This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter identifies several bills of interest to counties, links to ISACo's 2023 Legislative Agenda, provides a summary of the Governor's State of the State and Budget Address, reports on a luncheon in Cook County attended by ISACo, Cook County officials and members of Illinois' congressional delegation, includes recent bill signings by the Governor, highlights ISACo corporate partner AT&T and invites counties to join ISACo.
Weekly Bills of Interest
HB 1613/SB 1997 - Building Design Requirements by County (Support)
HB 2264 - Use of Public Building for Early Voting (No Position)
HB 2265 - Timetable for Civil Action Against OMA Violations (Oppose)
SB 1760 - County Board Vote on Suspension of Business License (No Position)
SB 2324 - Certification of School Facility and Resources Occupation Tax Question for Election (Under Review)
SB 2332 - Defines "Public Body Official" as Elected or Appointed Officeholder for FOIA Purposes (No Position)
SB 2361 - State Assumes Control of County Juvenile Detention Centers (Oppose)
***Please visit our bill tracking service for a comprehensive (and growing) list of bills of interest to counties.
ISACo's 2023 Legislative Agenda
ISACo's 2023 Illinois County Action Program (ICAP) is available via this link. The webpage includes ISACo's two legislative initiatives, our 2023 County Platform and links to ISACo member county legislative agendas.
Governor Pritzker Delivers State of the State and Budget Address
On February 15, Governor JB Pritzker delivered his annual State of the State and Budget Address. The Governor's State Fiscal Year (SFY) budget proposes $49.642 billion in state spending and projects revenues at $49.944 billion. Additional details and resources related to the SFY 2024 State Budget are available via this link.
ISACo is part of a formal coalition of municipal government associations working toward achieving an increase in the county and municipal share of the state income tax distributed through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). An increase may be accomplished through stand-alone legislation or as part of the SFY 2024 state budget legislation. The following ISACo-supported bills have been introduced to increase LGDF revenue to counties and municipalities:
HB 1116 - LGDF Phased Increases
HB 2087 - LGDF Increase - 8% (Individual) and 9.11% (Corporate)
SB 180 - LGDF Phased Increases
SB 1593 - LGDF Phased Increases
SB 2206 - LGDF Increase to 10%
ISACo Joins Cook County Officials to Advocate for Federal Priorities at Luncheon
On February 15, ISACo and Cook County officials held a post-NACo Legislative Conference luncheon and social event in Chicago with several members of Illinois' Congressional Delegation. ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy spoke about ISACo and NACo and thanked the Congresspersons for their support of counties through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and other laws and programs that benefited counties. Thank you to Commissioners Stanley Moore (ISACo Board Member) and Donna Miller for their work and partnership with ISACo to organize this event!
Pictures from the event are posted to ISACo's Facebook Page.
Governor Bill Signings
The Governor continues to sign legislation from the January lame-duck session. Bills of interest are included below with links on the public act numbers:
HB 45 - Amends the Election Code surrounding Judicial Subcircuits (P.A. 102-1126)
HB 1859 - Amends the Cook County Forest Preserve Article of the Illinois Pension Code (P.A. 102-1131)
HB 3878 - Makes changes to the Rental Housing Support Program (P.A. 102-1135)
HB 4228 - Amends the Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act (P.A. 102-1136)
Corporate Partner Spotlight
This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with AT&T.
AT&T Inc. is a modern media company whose mission is to inspire human progress through the power of communication and entertainment.
The company brings together premium video content, a large base of direct-to-consumer relationships, high-speed networks optimized for video and advertising technology to lead the next revolution in technology, media and telecommunications.
More information about the services provided by AT&T is available via this link.
Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.
Become an ISACo Member!
Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?
ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.
ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.
Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.
If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Executive Director Joe McCoy at (217) 679-3368 or jmccoy@isacoil.org. ISACo member counties are listed here. Thank you for your consideration.