decision, citing donations from the governor and other Democratic officials. The court denied the request.
* WAND | Illinois Supreme Court finds assault weapons ban constitutional: The Illinois Supreme Court announced its decision in Caulkins v. Pritzker (assault weapons ban case) at 9 a.m. Friday. In a 4-3 ruling, the State Supreme Court ruled the assault weapons bans to be constitutional.
* AP | Illinois Supreme Court upholds state’s ban on semiautomatic weapons: The court also decreed that state Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, a Decatur pawn broker and like-minded Macon County gun-owners who brought the lawsuit had earlier waived their claims that the law infringes on the Second Amendment to own firearms and could not raise it before the Supreme Court. It’s a claim Caulkins’ attorney vehemently denies.
* Center Square | Illinois Supreme Court upholds state’s gun and magazine ban: “First, we hold that the exemptions neither deny equal protection nor constitute special legislation because plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they are similarly situated to and treated differently from the exempt classes,” the majority opinion said. “Second, plaintiffs expressly waived in the circuit court any independent claim that the restrictions impermissibly infringe the second amendment. Third, plaintiffs’ failure to cross-appeal is a jurisdictional bar to renewing their three-readings claim. Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court and enter judgment for defendants on the equal protection and special legislation claims. We express no opinion on the potential viability of plaintiffs’ waived claim concerning the second amendment.”
* ABC Chicago | Illinois Supreme Court finds state assault weapons ban constitutional: “This bill was written with constitutionality in mind. It was based on bills in other states where the same ban has been upheld and so I am just grateful for the Illinois Supreme Court following along with precedent and doing the right thing,”Ashbey Beasley, Highland Park shooting survivor and gun control advocate, said. “When you have a supreme court where the last two justices that were elected benefitted greatly from political contributions from the governor, it is really hard to be realistic,”Caulkins said.
* AP | COVID-19 took a toll on heart health and doctors are still grappling with how to help: It’s not only an issue for long COVID patients like Camilleri. For up to a year after a case of COVID-19, people may be at increased risk of developing a new heart-related problem, anything from blood clots and irregular heartbeats to a heart attack –- even if they initially seem to recover just fine.
* Crain’s | Maurice Cox, City Hall’s point person on planning and development, is out: The resignation marks the third high-profile appointee of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot to leave Johnson’s administration, following former Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara and the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, Gia Biagi. All three have left within the last month.
* WBEZ | Chicagoans are being left out of manufacturing jobs, a new report claims: But in a recent report, a workers rights group says Chicagoans like De La Rosa who live near these districts aren’t getting the benefits. Instead, the group identifies a “disturbing trend of residents being unable to find work within neighboring manufacturing districts.”
* Crain’s | A bigger Lolla paid off for Chicago hotels, restaurants: Chicago hotels booked a total of 131,190 rooms for last Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, 18% higher than last year’s run and a record for a Lollapalooza weekend, according to Choose Chicago. Revenue was $39.9 million, up 27% from a year ago. Occupancy ranged from 93% to 97% over three nights, the highest for Lolla since 2018.
* NBC Chicago | Chicago-area volunteers to assist with Maui wildfire recovery efforts: As many people are fleeing Maui and trying to get a flight out, some volunteers with the American Red Cross are heading there to assist those whose lives have been uprooted. Paul, a volunteer from south suburban Frankfort, explained that he’ll be working with a fulfillment group, which will load essential supplies and deliver them to those in need.
* SJ-R | ‘He gave everything he had for this town’: Former Sherman Mayor Frank Meredith passes away: “He put all of his heart and soul into making Sherman a better place and exploring all of the different avenues in terms of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and other different mechanisms within Illinois statute that set the village on a path to prosperity that others and I enjoy today,” Clatfelter said Thursday.
* Illinois Times | What’s new at the Illinois State Fair?: Clark also highlighted two initiatives to ensure accessibility to those fairgoers who suffer from sensory-processing disorders and sensitivities, such as autism or anxiety. These include the creation of The Sensory Station in the Emmerson Building, which will serve as a designated quiet space with trained staff available to help overwhelmed individuals regroup, as well as new Sunflower Hours on Aug. 12 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
* SJ-R | Ribbon cut to open State Fair promising excitement for all: The Governor was joined by Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton, Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II, Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher, State Sens. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, and Steve McClure, R-Springfield, Illinois County Fair Queen Paige Van Dyke and a host of mascots and cheerleaders from the state’s colleges and universities to help welcome people to the 170th annual celebration of all things Illinois, with a large emphasis on the theme of the fair, “Harvest the Fun.”
The “57” represents my time serving as Missouri’s 57th Governor. I was honored to earn 57% of the vote during our election in 2020. AND, as a lifelong Chiefs fan, serving as the 57th Governor when the Chiefs won the 57th Super Bowl was a welcomed bonus.
The outline of Missouri represents my love for this state and its people. This state has always been my home, and when I got out of the Army, I told myself on the tarmac in Springfield that I would never leave this state again.
The lightning bolt is a nod to Elvis Presley’s album and motto “taking care of business in a flash” – perfectly summarizing the actions of our Administration since day one. Through every challenge, we’ve always taken care of business.
This tattoo is even more special to me because my talented granddaughter drew and designed the whole thing.
Following a comprehensive internal review of federal revenue reimbursements in the State’s Medicaid related programs, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) identified a computer programming error that led to incomplete federal Medicaid match claims. While this delayed the receipt of a portion of federal funding match, the state is now pursuing this additional one-time federal reimbursement that is within the allowable federal funding window. There was no delay in payment to organizations providing services to individuals and this federal reimbursement delay did not postpone any implementation of developmental disability services.
After a multi-agency internal review of federal funding sources, the agencies impacted determined that a technical coding error delayed communication between IDHS and HFS to submit claims for federal Medicaid reimbursement for community-based services for people with developmental disabilities. Submission files to HFS for payments for service dates between the end of 2020 and June 2022, totaling $601 million in federal match, were impacted by the programming errors, or less than 2% of what HFS drew in federal revenues during that time period. Internal checks on the multi-agency process were missed during this period due to increased Medicaid spending and enhanced federal match rates that masked the delayed reimbursement.
The programming error has been corrected and IDHS has transferred the completed files to HFS so that HFS can submit outstanding claims to the federal government for reimbursement. The vast majority of the spending is still claimable and HFS will seek a federal waiver to process claims for a smaller number of older bills impacted. An additional $250-$300 million in federal claiming was delayed for the period in FY23 prior to when the programming fix was implemented. These amounts will also be claimed in FY24, though it is not unusual for federal claiming to include expenses from the prior fiscal year.
After studying the issue to gauge the scope of the bills impacted, IDHS and HFS alerted their external auditors to the delayed reimbursement found by the internal review as part of their annual financial audit process.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker vetoed the following legislation:
Senate Bill 76 – Veto
Senate Bill 76 removes the moratorium on new construction of nuclear power plants to allow for the construction of both advanced and traditional large-scale nuclear reactors in Illinois.
The bill is vetoed because the vague definitions in the bill, including the overly broad definition of advanced reactors, will open the door to the proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts. Additionally, it provides no regulatory protections or updates to address the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around these new reactors.
House Bill 2507 – Amendatory Veto
House Bill 2507 addresses many issues surrounding property taxes, including important property tax relief for surviving spouses of first responders and other more technical changes that the Pritzker Administration supports.
The Governor has issued an Amendatory Veto due to a change that was added to give private nursing home owners in Cook County a property tax break. That break passes the tax burden to Suburban Cook County homeowners and small businesses, with the most impact felt in the South Suburbs. That change to property taxes on homeowners risks driving up costs for residents and threatens local school funding.
