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This week started out in one of my favorite places in the state, hiking in Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks with two of my sons. The youngest was home for a spring break that didn’t coincide with any of his local friends’ breaks, so I was more than happy to comply when he asked if we could do what we used to do on spring session weekends to shake off the cranky and get ourselves out into the woods! One of the boys was in finals so couldn’t come along, but the dog was more than happy to come along. If you haven’t visited the area, make it a point to get there. The towns around the parks are loaded with cute shops, restaurants, and places to stay and the landscape couldn’t be more different than Chicago in spite of being less than 2 hours from home. Be prepared for some mud and some serious stairs, but there are plenty of trails in the parks to allow you to find one that fits your level. Hearing the guys talking on the trail ahead of me about how much they missed being in the woods and hiking was a major mom win for me!
As we head back to Springfield for Session next week, we’ll be getting deeper into the committee process. It seems like a good time to introduce the bill line-up for the session:
HB4409 is an initiative of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority that seeks to add members with lived experience to the board of the Adult Redeploy program which provides funding to local jurisdictions to create locally based services as alternatives to detention. Areas that participate in the program are expected to make a 25% reduction in incarceration rates to continue receiving funding.
HB4796 is a response to repeated complaints from constituents concerned about surprise fees related to rental properties that simply requires disclosure of all possible fees up front. The bill is assigned to the Housing Committee and could get a hearing on Wednesday at 10am.
HB4840 would reduce the maximum length of charter school contracts to create more oversight and opportunity to address performance issues.
HB4959 would establish the Creative Economy Task Force within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to create a strategic plan to improve the creative economy in the state.
HB5037 is an initiative of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office that seeks to address disparities in gun crime sentencing, restoring judicial discretion in certain cases and limiting sentencing enhancements in gun crimes to cases where the individual was actually the person armed and displaying the firearm rather than allowing unarmed codefendants who may not have even been aware there was a gun to be punished as if they were armed.
HB5152 has gotten some national attention as it would create a $500 tax credit for people fleeing bans on health care and speech in states with restrictions. In addition, it would specifically incentivize licensed health care providers and teachers in restrictive states to bring their talents to Illinois.
HB5238 would require installers of manufactured homes to include a weather radio in all installations after 2023. This is modeled after a law passed in Indiana aimed at ensuring that residents who are most vulnerable to tornadoes and other weather events are given the tools needed to be prepared.
HB5239 is a trailer bill to the Patient And Provider Protection Act (PAPPA) that addresses the ways restrictive states have sought to interfere with the delivery of lawful healthcare in Illinois.
HB5242 is an initiative of the City of Chicago to bring building code requirements up to date with regard to accessibility rules. This is a regular update based on the most recent recommendations of the International Code Council.
HB5373 is the most recent version of our effort to address harassment of chronic pain patients and their physicians in an overcorrection to the opioid crisis that often leads patients to the street market to access medication to manage chronic and intractable pain.
HB5377 and 5378 will be combined and are a trailer to address implementation issues identified as we work towards implementing the Community Emergency Services and Support Act aka Mental Health First Responders.
HB5417 is the HIV Connection to HIV Testing and Linkage to Care or TLC Act. An Initiative of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, we are seeking to address barriers to achieving the goal of Getting to Zero new HIV infections by reducing barriers to testing, ensuring speedy access to treatment, and addressing barriers to care in jails and prisons.
HB5431 is a birth justice bill that will address the remaining ways that pregnant people in custody are endangered by the use of restraints and shackles, both in labor and in general. Various forms of restraint present risks to both the pregnant person and their baby and should be avoided to keep everyone safe.
HB5473 is an initiative of the Governor’s office that seeks to close a loophole in federal law that prevents minors on Medicaid from accessing family planning services.
HB5541 is an initiative of the Illinois State Police that seeks to streamline and simplify procedures related to registration on various state offender registries in a first step towards seeking a reasonable way to allow unhoused individuals who are required to register a more accessible means of remaining in compliance and avoid further incarceration.
HB5646 is a clean up bill to last year’s Domestic Violence Resentencing Act in response to a State Supreme Court decision deeming any defendant who participated in a plea agreement ineligible for relief, in spite of explicit legislative intent to the contrary. Since the vast majority of those incarcerated are the result of a plea agreement, it’s horribly unjust to refuse relief to survivors of gender based violence who were not able to present their circumstances in their defense.
The committee schedule for the upcoming week is here: https://www.ilga.gov/house/schedules/hearings.asp?Scheduled=W
It’s not always certain what bills will be called very far in advance, but each committee link will show which bills are potentially going to be heard. The final schedule is impacted by overall load on a committee, whether sponsors or witnesses are available, or if any possible amendments to a bill are ready.
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