September 2, 2022

This Week in Illinois

September President's Message from Todd Maisch:

Benso leaves Chamber to pursue opportunity as corporate counsel. Kaericher takes on Illinois Chamber's Healthcare Council

Today, I make a bittersweet announcement that the Chamber's Executive Director of the Healthcare Council, Lori Benso will be moving on from the Chamber to her next chapter. While Lori remains dedicated to making Illinois a better place for employers to be successful, Lori has chosen to pursue that goal through her new and exciting opportunity as corporate counsel at Waymark. 

As of today, Illinois Chamber Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Clark Kaericher, will be taking over as Executive Director of the Healthcare Council while maintaining his current Government Affairs duties for the Illinois Chamber. Many of you have worked with Clark in the past and know him well from his work here at the Chamber or his prior service at the State Senate. You can contact Clark at ckaericher@ilchamber.org or 618-806-1501.

Council Transition: Cunningham to lead Infrastructure

Clark Kaericher has led the Illinois Chamber Infrastructure Council since the Spring of 2020, but as mentioned above, he will transition his policy focus to Healthcare and Technology.

Beginning today, current Illinois Chamber Manager of Legislative Relations, Andrew Cunningham, will take on a new role as Executive Director of the Infrastructure Council.

Andrew first joined the Chamber in 2020 with political and nonprofit experience and has served in his current role since January of 2021. Over the past couple of years, Andrew has worked on many of the Chamber's major projects and legislative issues. As Manager, Andrew has been given plenty of opportunities to connect with legislators and staff and he looks forward to building upon these relationships in his new role. You can contact Andrew at acunningham@ilchamber.org or 217.520.2345

Chamber Legislative Awards

In the past week, The Illinois Chamber staff has had the opportunity to award more members of the Legislature with awards from their work in the 102nd General Assembly. 

Pictured with Illinois Chamber Tax Institute Executive Director, Keith Staats, Representative Deanne Mazzochi received the Champion of Free Enterprise Award at our Chicago office.

Representative Amy Elik is the House recipient of the Chamber's 102nd General Assembly Freshman of the Year Award. Elik received the award at an event held in her district. Elik was presented the award by Sr. VP of Government Affairs Clark Kaericher. Special guests in attendance at the event were Alton Mayor David Goins, Godfrey Mayor Mike McCormick, John Keller from the RiverBend Growth Association and Desiree Bennyhoff with the Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce.

Upon receiving the award Elik said "As a lawmaker and CPA, supporting policy that helps grow our economy, cut red tape, and improve our job climate is a good recipe to make Illinois more prosperous,” said Elik. “I appreciate the recognition for my strong voting record in support of strengthening Illinois’ economy. I will continue to work on helping make Illinois a stronger, better place for families to live and work.”

Read an article on the Elik event here.

We thank both of these legislators for their strong work in the Illinois House.

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

50 State Workforce Study

The National Association of State Chambers (NASC) is pleased to present a comprehensive 50-state study on workforce engagement.  The report highlights workforce initiatives ongoing in states across the country as well as recently passed legislation. 

Read the full report here.

The Special Session That Wasn't  

For months the talk in Springfield centered on a special session dealing primarily with matters related to abortion and guns. With less than 80 days to the election, and a lack of consensus on the specifics of these two hot button issues, it is now looking very unlikely that lawmakers return to Springfield before the scheduled Veto Session. 

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.

Legislative Update: Bills of Interest

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

Upcoming Chamber Events

Corporate Governance: From Nuts and Bolts to Trending Topics

September 21, 2022 | 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Location: NIU Center (Naperville, IL)

Description: This timely presentation will review important governance basics, such as fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, company maintenance and record-keeping, recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, the importance of operating agreements, minute-taking tips, and foreign qualifications and assumed name filings. We will report on recent Board diversity initiatives in Illinois and select states, including annual reporting, and Wall Street’s recent efforts to increase diversity. With a growing patchwork of data privacy laws, getting a clear view of a company’s legal obligations for data privacy practices and policies can be a challenge. We will provide an overview on the ever-changing area of data privacy and security regulations, rules and enforcement. Join Molly Arranz, Eric Fogel, and Steven Sims with SmithAmudsen LLC as they provide an overview of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and recent enforcement actions. We will review how the U.S. Department of Justice evaluates the effectiveness of corporate compliance programs to make prosecution decisions and assess monetary penalties and ongoing compliance obligations.

Registration Link: https://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=omjkt4dab&oeidk=a07ejc59e935456d6c0

This seminar will qualify for HRCI, SHRM, CLE, and Ethics credits!!

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