House Bill 2878 – Amendatory Veto
House Bill 2878 addresses procurement issues important to the Pritzker Administration. But, because the bill allows for the creation of public private partnerships (P3s) with counties, municipalities, and any other unit of local government without proper oversight in place, the Governor has issued an Amendatory Veto.
The Governor has removed this provision through an Amendatory Veto that creates a local pathway for private industry to enter P3 agreements that skirts transparency and anti-corruption requirements established in state statute, including ethics, BEP, campaign finance, and procurement laws. It also puts the state at greater risk of project failure by decreasing competition and reducing the opportunity for public input currently required under state law during the P3 project planning and implementation process.
House Bill 3643 – Veto
House Bill 3643 amends the School Code to require the Illinois State Board of Education to enter into a statewide education master contract to provide religious dietary options to all Illinois school districts.
The bill is vetoed because it requires the Illinois State Board of Education to enter into a master contract they cannot execute because this is a local school district responsibility. Local school districts, not the Illinois State Board of Education, have the expertise and understanding of local needs required to enter into food service contracts based on federal USDA nutrition guidelines. The bill would restrict the capability that local school districts have to contract meal vendors based on their students’ unique local and cultural needs.
…Adding… Links to full veto messages…
* SB76: Today, at the request of the leadership team of the Speaker of the House and advocates, I will veto Senate Bill 76 from the 103rd General Assembly. … There appears to be real potential for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which could, in the future, safely provide power for large energy consuming businesses in areas where their energy needs cannot currently be met. However, this bill provides no regulatory protections for the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around these new reactors. My hope is that future legislation in Illinois regarding SMRs would address this regulation gap, and that Illinois will adopt standards that will have been reviewed by experts in the field along with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission or another similar review panel.
* HB2507: Dr. James Discipio, President of the Village of LaGrange Park, wrote to me and said “I cannot support a law that provides tax breaks for for-profit nursing homes on the backs of already burdened property tax payers.” It is difficult for me to imagine that the General Assembly, had they been aware of this aspect of the bill, would feel any differently. I could not agree more with Dr. Discipio on this matter, and I hope that members of the General Assembly will agree by accepting my amendatory veto.
* HB2878: The bill is the product of months of hard work by staff, contains positive developments to address procurement issues, and includes many items important to stakeholders, including my Administration. Unfortunately, the bill also extends the authority for public private partnerships (P3s) in Illinois from the Department of Transportation and Tollway to also include counties, municipalities, and any other unit of local government, while not providing proper oversight.
* HB3643: Local school districts, not the Illinois State Board of Education, have the expertise and understanding of local needs required to enter into food service contracts. Districts are already responsible for all their food service contracts and will continue to have the capability to enter into contracts with meal vendors based on the unique cultural needs of the students in their communities. Local school districts currently already engage in this practice and do so based on federal USDA nutrition guidelines.
* Jen Walling with the Illinois Environmental Council sent me this earlier today…
Hi Rich,
Attached is a letter asking for a veto on SB76 and I wanted to let you know that Jack Darin from Sierra Club and I have had productive conversations with the Governor’s office and Leader Gabel on behalf of Speaker Welch with respect to our concerns on this issue this week.
The Illinois Environmental Council (IEC), Sierra Club Illinois, and our allies respectfully request that you veto SB76—a bill that would lift Illinois’ decades-old moratorium on new nuclear facilities.
Illinois already has the most nuclear reactors in the country, and we should not add to the growing stockpiles of waste in Illinois communities. The original concerns about constructing new nuclear power plants that led the General Assembly to impose the current moratorium remain today, and in fact, those concerns are arguably greater now than they were in 1987. We are no closer to a national solution for the disposal of dangerous high-level nuclear wastes. As a result, Illinois bears the burden of storing this waste in our communities, including along the shores of Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. These wastes have significant safety risks and threaten our drinking water and communities.
In addition, nuclear power is extremely expensive. Efforts in other states to build new nuclear plants are plagued with high cost overruns and extensive delays. These exorbitant costs not only dwarf those associated with readily available clean energy technologies, but they also threaten to derail the progress Illinois is now making to deploy win-win solutions like renewable energy, storage, and energy efficiency programs. Illinois should continue prioritizing these investments, which support good union jobs and pathways to prosperity for our marginalized communities, rather than encourage highly speculative proposals for new nuclear energy that jeopardize our clean energy future.
SB76 will not solve any grid capacity issues in Illinois. Illinois does not need the massive, decades-long rate hikes it would take to attempt to site and build new nuclear power plants that wouldn’t be available for over a decade. Illinois does need action and investment now in transmission, storage, energy efficiency, and demand response solutions to ensure adequate capacity and protect consumers from spikes in fossil fuel prices. While Illinois hosts roughly 11 gigawatts of nuclear power, over 700 gigawatts of additional power are awaiting interconnection approval from regional energy markets across the country to backfill the retirement of uneconomic power plants. The majority of these resources waiting in line are solar, wind, and battery storage—proven technologies that are already creating good jobs and delivering consumer savings. These smart solutions should remain our focus.
The rules, regulations, and oversight for all nuclear plants are not up to date. SB76 removes the moratorium on nuclear power without a full study and review of whether current rules and regulations are sufficient to site, build, and operate a nuclear power plant safely. The nuclear moratorium law has been in place since 1987, when the Illinois Commerce Commission supervised and regulated power plants. For the past 25 years, there has been no entity in Illinois that oversees, regulates, or determines generally what plants are built, when, or where. Moreover, the language about granting certificates of public need and necessity no longer applies. SB76 does nothing to update programs or provide additional capacity to IEPA or IEMA, which would be needed to appropriately regulate nuclear facilities.
The siting laws for nuclear are completely insufficient. There are little to no local nuclear permitting and zoning rules on the books. Any plant could be built anywhere at any time, with only approval at the federal level. The issue is even worse in the case of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, which are proposed to be small units in shipping containers deployed within communities. Projects could, in theory, be deployed near residences, for example.
Finally, we have not solved the issue of waste. Every lawmaker representing the closed Zion nuclear plant voted no on SB76 because of the devastating long-term impact the closed Zion plant is having on the community. The waste will remain at any of these sites for all time, preventing future development or natural resource protection at any site.
Our community is proud of the work we did together with the General Assembly and stakeholders to enact the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021. CEJA gives Illinois a roadmap to a clean energy future that generates high-quality jobs equitably and attracts global investments in our communities. To sustain that progress, we must stay the course in implementing that vision and reject proposals that would distract our resources from this framework.
In conclusion, SB76 was moved forward without careful consideration, and signing it would open the door to increased risk, negative environmental impacts, and higher costs for consumers while jeopardizing our progress toward Illinois’ clean energy future. Thank you for your consideration of this veto request.
…Adding… Sen. Rezin on the nuke bill…
State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) issued the following statement in reaction to Governor Pritzker’s decision to veto Senate Bill 76, which would have ended state’s moratorium on building advanced, small modular nuclear reactors:
“The governor is clearly putting his own partisan political ambitions over what is in the best interest of the people of Illinois by his sole decision to veto bi-partisan legislation to improve Illinois’ future energy portfolio sustainably and cost-effectively.
Creating a sustainable energy future for our children and our children’s children is not a zero-sum game. We must take advantage of the massive advancements in nuclear technology if we truly want to reach a carbon-free future. Advanced nuclear reactors would help supplement the flaws that wind and solar unfortunately have by providing reliable power 24/7, because wind and solar alone don’t have the infrastructure or technology to provide our state with the reliable, affordable and efficient energy it needs.
