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* The News-Gazette surveyed some lawmakers about legalizing sports betting…
Twenty-one of the 55 lawmakers said they support, or are leaning toward supporting legalization in some form. Eleven, including retiring Catlin Rep. Chad Hays, are Republicans. Among the 10 Democrats: Champaign Sen. Scott Bennett, who believes the potential revenue boost makes it worth legalizing “behavior that many sports fans already enjoy.”
Four Republicans and two Democrats are for it — so long as certain conditions are met. For Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, those include “appropriate safeguards to protect the citizenry from being ‘taken,’” a “fair split” of proceeds and revenue dedicated to the state’s backlog of bills, pension debt and/or underfunded programs.
In other words, he says, not using these new funds to create new programs — “what I fear any time legislators start talking about ‘new revenue.’”
Ten Republicans and one Chicago Democrat are against, or leaning heavily toward not supporting Illinois joining the flurry of states expected to jump at the chance to pass bills that could boost tax revenue and tourism. Most expressed reservations about what they view as overinflated economic advantages or the crippling social impact.
* Other bills…
* Bill boosting teacher pay worries rural schools: Local school districts already pay teachers an amount close to what the bill would set up, including Hall’s, which pays a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and no experience almost $39,000 a year. Champaign’s Unit 4 pays above that at $43,423. And Urbana and Rantoul City Schools are less than $2,000 away, at $38,178 and $38,696 respectively. If the bill becomes law, the three districts wouldn’t need to make any salary changes until the 2022-23 school year. But the Prairieview-Ogden district, which pays new teachers about $5,000 below the bill’s minimum, would have to give teachers a raise in the 2021-22 school year.
* Illinois groups push to restrict short-term insurance, as Trump administration seeks to expand it: Dozens of Illinois advocacy groups, under the umbrella of the Protect Our Care Coalition, are supporting a bill that would impose a six-month limit on the use of short-term insurance plans — coverage originally meant to serve as a stopgap for consumers between health insurance plans, such as people changing jobs who can’t afford continued coverage under a previous employer’s plan or students taking a semester off school.
* Could medical marijuana help fight opioid abuse? It’s complicated: The Illinois General Assembly is considering a bill that could vastly expand the number of people qualifying for the state’s medical marijuana pilot program. Senate Bill 336 would allow people who have been or could be prescribed opioids to apply for acceptance into the program. The science surrounding the therapeutic benefits of marijuana is far from conclusive. But those shades of gray are missing from descriptions of both the benefits of cannabis from supporters of SB 336, and the drawbacks cited by opponents.
* Illinois House divided on allowing police drone surveillance at events: After fierce debate, a bill allowing for police to use drone surveillance at public events remains in limbo on the House floor after a preliminary vote. During the initial vote, Senate Bill 2562 appeared to have failed 54-48. But the bill’s House sponsor, Rep. John C. D’Amico, D-Chicago, asked to postpone the decision before the vote was officially recorded, meaning a second vote may be called. If passed, the bill would allow law enforcement to more easily use drones to fly over large-scale events, not only to watch for crowd size and assess how many officers are needed but also identify potential criminal activity. While proponents say it’s for something like concerts or protests, the bill defines large-scale as 100 or people. The drones would not be allowed to have weapons attached, including non-lethal ones like tasers or tear gas.
* Bipartisan opposition nearly kills bill to allow police drone surveillance in Illinois: Rep. Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee, said state law allows police to use drones for surveillance after getting a warrant from a judge. “It concerns me that we want to expand this here,” Skillicorn said. “It’s not that hard to get a warrant. It’s not that hard to get probable cause. I say that we stick to that burden.”
* State law that keeps juvenile records private also shields police from scrutiny, advocates say: Under the law, all police records — including incident reports, 911 recordings, and dash and body cam footage — are exempt from public inspection if the case involves a suspect who is under 18. As a result, the public has no way of knowing or even attempting to evaluate whether an officer acted appropriately during interactions with juvenile suspects.
* State Senator John G. Mulroe Press Release: Mulroe fought for funding for Chicago firefighters that every other Illinois municipality benefits from. He helped to advance House Bill 5197, which creates a Foreign Fire Insurance Board in Chicago to control foreign fire insurance funds. These funds are received through a 2 percent tax on entities that choose to purchase out-of-state fire insurance. The board would use the funding to support maintenance or enhancement of fire stations, training facilities, emergency response vehicles, tools and equipment or to benefit firefighters. … Currently, all Illinois municipalities with fewer than 500,000 residents have a foreign fire insurance board. In Chicago, the money is distributed to the city’s general revenue fund. In other municipalities, the Illinois Municipal League collects and remits the money to the various boards.
* Police: Higher ed proposal needs revamp: Exceptions for violent crimes like murder and rape need to be included in proposed legislation that could come before Illinois lawmakers this week, two police associations said Saturday. House Bill 3142 cleared the House in April 2017 and is scheduled for a final vote before the Senate. The proposal would bar Illinois public universities and colleges from asking prospective students about their criminal history and using that information during the admissions process.
* GOP officials fight against getting rid of prisoner co-pay: Teaching incarcerated individuals responsibility and being fair to Illinois taxpayers are key, according to Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). Questioning the outcome of HB 5104, which seeks to delete the $5 co-pay provision that the state Department of Corrections pays to prisoners who receive medical or dental services on a non-emergency basis, Syverson argued during the May 24 state Senate floor debate that if there is no co-pay, there is no lesson to be learned. “It’s to help them realize that at some point, when they transition out of corrections, that they will have co-pays like all other working individuals and taxpayers have,” Syverson said of the current mandate for prisoners to pay $5 each time they recieve medical or dental services.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, May 29, 18 @ 1:54 pm
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Oh those $5 copays will solve the budget crisis./s
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Tuesday, May 29, 18 @ 2:01 pm
How can there be any uncertainty as to whether it’s worse to keep taking opioids rather than substituting MMJ for them? Opioids kill, weed doesn’t. Let’s expand MMJ to help people reduce or stop opioid abuse, and substitute MMJ for opioids in the first place, as medical treatment.
Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, May 29, 18 @ 2:34 pm
In regards to the News-Gazette article regarding teacher salaries, I think it’s laughable that the Mahomet-Seymour superintendent is making $187,000 while still complaining about a $40,000 minimum for teachers. First, $187,000 for Mahomet-Seymour?? Give me a break.
Teacher salaries should be higher and pointless $100k+ “Director of ______” positions should be eliminated. What’s the job of the superintendent when you have 5 positions underneath you doing all your work? I get it for huge school districts but some of these administrative positions are just ridiculous.
Comment by KitKat Tuesday, May 29, 18 @ 2:45 pm
“…the bill would allow law enforcement to more easily use drones to fly over large-scale events, not only to watch for crowd size and assess how many officers are needed…” Police will decide how many more police are needed to “control” events they watch? Great idea, put the fox in charge of the henhouse. No conflict of interest there.
“…but also identify potential criminal activity.” It’s for your “protection” etc. To cops, anyone who assembles to speak freely is a criminal.
“While proponents say it’s for something like concerts or protests…” Protesting your government would be a crime if it were up to the police. At least they admit it.
“…the bill defines large-scale as 100 or people.” The police unions know that they just have to get this bill passed, then downsize the definition of “crowd” to your backyard family reunion later.
“The drones would not be allowed to have weapons attached, including non-lethal ones like tasers or tear gas.” This one says it all! You have to specifically ban weaponized drones, because you can guarantee that the police would put machine guns on them if they weren’t too heavy to fly. God bless Amerika! You can’t make this stuff up.
Comment by Payback Wednesday, May 30, 18 @ 12:46 am