Session Update
Last week, Governor Pritzker called for a special session of the General Assembly in response to the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Governor did not provide specific dates but says it will be in the coming weeks. Current talks suggest that the House and Senate may return on different days or weeks. We will keep you posted when those dates of the special session officially become available.
Once the dates are announced we will schedule a special summer Government Affairs Professional (GAP) call.
Last month, the General Assembly released their Veto Schedule. Lawmakers will be back in Springfield Tuesday, November 15 -November 17 as well as November 29-December 1.
View and download the calendar here.
Crain's Chicago Writes Feature on Illinois Chamber 2022 Agenda
Earlier this week, Crain's Chicago political reporter Greg Hinz wrote a column on the Illinois Chamber's 2022 pro-business agenda. In part, the "proposals for keeping Illinois employers in Illinois" are provided below.
Hinz writes the following:
As Illinois gets ready to vote on Tuesday and select the candidates who will compete in the November general election, one of the state’s largest business groups is laying out its agenda as to what it would like the contenders to talk about this fall – and implement ASAP.
The “proposals for keeping Illinois employers in Illinois” comes from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. After three major firms announced their HQ departures from Illinois – Boeing, Caterpillar and Citadel – the chamber is hoping it will get a good hearing even in Democratic-dominated Illinois and perhaps it will–up to a point.
Proposal one is to rule out “any major tax increases.” According to chamber chief Todd Maisch, “major” is defined as an increase in the income tax, extending the sales tax to cover more services or reviving Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax.
Pritzker is likely to have a big head of re-election steam after tomorrow’s vote. But challenging him to take a firm position might work.
Somewhat more problematic is the second piece of the chamber’s proposed route to fiscal integrity: pension reform. This governor and General Assembly are not about to slash pension benefits or try to amend the state Constitution to trim expenditures. Some lesser steps pushed by the chamber, though, might work, like banning end-of-career salary bumps that allow local school districts, in particular, to up retirement pay on the state’s dime.
The chamber also wants “common sense regulatory reform,” like Senate consideration of a bill to force environmental agencies to act together in a timely fashion on permit requests, rather than dragging them on for years. (That bill, for what it’s worth, already passed the House unanimously.)
Another example is making commercial driver’s licenses reciprocal with surrounding states to ease a shortage of truckers. Notably, the chamber wants undocumented immigrants to qualify for this perk, just like they now can get regular driver’s licenses.
Read the full article here.
June 28th Primary Results
Last Tuesday, June 28th was the Illinois Primary Election. With an event of such importance, the Illinois Chamber PAC released endorsements in many key races. We want to congratulate all of the Chamber PAC-endorsed candidates who secured a victory this week. Provided below is a list of those winning candidates. We wish them the best as they head toward the General Election.
Illinois Supreme Court:
- Justice Michael Burke (R) 3rd District
Illinois House of Representatives:
- Rep. Daniel Swanson (R) 74th District
- Rep. Tim Butler (R) 87th District
- Rep. Paul Jacobs (R) 115th District
- Rep. Dave Severin (R) 117th District
- Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R) 118th District
- Former Representative John Cabello (R) 68th District
- Scott Preston (R) 105th District
Illinois Senate:
- Senator Dave Syverson (R) 35th District
- Senator Win Stoller (R) 37th District
- Senator Steve McClure (R) 50th District
In disappointing news, it appears Judge Shanes was defeated in his bid for the nomination to Supreme Court in the newly-drawn Second District. While we still feel Judge Shanes was the best person for the position, the Supreme Court remains critically important to the business community and we will keep an eye on this race as it shapes up.
Legislative Update: Bills of Interest Signed into Law
SB 3616, Crown Act/Hair was signed into law. This bill provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act. Provides that "race" includes traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists. Provides that, with respect to places of public accommodation, the Department of Human Rights has jurisdiction over the denial or refusal of the full and equal enjoyment of (rather than the denial of access to) facilities, goods, or services.