Senate Bill 76 passed out of the General Assembly with veto-proof rollcalls because the members of the General Assembly who live and work in our communities know that it is our constituents, and not special interests and political ambitions we are here to serve. That’s why I have immediately filed paperwork to override this veto during our upcoming Veto Session this fall.”
…Adding… Operating Engineers Local 150 on the AV of HB2878…
This amendatory veto won’t impact the I-55 managed lanes project. The Governor’s office wants to ensure that appropriate guardrails are in place, which is well within his purview, and we look forward to working with his office later this year on legislation that will achieve that.
…Adding… Not sure where to put this, but here you go…
In light of today’s news on the assault weapons ban from the Illinois Supreme Court and Governor Pritzker’s veto of Senate Bill 76, below is a statement from House Republican Leader Tony McCombie:
“The extremism of Illinois Democrats knows no bounds. More fraud, more federal investigations, higher energy costs, and more rights infringed.
“Last week State Auditors revealed $5.2 billion of fraud within the unemployment system - some of which was collected by Governor Pritzker’s Executive Branch employees.
“The same week, another federal corruption trial began and Democrats are silent about the need for meaningful ethics reforms.
“Governor Pritzker vetoed a pathway to inexpensive, clean energy, all because Illinois Democrats are dead-set on virtue signaling instead of problem-solving.
“And today, Constitutional rights were besieged by the Democratic Supreme Court that Governor Pritzker spent millions to elect.
“When will enough be enough?”
…Adding… Sen. Villivalam on the kosher and halal bill…
State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) issued the following statement after Governor JB Pritzker vetoed House Bill 3643, which would have required all public schools, the University of Illinois Hospital and state correctional facilities to offer a kosher and halal food option upon request:
“I am disappointed in the governor’s veto of providing Halal and Kosher food options to our youth in schools.
“The innovative concept of the Illinois State Board of Education securing a master contract to accomplish the above goal was one that was brought forward by school districts in their attempt to meet the diverse dietary needs of our students.
“As I have from the beginning, I look forward to continuing robust discussions to accomplish this goal.”
…Adding… ICJC…
Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) on Governor Pritzker’s Amendatory Veto of HB 2878.
“We applaud Governor JB Pritzker for his amendatory veto of HB 2878, calling for greater public input into project planning and implementation. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gases and past transportation projects have not adequately considered impacts on communities, and especially environmental justice communities already overwhelmed by pollution from big trucks and other vehicles. That input should, at a minimum, include a greenhouse gas analysis of the project and whether there are alternatives that provide more efficient and affordable transportation options.”
…Adding… Leader Gabel…
Majority Leader Robyn Gabel released the following statement Friday:
“I’m pleased to see the governor’s veto of nuclear expansion. Based on concerns raised by the Illinois Environmental Council and Sierra Club, I asked the governor to veto Senate Bill 76. While discussion of the bill was focused on small-scale generators, the language was much broader and would have completely removed the moratorium on any size of nuclear project.
“As IEC noted, our rules, regulations and oversight of nuclear plants is not properly updated to safely accommodate such a dramatic change. There are little to no local nuclear permitting and zoning rules on the books. Unresolved issues regarding waste are also concerning.
“For these reasons, I requested the governor veto this bill, and allow stakeholders to discuss these concerns.”
…Adding… Rep. Larry Walsh…
“I am disappointed in Governor Pritzker’s decision to veto Senate Bill 76. As we maneuver ourselves towards cleaner energy production, nuclear technology must be an option. Senate Bill 76 was an opportunity to allow new, safe, and efficient reactors to be a tool in our energy toolbox. For over two years, hearings on this issue have been held in a bipartisan manner and Senate Bill 76 was the culmination of those efforts. Unfortunately, there are business interests and special interest groups within the renewable energy community that have hijacked this issue and the process for their own personal gain, financial and political.
Despite this setback, we will continue to work to expand clean energy generation in Illinois so that our grid is able to meet the shortfalls that RTOs have forecasted in the coming years. Unfortunately with this veto, that work has become harder.”
…Adding… The Illinois Environmental Council and Sierra Club Illinois …
“Governor Pritzker acted today to protect Illinois communities from dangerous regulatory gaps in SB76,” said Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling. “Nuclear power comes with significant safety risks and results in highly hazardous wastes that threaten our drinking water, with no safe, permanent waste solution in sight. Rather than abandon all safeguards, Governor Pritzker recognized that such substantial risks merit the highest protective guardrails our state can offer.”
“SB76 would have opened the door to increased risk, negative environmental impacts, and higher costs for consumers while jeopardizing our progress toward Illinois’ clean energy future. We applaud Governor Pritzker for vetoing the bill and ensuring that Illinois follows the roadmap laid out in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act toward that vision for our future,” said Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin.
* Isabel did a recent coverage roundup…
* Illinois Times | House bill would lift nuclear power construction moratorium: Nuclear power plant construction has been prohibited in Illinois since 1987 over concerns about safe disposal of nuclear waste. The current law requires that there be a demonstrable technology, or means for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste, before any construction permit for a nuclear power plant may be issued. So far, no such technology or means of disposal has been developed. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, some nuclear waste is highly radioactive and will remain so for thousands of years.
* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker: ‘Devil’s in the details’ when considering lifting ban on new nuclear: “These are smaller, less prone to an accident, more likely for us to be able to maintain them for a long period of time, that’s something that’s worthy of consideration,” Pritzker said. “Now the devil’s in the details and we want to make sure that we’re not just opening this up to nuclear everywhere or any type of nuclear.”
* Tribune | Illinois may lift historic ban on building nuclear power plants as state continues transition from coal and gas: The following week, [Pritzker] told an audience at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics that Illinois was “looking now at removing the ban on nuclear — not to build any major new plants, but there’s small nuclear reactors that are being developed now that are much safer, that could be used in places in Illinois where there’s a lack of energy production.”
* An important key to the prosecution’s case against Tim Mapes is showing that Mike McClain did House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bidding and that everyone knew it. Megan Crepeau and Ray Long…
Gambling legislation, particularly one that included a new casino in Chicago and elsewhere around the state, was one of the thorniest matters to navigate in Springfield because there are so many different special interests seeking input, including horse racing and established riverboats.
[Rep. Bob Rita] said McClain was made available “so I would be guided in the right direction.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz immediately asked: The “right direction” according to whom?
“The speaker,” Rita replied, an answer that signaled Madigan could have influence over the legislation despite his potential conflict of interest.
* The defense is trying to show jurors that McClain’s word could be untrustworthy. Jon Seidel at the Sun-Times…
Mapes’ defense attorneys told jurors in opening statements that Mapes knew better than to believe everything McClain said. So, when placed under oath before the grand jury, he chose not to guess or speculate about things he didn’t know or couldn’t remember.
Outside the presence of the jury Thursday, Mapes attorney Andrew Porter tried to persuade U.S. District Judge John Kness to let him ask O’Leary about a previous FBI investigation involving McClain around 2013 or 2014.
Porter said McClain had acknowledged lying to a client about Madigan’s involvement in a matter — and Porter hoped to make the point that even the FBI didn’t believe everything McClain said.
Porter told the judge McClain had said some “frankly crazy things” caught on federal wiretaps.
Kness didn’t allow Porter to get into that investigation in front of the jury. But Porter still asked O’Leary about recorded claims by McClain that then-Gov. Bruce Rauner might pay up to $100,000 for a damaging report on Madigan, or that someone had extorted Major League Baseball.
