This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter shares the Illinois Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act, provides information about newly adopted rules related to the SAFE-T Act that pertain to law enforcement training requirements and qualifications for certification of law enforcement officers, links to a Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation for storm damage, provides a final reminder to register for the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference in Travis County, Texas, beginning later this week, highlights ISACo corporate partner Comcast and invites counties to join ISACo.
Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of SAFE-T Act
Earlier this morning, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a ruling that upholds the provisions within the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity – Today (SAFE-T) Act that eliminate cash bail. The 5-2 ruling is available via this link. The Court is providing trial courts 60 days to prepare for the new rules. Cash bail will be eliminated on September 18, 2023. ISACo has a SAFE-T Act Resources page on our website that will be updated with additional information.
Law Enforcement Training Requirement Rules Adopted by ILETSB
New rules have been adopted by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) to implement aspects of the SAFE-T Act (P.A. 101-0652). The newly adopted rules are pertinent to law enforcement training requirements and qualifications for certification as law enforcement officers. More information about the rules is available in the July 7, 2023, edition of the Flinn Report issued by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).
Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation for Storm Damage
Following a barrage of severe storms on June 29, Governor JB Pritzker issued a Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation for Coles, Cook, Edgar, Hancock, McDonough, Sangamon and Washington counties. The proclamation is intended to help facilitate a request for federal disaster assistance if a complete and comprehensive assessment of damage indicates that effective recovery is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments.
Individuals and businesses devastated by the severe weather and tornadoes on June 29th through July 4th may request waivers of penalties and interest on state taxes if they cannot file their returns or make payments on time.
Those impacted in the counties declared a disaster are eligible to request a waiver of penalties and interest for income, withholding, sales, specialty, and excise taxes. Additional information is available via this link.
Registration for NACo Annual Conference
The 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference begins this week in Travis County, Texas (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.
ISACo and the United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) will host a dinner for Illinois attendees on Friday, July 21. The dinner will be sponsored by ISACo corporate partner Nationwide. Please email info@isacoil.org to reserve a seat or for additional information about the event.
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.