September 23, 2022

This Week in Illinois

Constitutional Amendment 1:President & CEO Maisch Takes Part in Citizens Club of Springfield Debate 

This morning, President & CEO Todd Maisch took part in a debate on the so-called workers' rights amendment that will be on ballots this November. The debate was titled "Should voters place a right to collective bargaining in the Illinois State Constitution?" and was hosted by the Citizens Club of Springfield and broadcast by NPR Illinois.

Maisch, just as he has many times in the past year, provided the business community's response as to why Illinoisans should "Vote No" on Constitutional Amendment 1.  On the other side of the debate was Joe Bowen, Communications Director for Vote Yes for Workers' Rights, a ballot committee working toward the passage of the amendment. 

Thank you Citizens Club of Springfield for welcoming the Chamber to participate in this crucial discussion. 

Chamber Legislative Awards

In the past week, The Illinois Chamber staff has once again had the opportunity to provide more House and Senate members with legislative awards from their work in the 102nd General Assembly. 

Illinois Chamber Tax Institute Executive Director, Keith Staats had the privilege of handing Representative Keicher his Champion of Free Enterprise Award at the Representative's District office in Sycamore. 

Illinois Chamber Sr. Vice President of Government Affairs, Clark Kaericher was able to present awards to many legislators this week including Senator Bryant, Senator Fowler and  Senator Tracy.

We are proud of the many accomplishments of these effective leaders. We look forward to once again working alongside them to create a stronger Illinois this next legislative session.

We thank each of these legislators for their strong work in the Illinois House and Senate and are always glad to see them at their offices and events across the State.

Legislative ratings and Chamber awards in all categories were first announced in June. View the full 102nd legislative ratings here.

Session Update

As a reminder, the General Assembly has released the schedule for veto session. Lawmakers will be back in Springfield Tuesday, November 15 -November 17 as well as November 29-December 1. 

View and download the veto calendar here.

Looking forward, Legislators have been informed to keep their schedules open between January 4th-10th for potential lame duck session dates. We will let you know when those dates are finalized.

Legislative Update: Bills of Interest

No bills of interest were introduced, passed or signed into law this week.

Safety in DuPage, October 4th Breakfast  

In an effort to educate all of their communities, twelve Chambers of Commerce have come together to host an educational breakfast sponsored by The Inland Real Estate Group to discuss how HB 3653, now called the “Safe T Act” will impact the business community when it officially goes into effect January 1, 2023. The event will be held on Tuesday, October 4 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Chicago Marriott Naperville 1801 N Naper Blvd Naperville, Illinois.  

A panel discussion will be provided by Supreme Court Justice, Michael Burke, DuPage County Sheriff, James Mendrick, DuPage County State's Attorney, Bob Berlin and DuPage County Board Member, Greg Hart. 

Register Today: Illinois Chamber 2022 Annual Luncheon

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has announced its 2022 Annual Meeting which will take place on October 6 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. This year's theme is Future of Energy and Impact on Illinois: Actions by the Federal Reserve.

During the luncheon, we will hear a world class panel discussion on The Future of Energy by Balvy Bhogal-Mitro, Vice President of Strategic and Corporate Planning, CITGO, Chris Raymond, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Boeing Company and Paul Segal, Chief Executive Officer of LS Power.

We are also thrilled to hear remarks from President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Charles Evans.

For more information and registration please visit us here.

View more about the sponsorship levels here.

With questions, please reach out to Kirsten Constant, Business Services Coordinator, Illinois Chamber of Commerce at kconstant@ilchamber.org

Upcoming Chamber Events

Environmental Justice: How Popularity Contests Can Trump Business Decisions

September 27, 2022 | 10:30 am – 11:30 am



Description: An emerging focus of environmental regulatory agencies -- environmental justice -- has become an important consideration in environmental permitting, inspections, and even enforcement.

What is environmental justice? How is Illinois incorporating environmental justice into its decision-making? Why should you take environmental justice considerations into account when making future business decisions involving expansions, siting locations, and other operational decisions? How can you plan for environmental justice challenges before they even appear?

Registration Link: https://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=omjkt4dab&oeidk=a07ejcmb8ujbc0d5b9e