O’Leary acknowledged he was unaware of any FBI investigations that ensued as a result of those allegations.
And in what could be another point for the defense, O’Leary initially testified that he didn’t even remember them.
Longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was elevated to that powerful position in 1983 – the same year Motorola launched the first-ever commercially available mobile phone and CompuServe applied to trademark the word “email.”
But Madigan, who held the speaker’s gavel for all but two years until early 2021, never had a cell phone or email address of his own. Madigan, now 81, instead relied on his “tight inner circle” to communicate on his behalf, according to former FBI special agent Brendan O’Leary’s testimony in a Chicago federal courtroom on Thursday.
O’Leary, who retired from the FBI in 2021, spent nearly the last seven years of his law enforcement career overseeing a sprawling investigation into Madigan and his inner circle. The investigation has yielded charges, guilty pleas and convictions from a number of political figures in Illinois – including Madigan himself, who is scheduled for trial on bribery and racketeering charges in April. […]
“He didn’t have a cell phone, he didn’t use emails, didn’t text,” O’Leary said of Madigan. “He used McClain as a go-between…that’s how he communicated – through people he trusted. That’s how his orders went out.”
"Paulie hated phones. He wouldn't have one in his House. He used to get all his calls second-hand, and then you'd have to call people back from an outside phone. There were guys, that's all they did, all day long was take care of Paulie's phone calls" https://t.co/7DUspF9J2R
This is a blow to Illinois. This is a blow to our freedoms. This is a blow to our constitution, the 2nd Amendment. This is a blow to this great republic. My question to you is how much more of this are we going to take, friends?
I’m standing here on my front porch. This porch kind of became famous through the governor’s run and became famous when I was speaking on nonsense. And I made a statement. And sometimes when we make these statements, we don’t know where this is going to go. But if need be, this front porch will be my final stand. I will not allow anyone to infringe on my property on my second amendment rights. I will not allow anyone to come and take anything from me. And if need be, as I quoted before, I will die on this front porch before I give up any of my Second Amendment freedoms.
That is why we must have fighters in Springfield and we must have fighters in Washington DC. That’s why I’m taking our message to Washington DC, because the message has been snuffed out here in Illinois. We must demand more out of our elected officials go along to get along. ‘Oh, I voted no, and I’ve supported this and I didn’t support that.’ That’s not good enough. What are you saying? What are you doing? How are you making your stand?
He then went on to make his pitch for Congress and closed with this…
Be prepared to stand, friends. I’m right there with ‘ya.
State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), the chief sponsor of the Protect Illinois Communities Act, celebrated the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Illinois assault weapons ban on Friday.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act bans the sale of assault weapons, which have consistently been used in mass shootings, as well as large capacity magazines and rapid fire devices. Prior to today’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling, the Act had already survived multiple constitutional challenges. On May 4, 2023, the 7th Circuit Federal Appeals Court rejected a temporary injunction from a lower court judge. On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court also declined to block the law.
“With the Illinois Supreme Court upholding the Protect Illinois Communities Act, this common-sense gun reform law continues in full force, despite the efforts of the gun lobby,” said Rep. Morgan. “Since its enactment in January, this law has already prevented the sales of thousands of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, making Illinois safer for our families. The federal courts will continue to assess this law, but today’s ruling prioritizes public safety over the gun lobby trying to impose their dangerous, extreme views through the judiciary.”
Morgan, who is the Chair of the House Firearm Safety and Reform Working Group, is recognized as a legislative champion of gun safety in Illinois, and is working with other national leaders to reduce gun deaths. Morgan witnessed the devastating effects that gun violence can have on a community. Highland Park, Illinois is a part of his 58th District, and he was present at the July 4th, 2022 mass shooting with his wife and children, during which 83 rounds were fired in less than 60 seconds, killing seven and injuring 48 people.
* Sen. Sims…
State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the General Assembly’s assault weapons ban:
“Today’s decision is a victory for public safety, a victory for communities, a victory for the far too many victims and survivors of gun violence who demand action to pass commonsense gun laws in our state.
“Our communities are tired of the of gun violence plaguing our streets and today’s decision reinforces that Illinois is taking the steps necessary to protect our neighbors and their families. I will rest a bit easier knowing that not only my family, but countless other families, will be protected as they travel to work, school, the mall or church.
“Limiting access to high-capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons will save countless lives. While the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision is a massive step toward ending the bloodshed on our streets, more work is needed to ensure that the tragic gun violence epidemic ends once and for all. I renew my commitment to be a voice and advocate for the victims who have lost their lives to gun violence and for their families who are counting on elected officials for the changes we need to ensure what happened to their loved one doesn’t happen to someone else.
“We celebrate today’s decision, but our work continues.”
* Speaker Welch…
House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch released the following statement Friday after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld House Democrats’ law banning the sale of assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and rapid-fire modifications:
“The Supreme Court’s ruling upholds the legislature’s commitment to value the lives of our children over guns. This ruling makes it clear that the safety of our cities, our suburbs, and our small towns is not subject to the veto of the gun lobby. Such statements should not be profound or controversial, but in a time when the specter of gun violence looms over every aspect of our lives and preventable tragedies are seemingly a daily occurrence in communities small and large across the country, this ruling in favor of commonsense gun safety is monumental.
“I want to thank Representative Bob Morgan and Representative Maura Hirschauer, who championed this legislation, along with all the members of the Firearm Safety Working Group who dedicated so much time to meeting with stakeholders, studying efforts undertaken in other states, and utilizing that insight to create one of the nation’s strongest gun safety laws.
“We know there is more work to be done. We know no single law can make up for decades of Washington politicians allowing federal regulation to wither and neighboring states refusing even the most reasonable measures to address unregulated gun sales. Our commitment to value innocent lives calls on us to continue the work to get guns out of the wrong hands, to expand access to mental health treatment, and to invest in community-based approaches to violence prevention. I encourage our Republican colleagues to join in these efforts as partners, rather than litigants.”
* Sen. Morrison…
State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) released the following statement after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the General Assembly’s assault weapons ban:
“I commend the Illinois Supreme Court for taking appropriate action to ensure our state becomes safer. Military-style weapons designed for war have no use on our streets and in our neighborhoods.”
Senator Morrison first led an assault weapons ban bill in 2017. She was instrumental in the passage of the measure passed in January, which came just six after she and her family ran for their lives during the 2022 Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park.
This post will be updated.
…Adding… Advocates…
“Weapons and accessories designed for the battlefield shouldn’t have a place in our communities,” said Nick Suplina, Senior Vice President for Law and Public Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. “Communities across Illinois cannot afford another tragedy like Highland Park to occur and today’s decision by the Illinois Supreme Court ensures that we can keep these deadly weapons of war off our streets.”
“For years, moms, students, survivors of gun violence and other community safety advocates fought hard to pass comprehensive gun safety legislation in Illinois,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action. “Today’s decision by the Illinois Supreme Court is an incredible victory for our dedicated volunteers who were relentless in their advocacy to pass this life-saving legislation, especially in the aftermath of the tragedy in Highland Park.”
“Earlier this year, following the tireless advocacy of Illinois’ chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, our state took a huge step in preventing gun violence in our communities by banning weapons and accessories of war,” said Sheri Williams, co-chapter lead of the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action. “The Supreme Court’s decision today put public safety over the gun lobby’s agenda, and our families will all be safer because of it.”
* One Aim Illinois…
“Today the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of saving lives, without any violation to people’s 2nd Amendment rights. Military-style assault weapons are used for the purpose of killing at a high volume. In fact, data shows that when assault weapons or high-capacity magazines are used about 50% more people are killed and more than twice as many are shot. Today’s decision validates the work done by survivors, advocates and legislators from every corner of Illinois. Our children, our families, and our entire state will be safer for it.”
