This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter includes remaining key session dates, a list of ISACo-tracked bills approved by House and Senate Committees during the week of April 17-21, links to a report with newly-filed amendments pertinent to counties, shares information about a new bill filed to require wind and solar facility reclamation and recycling plans, provides an update about a House hearing that focused on restoring county and municipal Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) revenue to a full 10 percent of State Income Tax collections, makes counties aware of a transit transportation funding opportunity, includes a link to register for the upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference in Travis County, Texas, highlights ISACo corporate partner Comcast and invites counties to join ISACo.
Key Session Dates
April 28: Deadline – Substantive Bills Out of Committee in Both Chambers
May 11: Deadline – Third Reading for Substantive House Bills in the Senate
May 12: Deadline – Third Reading for Substantive Senate Bills in the House
May 19: Adjournment
Bills Approved by House/Senate Committees
The following ISACo tracked bills* were approved by House or Senate Committees during the week of April 17-21:
House Committees
HB 2520 - EPA-Environmental Justice (No Position)
SB 46 - Illinois Waterway Ports Commission (No Position)
SB 69 - Hospital Licensing - Vaccination (No Position)
SB 214 - Disability Illness (Oppose)
SB 325 - FOIA-Records of Attorney General (Support)
SB 686 - Coroner Inquest Testimony (No Position)
SB 1402 - Naloxone Kit Pilot Program (Support)
SB 1824 - Pension-IMRF Various (No Position)
SB 2227 - Counties Code-Recorders (No Position)
SB 1665 - Guaranteed Income Exemption (Support)
Senate Committees
HB 1363 - Gender Violence-Employer Duty (No Position)
HB 1364 - 9-8-8 Task Force (Support)
HB 1727 - Counties Code - Emergency Contracts (Support)
HB 1740 - Rescue Squad District Act (No Position)
HB 2033 - Filing Tax Levy Ordinances for Certain Bonds (No Position)
HB 2278 - Environmental Response Project (No Position)
HB 2332 - Coroner and Medical Examiner Fees (Support)
HB 2390 - Law Enforcement-Return to Duty (No Position)
HB 2418 - Expungement-Trafficking Victim (No Position)
HB 2619 - Nursing Home-Transfer Notice (No Position)
HB 2622 - Downstate Forest Preserve-Landfill Expense Fund (No Position)
HB 2800 - Quick Take-Menard/McHenry Counties (Support)
HB 2831 - Task Force on Homelessness (Support)
HB 2972 - Rescue Squad Districts-Fees (No Position)
HB 3026 - Code of Corrections-Sentence Credit-Jail (No Position)
HB 3055 - Prisoner Religious Rights (No Position)
HB 3203 - Prevent Fentanyl Exposure (Support)
HB 3396 - Labor Dispute-Violation (No Position)
HB 3406 - Vehicle Code-Emergency Police Vehicles (Support)
*An ISACo tracked bill includes bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations, bills that may be of interest to county officials for the performance of their duties and legislation presented "for your information." ISACo positions of "support" or "oppose" are usually reserved for bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations. ISACo also supports member county initiatives that are consistent with ISACo's County Platform.
Amendments Filed Last Week
A list of amendments filed for ISACo tracked bills during the week of April 17-21 is available via this link. In some cases, an amendment includes provisions that, if adopted, make the legislation an ISACo-tracked bill.
Wind and Solar Reclamation and Recycling Bill Filed
On April 18, Representative Chris Miller (R-Charleston) filed HB 4037 with language providing that a commercial wind energy facility owner or solar energy facility owner must file a land reclamation plan and a recycling plan with the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) prior to the required public hearing on the siting of a facility. Per the legislation, the land reclamation plan must outline how the property on which a facility has been constructed will be returned to its original condition that existed prior to the construction of the facility upon removal of the facility. The recycling plan must also outline how the material used to construct the facility will be recycled. The bill further provides that a commercial solar energy facility may not be sited on property where the property's soil crop productivity index is greater than 110. The bill is presently in the House Rules Committee. It should be noted that the bill is a new introduction and not an amendment to a bill with more viability at this stage of the session. ISACo supports the legislation as a sensible addition to the law concerning the siting of wind and solar facilities.
House Committee Hears Testimony on Importance of Increasing LGDF Revenue for Local Governments
On Tuesday, April 18, the House Cities and Villages Committee held a subject matter hearing on legislation proposing to increase the county and municipal share of the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) to a full 10 percent of State Income Tax revenue. The current amount shared by the State is 6.16 percent.
During the hearing, multiple witnesses provided excellent testimony in support of increasing LGDF revenue. The following day, Chicago Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson addressed a joint session of the General Assembly and included in his remarks a call for LGDF to be restored to the historic 10 percent share.
ISACo is a member of a formal coalition with municipal government associations working in support of restoring this critical source of state shared revenue to the percentage received in January 2011 before the General Assembly increased the State Income Tax rates while reducing the historic 10 percent shared with counties and municipalities prior to the income tax increase.
The following bills have been introduced to increase LGDF revenue to counties and municipalities:
- HB 1116 (DeLuca) – LGDF to 10% with tiered restoration
- HB 2087 (DeLuca) – LGDF to 8%
- SB 180 (Murphy) – LGDF to 10% with tiered restoration
- SB 2206 (DeWitte) – LGDF to 10%
ISACo is appreciative of the sponsors, particularly Representative Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) for his many years of steadfast support for restoring LGDF revenue to the historical 10 percent share of the State Income Tax.
ISACo asks county officials to contact your state legislators and urge their support for increasing LGDF revenue to counties.
Additional information and resources about LGDF are available below:
Coalition Website (Learn more about LGDF and share content on your county’s social media platforms.)
Coalition Fact Sheet
ISACo Policy Brief
Please direct any questions about LGDF to info@isacoil.org.
IDOT Statewide Transit Transportation Planning Funding Opportunity
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (available via this link) for statewide transit transportation planning funding. The total funding is approximately $2.5 million and will be used for planning and preliminary engineering funding for public multimodal, intermodal and non-motorized transportation. Eligible projects must include a public transit component.
Applications will be accepted through the grant management platform, BlackCat (available via this link). The deadline for applications is Wednesday, May 24, at 5:00 p.m. CST.
Individuals with questions on this funding opportunity can contact IDOT staff Chuck Abraham by email at Charles.Abraham@illinois.gov.
Registration for NACo Annual Conference
The 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference will be held in Travis County, Texas from July 21-24. Participants from counties of all sizes come together to shape NACo's federal policy agenda, share proven practices and strengthen knowledge networks to help improve residents’ lives and the efficiency of county government. Join other Illinois county officials and staff members in Travis County for learning and relationship building! Registration and information about housing for conference attendees is available via this link.
CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Comcast.
Comcast Corporation is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment, and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks produce original content and has exclusive content rights.
With more than 6,000 local employees, Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region (https://chicago.comcast.com) serves customers in central and northern Illinois, including the Chicago area, northwest Indiana, and southwest Michigan.
More information about the services provided by Comcast 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.