GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
------------Report
November 5th, 2021

This Week in Illinois
Infrastructure Council to Host Quarterly Meeting

This Wednesday, November 10th, the Illinois Chamber Infrastructure Council will hosts its quarterly meeting in downtown Chicago. Meeting information and registration details are provided below.


Fall Infrastructure Council Meeting:

November 10th 9-10:30 am
Illinois Chamber of Commerce Chicago Office: 70 West Madison St. Suite 200

  • Featured Speaker: US Representative Marie Newman
  • Congresswoman Marie Newman serves on the influential House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and will discuss federal transportation funding.
  • Featured Speaker: RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard 
  • Chairman Dillard will discuss recent activities of the RTA and the return-to-work process underway in the city.  

Register today for this hybrid event!

Any further questions please contact Clark Kaericher at ckaericher@ilchamber.org.
OSHA Issues Employer Vaccine Mandate Regulation

On Thursday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its emergency rule that will require larger private sector employers to implement a vaccine or testing requirement.

Workers that are employed by companies with at least 100 employees will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or take a weekly COVID-19 test. This rule has been estimated to impact 84 million private sector employees. The deadline for employers to ensure employees are vaccinated is January 4th. By December 5th, employers will be required to have a mask mandate for unvaccinated employees.

It has been reported that enforcement will include some workplace inspection by OSHA but mostly rely upon employee complaints and a subsequent investigation. OSHA will have the authority to issue fines against employers which will be determined by the frequency of violations and whether such a violation is willful.

Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a rule that will require all healthcare workers in facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding to be vaccinated by January 4th. This rule will impact around 17 million healthcare workers in 76,000 facilities.

This comes after the Biden administration had previously announced the "Path out of the Pandemic" action plan in early September.

The full text of the 490 page rule can be read here. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is effective Friday, November 5th.

Pritzker Touts Illinois, EV Industry on International Trip

This week, Governor Pritzker joined other world leaders for a global summit in London and Scotland. The focus of the summit was climate related issues and green energy, but Governor Pritzker reportedly highlighted the state's growing electric vehicle industry.

Pritzker said that his first goal was to bring more international electric vehicle manufacturers and investments to Illinois. A part of the Governor's pitch to international companies is the state's central location in the US and its renewable energy investments.

This comes after last week when the General Assembly passed HB 1769, an electric vehicle incentives package. This bill establishes the "reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act." Provides incentives to Electric Vehicle manufacturers, their suppliers, and electric vehicle power supply manufacturers. Check your Illinois Chamber Council newsletters for a more detailed summary on this legislation.

Session Update

The Illinois General Assembly will return to Springfield on January 4, 2022. No other session dates are scheduled for this year.

The 2022 session calendar beginning in January was released last week. View the 2022 House calendar here. View the 2022 Senate calendar here.
Bills of Interest with Action in Past Week:

HB 1291, Congressional Map passed the Senate by a vote of 41-18-0 and the House by a vote of 71-43-0. This bill creates the Illinois Congressional Redistricting Act of 2021. Redistricts the Congressional Districts for the purpose of electing Representatives to the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. Repeals the Illinois Congressional Reapportionment Act of 2001.  This bill has been sent to the Governor.

Illinois Chamber COVID-19 Vaccine and Employer Mandate Survey

Covid-19 vaccines have been available to the Illinois workforce for most of 2021. Most but not all Illinoisans have chosen to get vaccinated. This anonymous survey will help the Illinois business community understand why some individuals choose to remain unvaccinated. The results will be beneficial for crafting state and workplace policies. 

Take the survey here.

Illinois Chamber Annual Holiday Survey

The Illinois Chamber’s annual holiday survey is now open until November 10, 2021. Please take a few moments to complete the survey to compare the paid holidays for companies in Illinois for 2022.

Take the survey here.
Register Today: Chamber New Laws Forum 2021

The New Laws Forum focuses on the new laws and legal developments that will affect ALL Illinois employers in 2022 and beyond. The forum features Illinois attorneys and experts speaking about Illinois laws – as well as representatives from government agencies talking about the latest changes and your peers, the Senior HR professionals discussing how the laws have and will affect their businesses. It's been a busy year, and more regulation is coming.

The event will take place on Wednesday, December 1st at Hilton Lisle in Lisle, Illinois. Register Today!

Connect with the Chamber
If you have questions about the Government Affairs Report, contact Clark Kaericher at ckaericher@ilchamber.org. Do not reply to this email.