* Senate President Harmon…
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement regarding the Illinois Supreme Court upholding the state’s assault weapons ban.
“This is a victory for common sense. Weapons of war have no place on our streets. I am proud to have worked on it and even prouder to see it upheld in court today.”
Harmon was the sponsor of the legislation creating the assault weapons ban.
* Rep. Hirschauer…
State Rep. Maura Hirschauer released the following statement Friday after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld legislation she worked to pass banning the sale of assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and rapid-fire modifications:
“I applaud today’s ruling for commonsense gun safety as a lawmaker, as a Moms Demand Action volunteer, and as a mother myself. First and foremost, I’m glad to see our Supreme Court upholding the work so many of my neighbors sent me to Springfield to do. I know there is more work to be done, so I am heartened to see that the voices of so many students, moms, and other advocates means more than the money and clout of the gun lobby. And I’m grateful to know, at least in Illinois, we will value our children more than we value guns. We will not accept the national mania that would have us believe that seeing people massacred in our classrooms, in movie theaters, and on our streets is a price we must pay again and again. We will act on behalf of the students who have spoken clearly about the need for change; we will comfort the parents who drop their kids off at school and say a silent prayer that they make it home safe; and we will continue the work of ending gun violence in every community in this state.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
“I am pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act. This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship. Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state—whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work—and that’s precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes. This decision is a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives.
* Sen. Feigenholtz…
In response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on the Protect Illinois Communities Act, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) released the following statement:
“For decades, the gun lobby has cloaked themselves in the Second Amendment and has purported that America has to live with mass shootings caused by military-style weapons in order to protect their rights. Today in Illinois that ends. The gun lobby has lost and the safety of our communities has won.
“I want survivors of gun violence and loved ones of people killed by guns to know they are not alone in their pain. We are lucky to have so many dedicated advocates and survivors in our state who stepped up and won this fight by talking to their neighbors, sharing their stories, making their voices heard and standing up to those who seek to encourage the use of these weapons in our communities.
“Simply put, this measure will save countless lives. Though no one should have to carry the pain of losing a loved one to senseless violence, I thank the many survivors and family members who so bravely shared their stories to get this measure codified into law.”
* DPI…
Following the Illinois Supreme Court decision to uphold the Protect Illinois Communities Act, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez released the following statement:
“Today, the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act, an important victory in the fight to end preventable and senseless gun violence. All Illinoisans deserve to live without fear of being gunned down at school, at parades, in houses of worship, or in any of our communities. Illinois Democrats are leading the way to make that a reality. It is essential that we keep these lethal weapons out of the wrong hands, and I thank Governor Pritzker, President Harmon, Speaker Welch, and Representative Morgan for their commitment to protecting the wellbeing of all Illinoisans. We will continue our work to protect our children, our communities, and our right to live in a world free from gun violence,” said DPI Chair Lisa Hernandez.
* LG Stratton…
Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton released the following statement on the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on the Protect Illinois Communities Act:
“Today the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed that we are on the right side of history in the work to end mass shootings by upholding the Protect Illinois Communities Act. Even as we acknowledge the significance of this ruling, we keep in our memories the countless lives lost and disrupted by senseless gun violence. By banning assault-style weapons, high-capacity magazines, and more, today’s victory takes us further in improving our gun safety efforts and building healthier, stronger communities in our state.
“I thank Governor Pritzker, the General Assembly and the thousands of advocates who came together to say, “enough is enough.” There is more work to do, and we are driven to protect the people of Illinois and continue our efforts to make Illinois the safest state in our nation.”
* Sen. Castro…
State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) issued the following statement Friday after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the assault weapons ban within the Protect Illinois Communities Act:
“Today marks a historic step in ending the continuous gun violence in our neighborhoods and across our state. With a plan in place that bans these weapons, strengthens our ‘red flag’ laws and bans rapid-fire devices, the historic provisions in the Protect Illinois Communities Act will save lives and prevent further tragedies in every corner of our state.
“Reducing the ways dangerous people can obtain automatic weapons creates safer communities. As mass shootings become more and more common, and the use of military-style weapons continues unabated, more lives will be lost without action. Today’s decision shows the rest of the nation that Illinois continues to be a model for transformative change and progress, even when it seems impossible.
“All communities deserve to feel safe in their homes, schools, places of worship and public spaces. The tragic mass shooting in Highland Park last Fourth of July only intensified the need for action. I have heard from residents across the 22nd District – families have had enough. If the federal government won’t step up to save lives and keep violent weapons off our streets, it’s up to us to keep our communities safe.”
* Sen. Aquino…
In response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on House Bill 5471, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) released the following statement:
“For far too long, communities across our state and nation have felt the scourge of gun violence in their everyday lives – including our children. With this provision in place, we’re sending a message to the people across our state that we will not tolerate weapons of war flooding our communities, killing our neighbors, family and children.
“There is no reason these weapons should be available for any reason other than for trained law enforcement and military officers to uphold public safety. As a parent, I want to see my children live and grow up without the fear of mass shootings at school or in their communities. Moving forward with the implementation of this law moves us closer to that world.”
* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…
We are pleased with the court’s decision. The Protect Illinois Communities Act is a critical part of a multi-faceted approach to addressing gun violence. We are firmly committed to protecting Illinois residents from the gun violence that impacts too many communities throughout the state. We will continue to defend the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act and other measures that reduce gun violence in our communities.
* Sen. Bryant ignores the fact that one of the justices Pritzker supported last year dissented from the majority…
State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) released the following statement after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to uphold the state’s “assault weapons” ban:
“While the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling is disappointing, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. The Governor’s hand-picked court provided him cover by not ruling on whether this law violates the 2nd Amendment. But even the Governor knows that this law won’t stand on the grounds of our constitutional right to bear arms when it makes its way through the federal court system.
“I will continue to stand behind and support law-abiding gun owners who want nothing more than to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights and look forward to closely watching the other legal cases currently going through our federal court system.”
* Rep. Windhorst actually quotes MKO…
House Republican Floor Leader State Representative Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) issued the following statement upon learning of the Illinois State Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling upholding the controversial firearms and magazine ban signed into law in January.
“I was vigorously opposed to the firearms and magazine ban that I believe unfairly and unconstitutionally outlaws firearms and magazines in common use by millions of law-abiding Illinois citizens. Today’s ruling is a disappointment, but I am not surprised given the current makeup of the State Supreme Court.
“For years, I have stood with the law-abiding citizens of Illinois in defense of their right to carry firearms and use them responsibly. For decades, Democrats in Springfield have worked to undermine and take away these 2nd Amendment rights. While we may hear declarations of victory from politicians from the Democratic side of the aisle today, we must remember that there is currently a federal lawsuit pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The United States Constitution clearly states that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. I remain hopeful that the lawsuit pending on the federal docket will be successful, and ultimately the nation’s highest court will deem Illinois’ firearms and magazine ban unconstitutional.
“Democratic Justice Mary K. O’Brien, in her dissent wrote the classifications of firearms and magazines banned, “Do not and will not reasonably remedy the evils the legislation was designed to combat.”
“Instead of addressing crime and criminal behavior, Democratic politicians have continuously passed laws that help criminals avoid punishment and consequences for their criminal actions. A firearms ban will do nothing to stop criminals bent on committing mass shootings or other acts of violence.”
