ISACo

On Thursday, June 17, 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 825 into law further expanding access to the ballot box for Illinoisans by increasing access to curbside voting, establishing permanent vote by mail registries, establishing a central polling location in counties across the state, strengthening cybersecurity standards for election authorities in Illinois, and providing viable voting opportunities for justice-impacted individuals. The legislation also establishes June 28, 2022 as the new 2022 general primary election date. The new law grants sheriffs outside of Cook County the ability to establish polling locations at local county jails, a practice already in place in Cook County. Individuals awaiting trial and sentencing who are residents of the community surrounding the county jail will now be permitted to vote at the jail's polling place.

As Illinois continues to lead the Midwest in vaccinating our residents, Governor Pritzker announced a new $10 million ‘All In for the Win’ promotion that will reward vaccinated Illinoisans by automatically entering them into a series of cash and scholarship lotteries with prizes up to $1 million.

On Wednesday, June 16, 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation declaring June 19, Juneteenth, an official state holiday. To commemorate the abolition of slavery throughout the United States and its territories in 1865, Juneteenth will be recognized as National Freedom Day in Illinois.

Governor Pritzker released the provisions of his most recent energy legislation in a June 10, 2021, memo to the Energy Legislation Working Group. The text of the memo is available by clicking on the title to this story. The General Assembly is set to return to Springfield next Tuesday and Wednesday to debate and vote on energy legislation following the inability to reach agreement prior to the adjournment of the spring legislative session last week. Now that the June 30 deadline has passed, it will require a three-fifths vote of each chamber to approve legislation and send it to the Governor. Key sticking points in the debate over an energy bill concern the amount of the subsidy offered to Exelon for its nuclear fleet and whether or not to exempt coal plants owned by municipal utilities from closure. It has also been reported that a second version of energy legislation has surfaced. Of primary concern to counties is whether an approved energy bill includes provisions restricting local control over siting wind and solar facilities. ISACo opposes such restrictions.

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) published its May 2021 Local Tax Division (LTAD) newsletter. This newsletter is intended to provide updates and news about the LTAD. Included within this newsletter is registration information for IDOR's upcoming Local Government Workshop scheduled for June 16, 2021.