* ISRA…
On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision in the Caulkins v. Pritzker case, that the assault weapons ban does not violate the state constitution. Richard Pearson, Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association – one of the oldest and most respected gun organizations in the United States, released the following statement:
“Today’s 4-3 decision by the Illinois Supreme Court that the assault weapons ban does not violate the constitution, was no surprise. But gun advocates across the state should not lose hope because our federal case — the ISRA case — which we expect to go before the U.S. Supreme Court, will prove to be a victory not just for law-abiding gun owners in Illinois — but across the country. And the ISRA and the Second Amendment Foundation are proud to stand up for gun owners as we take our case to the highest court in the land.”
* US Rep. Miller…
Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-IL) issued the following statement on the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Governor JB Pritzker’s unconstitutional Illinois gun ban.
“The Illinois Supreme Court ignored the Second Amendment by upholding JB Pritzker’s unconstitutional gun ban,” Miller said. “JB Pritzker’s goal is to defund the police, release dangerous criminals onto the streets with his “SAFE-T Act,” and take away your ability to protect yourself and your family. This fight is not over, and the Second Amendment will prevail!”
* Esther Sanchez-Gomez, Litigation Director, GIFFORDS Law Center…
“GIFFORDS applauds the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the state’s assault weapon and large capacity magazine regulations. This commonsense law is consistent with the Second Amendment, under which state and local governments have always been empowered to act to protect public safety. This law will undoubtedly save lives.”
* Sen. Chesney…
On Friday morning, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a ruling that upholds the controversial assault-style weapons and magazines ban law. The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide the issue. In response to the ruling, State Senator Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport), issued the following statement:
“I am disappointed, yet not surprised, that the highly politicized Illinois Supreme Court has chosen to act yet again as a rubber stamp for the Illinois Democratic Party. As long as Democrat lawmakers continue to go after law-abiding citizens rather than the criminals who abuse their gun rights, crime in all forms will continue to rise.”
* Sen. Anderson…
State Senator Neil Anderson’s (R-Andalusia) released the below statement following the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on Illinois’ recently enacted gun ban:
“Today, Governor Pritzker was protected by his hand-picked Illinois Supreme Court, which chose not to rule on the merits of the 2nd Amendment. It’s clear that Illinois’ gun ban law violates our right to bear arms and Illinoisans will get a fair shake at getting their rights restored when this law is taken up at the federal level.
“As always, I stand firm behind law-abiding gun owners and will fight against any attempt to infringe on our constitutional rights.”
* Sen. Rose…
State Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) released the following statement after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled to uphold the recently passed gun ban:
“Despite what the Illinois Supreme Court may have ruled, I remain confident that the rights of law-abiding citizens will be upheld in federal court. I would remind everyone that under the Democrats’ other legislative push, the so-called SAFE-T Act, that criminals are running our streets, because the Democrats and their allies fail to enforce the countless criminal statutes that were already in place. They don’t want to arrest and prosecute actual criminals, but they continue going after law abiding citizens. Until you get serious about actually putting bad guys behind bars, all crime, including gun crimes, will remain rampant. That lies solely at the feet of JB Pritzker and his Democrats.
* Sen. Plummer…
State Senator Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) released the below statement following the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the state’s recently enacted gun ban.
“Today the Illinois Supreme Court tried to thread a needle by refusing to rule on some extremely important aspects of this case, including whether the ban violates the Second Amendment. The justices in the majority stood by their political patrons, not the people of Illinois. But they also clearly showed that they are worried about being overruled by the federal case. The issue sits in the federal courts now, where I pray they have the courage and the decency to put the constitution over petty politics.”
* Sen. McClure…
State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) released the following statement following the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on the state’s recently enacted gun ban:
“This ruling went as expected, with Illinois’ very political state Supreme Court ruling to protect their allies in the majority party. There are lawsuits against this ban which are still underway in the federal system, and which have a much better chance of getting a fair ruling on the merits of the law. I believe the gun ban is unconstitutional, which is why I joined with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to oppose it in the General Assembly. I am optimistic that our nation’s highest court will agree and will overturn the law.”
* Rep. Weber…
Following the 4-3 split ruling issued today by the Illinois Supreme Court to uphold the state’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity magazines,” State Representative Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) issued the following response:
“Once again, the gerrymandered Illinois Supreme Court has issued a ruling based more on partisan preference than constitutional reality. The fact that the majority opinion used a procedural dance around to avoid addressing the second amendment question says it all. Ultimately, it will be up to the federal courts now.”
* Rep. Niemerg…
State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dietrich) is issuing the following statement on the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling on DAN CAULKINS et al., Appellees, v. JAY ROBERT PRITZKER, in His Official Capacity as Governor of the State of Illinois, et al.
“There was little doubt going into the release of this ruling of how our completely partisan Supreme Court would decide this case. Politics trumps all in the corrupt State of Illinois. This law unequally applies the law by granting some FOID card holders the right to bear certain types of firearms but denies that same right to others. It violates Article IV Section 8 (d) of the Constitution which requires all bills to be read three times. And it violates the Second Amendment. If the ruling class in Illinois had even a shred of honesty and decency the rights of honest citizens would have been protected today. Instead, the far-left activists on the Supreme Court decided to put politics above the law. This decision – while not a surprising one – is the outcome Governor Pritzker bought with the millions of dollars he put into Supreme Court races in the last election. Today is a dark day for Illinois.”
* Rep. Stava-Murray…
Following the statewide assault weapons ban signed into law earlier this year being upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court on Friday, state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Downers Grove, issued the following statement:
“Today’s holding by the Illinois Supreme Court affirms what those of us who supported this landmark bill knew all along: there is nothing about it that is unconstitutional or legally questionable. Keeping weapons of war out of our neighborhoods and communities and preventing their use in domestic terror attacks and mass shootings is a completely normal and necessary government function in any sane society.
“We knew from the beginning that there would be a reaction from partisan extremists who want these weapons easily accessible to the masses. But today the state’s highest court upheld the principle that public safety is far and away more important than the subjective wants of a fringe minority.
“The fight isn’t over, because other lawsuits are still working their way through federal courts. But today’s holding shows that there’s reason for optimism. We can look forward to a safer, saner Illinois where families can live with greater peace of mind.”
* Rep. Fritts…
Following the release of the Illinois Supreme Court Decision to uphold legislation enforcing a gun and magazine ban, State Representative Bradley Fritts (R-Dixon) released the following statement:
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling comes as no surprise. As elected officials, we take an oath to protect and defend our Constitution. It is disappointing to see some officials put political ideology ahead of that promise. Instead of ruling on the question of law at hand, the majority opinion is hiding behind a procedural ruling that does not address the constitutional violations present in this legislation.
“The second amendment is clear: the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. This legislation severely restricts the rights and freedoms we are granted as citizens of the United States in our Constitution. I am confident that the United States Supreme Court will ultimately overturn this law and protect law-abiding gun owners in our state.”
* Rep. Coffey…
Today the Illinois Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the firearms ban is constitutional and will uphold legislation enforcing strict new laws. State Representative Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) knows how dangerous this law is and he is furious about how quickly it was passed through the lame-duck session.
“Passing unconstitutional laws during the lame-duck session to please donors sheds light on how this administration operates in the capital and should be condemned,” said Coffey. “The firearms ban is outright ridiculous and strips away the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens”.
This firearms ban is a direct attack on common use firearms used for personal protection. If Democrats want to curb gun violence, they should focus on enforcing current laws, prosecute criminals, and allow law enforcement to protect the people. Banning firearms, standard size magazines, and forcing citizens to register their firearms does absolutely nothing to improve public safety.
This administration and their agenda are making criminals out of law-abiding citizens while the actual criminals continue to be rewarded with Democratic gifts. Illinois residents should not be subjected to continuous attacks from their own government who undermines their constitutional rights.
* IL FOP…
Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) State Lodge President Chris Southwood issued the following statement today regarding the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the law that bans the sale and further regulates the ownership of semiautomatic weapons in Illinois:
“The Illinois General Assembly’s recent actions have made it harder and more dangerous to be a cop and for police officers to protect the general public. Now, with this decision, the Illinois Supreme Court has indicated it is willing to go along with a law that removes an important self-defense option for law-abiding citizens to use when the police aren’t nearby. Thankfully, this case will now be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Illinois’ citizens may be given the fighting chance they deserve.”
“Make no mistake, criminals will always find a way to use banned firearms against the police and the citizens we are sworn to protect. Suddenly making law-abiding citizens into criminals will put all of us more at the mercy of lawbreakers. We are optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down this law and keep police from becoming dreaded, gun-confiscating agents of the government.”
* IDPH and DHS…
Statement from Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health:
“I am pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the Protect Illinois Communities Act. Easy access to assault-style weapons has created a clear and present danger for Illinoisans. Gun violence is a significant public health threat in Illinois, and the public deserves the right to be free from the threat of mass shootings. IDPH will continue its efforts to reduce gun violence, through the ongoing distribution of gun locks and other firearms safety initiatives to prevent such tragedies.”
Statement from Grace B. Hou, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services:
“Here at IDHS, we are committed to ending cycles of violence in communities that have been disproportionately impacted for generations. The Illinois Supreme Court made the right decision today to uphold an act meant to protect these communities from further harm. I’m thankful for the relentless work of so many advocates, our legislative leaders, Gov. JB Pritzker and his administration, and community outreach and violence prevention workers who have made reducing gun violence a priority in Illinois. IDHS will continue to advance our efforts and investment in public safety through initiatives like the Reimagine Public Safety Act and our Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. By utilizing data to inform where help is most needed, we continue to address both immediate needs and systematic change to reduce gun violence, and most importantly, reach even more communities that have historically been left to fend for themselves.”
* Sen. Simmons…
As a tireless advocate in the fight against gun violence, State Senator Mike Simmons attended the annual Everytown for Gun Safety gathering in Chicago on Friday, August 11 where Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the urgency of the fight for stronger gun laws; the same day the Illinois Supreme Court decided to uphold the assault weapon ban.
“Today is a historic day - the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the Protect Illinois Communities Act which bans the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, a law I strongly supported and helped pass in January. Coinciding with Vice President Harris’ visit to address the epidemic of gun violence, today we have made progress in making our communities safer,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “Gun violence has left us all traumatized from neighborhoods in Chicago to suburbs and small towns. Collectively we must step up our efforts to advocate for and pass stronger legislation to get weapons of war off our streets and impose enforcement mechanisms that will help us make our communities safer. We also have to step up our investments in community-based programming that we know helps our neighbors recover from the emotional trauma that grips communities hit by the gun violence epidemic.”
Alongside thousands of activists, volunteers and survivors of gun violence, Simmons listened to Vice President Harris discuss the commitment of The Biden Administration to reduce gun violence during a moderated conversation with Moms Demand Action’s Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala.
The gun safety legislation upheld Friday bans the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and places a ban on rapid-fire devices and increases the duration of a Firearm Restraining Order from six months to up to one year.
Studies show that approximately one-third of public mass shooting events include the use of an assault weapon, and nearly 40% involve a high-capacity magazine.
“I will continue to be aggressive in supporting stronger gun control legislation. I want our children to be able to walk to school and feel safe, moms and dads to see their children grow up and become adults, and for our schools, places of worship, public transit, and nightclubs to be places where we can live and gather in peace,” said Simmons. “Thank you to so many of my constituents whose lives have been directly impacted by gun violence who have partnered with my office to make our advocacy efforts on gun control more robust and directly responsive to the lived experiences of 7th District residents and people all across Illinois.”
* Rep. Rashid…
State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid released the following statement following the Illinois Supreme Court ruling upholding the ban on assault weapons:
“I applaud the decision by the Illinois Supreme Court for upholding common sense gun reform legislation. We cannot afford to grow desensitized to the tragic toll of gun violence. Let’s be clear: this court ruling was a critical step forward for our state, but our work is not done. I look forward to continue working with my colleagues and advocates to ensure Illinois is at the forefront of protecting our communities from the scourge of gun violence.”
The Protect Illinois Communities Act (Act) restricts firearms and related items that the Act defines as “an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge” (collectively, assault weapons) (720 ILCS 5/24-1.9(b) (West 2022)) and “large capacity ammunition feeding device[s],” commonly known as large capacity magazines (LCMs) (id. § 24-1.10(b)). Certain restrictions do not apply to (1) law enforcement agencies and individuals who complete firearms training as part of their employment in law enforcement, corrections, the military, and private security (trained professionals) (id. §§ 24-1.9(e), 24-1.10(e)) and (2) individuals who possessed assault weapons or LCMs before the restrictions became effective (grandfathered individuals) (id. §§ 24-1.9(d), 24-1.10(d)).
The circuit court of Macon County entered declaratory judgment for plaintiffs on two claims that the restrictions are facially unconstitutional because the exemptions deny the “law-abiding public” equal protection (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 2) and constitute special legislation (id. art. IV, § 13) under the Illinois Constitution. Defendants appeal directly to this court. Ill. S. Ct. R. 302(a)(1) (eff. Oct. 4, 2011).
Plaintiffs defend the judgment on equal protection and special legislation grounds and allege for the first time that, regardless of the exemptions, the restrictions violate the second amendment to the United States Constitution. U.S. Const., amend. II. They further argue that Public Act 102-1116 (eff. Jan. 10, 2023), which added sections 24-1.9 and 24-1.10 to the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq. (West 2022)), violates the three-readings requirement of the Illinois Constitution and that the circuit court erred in ruling to the contrary. Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, § 8(d).
First, we hold that the exemptions neither deny equal protection nor constitute special legislation because plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they are similarly situated to and treated differently from the exempt classes.
Second, plaintiffs expressly waived in the circuit court any independent claim that the restrictions impermissibly infringe the second amendment.
Third, plaintiffs’ failure to cross-appeal is a jurisdictional bar to renewing their three-readings claim.
Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court and enter judgment for defendants on the equal protection and special legislation claims. We express no opinion on the potential viability of plaintiffs’ waived claim concerning the second amendment.
Justice Rochford wrote the opinion. Chief Justice Theis and Justices Neville and Cunningham concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Holder White dissented, with opinion, joined by Justice Overstreet. Justice O’Brien dissented, with opinion.
I respectfully dissent because I do not find that the classifications at issue in this legislation further its claimed purpose and it is thus violative of the special legislation provision in our state constitution.
The special legislation clause states:
“The General Assembly shall pass no special or local law when a general law is or can be made applicable. Whether a general law is or can be made applicable shall be a matter for judicial determination.” Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, § 13.
“This court has consistently held that the purpose of the special legislation clause is to prevent arbitrary legislative classifications that discriminate in favor of a select group without a sound, reasonable basis.” Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367, 391 (1997). Under the clause, the General Assembly may not confer “a special benefit or exclusive privilege on a person or a group of persons to the exclusion of others similarly situated.” Id
We employ a two-part test to determine whether a law is special legislation. Piccioli v. Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System, 2019 IL 122905, ¶ 18. The first determination is whether the classification discriminates in favor of a select group to the exclusion of a group similarly situated. Id. If the classification does discriminate, we next determine whether the classification is arbitrary. Id. We use the same standards applicable to equal protection challenges to decide if a classification is arbitrary. In re Estate of Jolliff, 199 Ill. 2d 510, 520 (2002)
Unlike the majority, I would find that the plaintiffs are similarly situated in light of the purpose of the legislation. In re M.A., 2015 IL 118049, ¶ 29 (“The determination whether individuals are similarly situated generally can only be made by considering the purpose of the particular legislation.”). We do so by considering whether the classification is “based upon reasonable differences in kind or situation, and whether the basis for the classifications is sufficiently related to the evil to be obviated by the statute.” Best, 179 Ill. 2d at 394.
The majority finds that the plaintiffs are not similarly situated to the exempted classifications and ends its analysis on that basis. To make the similarly situated determination, this court must view the classifications in light of the purpose of the legislation and the evils it seeks to remedy. In re Belmont Fire Protection District, 111 Ill. 2d 373, 380 (1986). The majority acknowledges that the legislation itself does not state a purpose but concludes that the defendants infer the intent of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (Act) (see Pub. Act 102-1116 (eff. Jan. 10, 2023)) is “to reduce the number of assault weapons and LCMs in circulation” because they are often used in mass shootings. Supra ¶ 51. The majority correctly reiterates that, - 32 - to determine whether the plaintiffs are similarly situated, the legislative purpose of the Act must frame its analysis.
The majority, however, did not consider whether the classifications further the legislative purpose of reducing the number of assault weapons and large capacity magazines (LCMs) and consequently the number of mass shootings. I find they do not and will not reasonably remedy the evils the legislation was designed to combat. Importantly, exempting the professionals and grandfathered groups does nothing to prevent the proliferation of out-of-state assault weapon possession or prevent those weapons from being used for mass shootings in this state or elsewhere. The legislation does not prevent weapon manufacturers, some located within this state, from continuing to sell assault weapons and LCMs to out-of-state residents, who may then potentially perpetrate a mass shooting. Because 60% of the weapons used in crimes in Illinois come from out of state, the legislation does not further its purported goal of reducing the number of weapons in the state.
Similarly, the enumerated professional groups who are exempted based on their firearm training and roles as societal protectors are presumably not apt to engage in mass shootings, and their ability to possess assault weapons and LCMs does not reduce either the number of assault weapons and LCMs or the threat of mass shootings. They may continue to possess and purchase the items the legislation bans nearly everyone else from possessing and purchasing. Moreover, not all the professionals are limited in the possession and use of their assault weapons to on- duty conduct, which places them in the same circumstance as members of the general public who may also have weapons training. For example, retired peace officers may continue to purchase and possess assault weapons despite that they no longer have any peacekeeping responsibilities or obligations. They are no different from private citizens who hold Firearm Owner’s Identification cards, like the plaintiffs in this case, but are granted special treatment. Our constitution’s prohibition against special legislation does not allow a law to afford special treatment to one group of citizens without a rational basis to do so. The special legislation provision in the constitution prohibits the different treatment of people based on criteria unrelated to the legislation’s purpose.
The majority says the circuit court invalidated certain sections of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (Act) (see Pub. Act 102-1116 (eff. Jan. 10, 2023)) and upheld others and thus contends the three-readings-rule issue is not now before us because plaintiffs should have cross-appealed from the denial of relief on that claim. However, plaintiffs are properly before this court, and both parties have had ample opportunity to address the procedural requirements of the Illinois Constitution and their impact on the validity of the Act here. Moreover, if the invalidated sections are before us (by way of the State’s appeal), then a finding of a three-readings-rule violation on those sections (as we may affirm on any basis in the record) requires a similar finding as to the entire Act because the Act was passed as one. Thus, I would find the long-standing principle cited above in Ultsch and numerous other cases allows us to consider the three-readings issue. […]
Given the legislature’s repeated failures, continued adherence to the enrolled- bill doctrine should no longer be countenanced. The doctrine “is contrary to modern legal thinking, which does not favor conclusive presumptions that may produce results which do not accord with fact.” […]
Here, it is abundantly clear that the Protect Illinois Communities Act was not before the House or the Senate on three different days in each house. On January 8 and 9, 2023, the original Insurance Code bill was gutted, and the new amendments, including the restrictions on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, were considered and approved in the Senate. The new bill setting forth the Protect Illinois Communities Act then only spent one day in the House before it was passed and signed into law.
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* Lake County News-Sun | Casino clash coming down to who gets a piece of the action: A state appellate court overruled a Cook County Circuit Court judge late last month saying the Forest County, Wisconsin, Potawatomi Community wasn’t given a fair deal in 2019 when state gaming officials and the Waukegan City Council decided to grant a casino license to Full House Resorts of Las Vegas. From that ruling, there’s a lot of uncertainty, especially if the entire selection process begins anew.
* ProPublica | Years After Being Ticketed at School for a Theft She Said Never Happened, Former Student Prevails in Court: Earlier this week, Amara Harris had one last chance to take a plea deal. For $100, she could have avoided a trial, the testimony of her former high school classmates and deans, and the stress of not knowing whether a jury would believe her when she said she had mistakenly picked up a classmate’s AirPods — not stolen them. It would’ve been over. Instead, as she had for more than 3 ½ years, she chose to fight. Like other families and students across Illinois who have been ticketed by police for alleged behavior at school, Harris and her mother saw the system as unfair and capricious.
* Tribune | Chicago Board of Health asks Mayor Brandon Johnson to keep Commissioner Allison Arwady in her job: ‘It’s not political’: The nine-member health advisory panel convened a special meeting Thursday evening where the seven members present members unanimously pledged their support for Arwady, who to some was known for her unflappable assurances as Chicago’s COVID czar. But others have said she was too hasty in loosening pandemic restrictions, especially reopening public schools, while failing to uphold activist demands regarding environmental permitting and mental health services.
* Sun-Times | Striking Loretto Hospital workers hail tentative pact with management: Although the hospital had received $10 million in funding from the state of Illinois specifically to address worker recruitment and retention, union members went back and forth with hospital management for months before landing on an agreement, the statement said.
* WICS | Gaming Board welcomes new gaming agents at police academy graduation ceremony: The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Illinois State Police Academy in Springfield following the completion of a 560-hour basic training course for law enforcement officers by the trainees and other recruits. This is the IGB’s second police graduating class this year, bringing a total of eight new Police Academy graduates to the agency in 2023.
* Tribune | Hair relaxers have been linked to cancer among Black women, litigation says. ‘Nobody cares except us.’: The complaint alleges women and children were exploited for profit and hair relaxer products were advertised as “organic,” “natural,” “botanicals,” and “safe,” all while manufacturers had knowledge that the hair relaxer products they designed, manufactured, advertised and sold contained carcinogens. “Defendants failed to give appropriate and adequate warning of such risks,” the complaint says.
* WMBD | 2023 Illinois State Fair Ag Day Breakfast canceled: The event was canceled due to storms with strong winds predicted to hit the area Friday morning. The Fair also said that those who were planning on attending the Ag Day Breakfast are welcome to make their way to the Ag Tent on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. for a complimentary breakfast.
* SJ-R | As Twilight Parade marshals, state FFA leaders bring ag to the forefront: “I’m looking at all of the cars and the people who are lined up,” said the 18-year-old President of the Illinois FFA, prior to the start of the Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade, “and I can’t believe I’m a grand marshal of it. It really makes me proud to be a part of Illinois FFA and a part of the industry of agriculture that’s put us here and that’s valued. That says a lot.”
