Good morning. With the forecast expected to hit the 60s, it finally feels like Spring in Springfield. The General Assembly is on break next week. Session will resume on March 18th, one day after the Illinois Primary Election. Illinois Chamber Day is also on March 18th, and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Committee Update

The Senate Transportation Committee passed the following bills of interest:

SB 3002 (McGuire)- Amends the Toll Bridge Act. Provides that the county board may enter into an agreement establishing a toll rate schedule for a period not to exceed 99 years, as determined by the county board. Senator Oberweis was the lone dissenting vote.

SB 2961 (Ellman) - Repeals the Railroad Intoxicating Liquor Act. Passed unanimously.

The House Transportation: Regulation Roads and Bridges Committee passed HR 751 on a largely party-line vote:

HR 751 (Halpin)- Expresses support for a strong intercity passenger rail network and supports the passage of U.S. S.2922, the proposed "Rail Passenger Fairness Act", providing Amtrak the ability to enforce its preference rights by bringing a civil action before a federal district court. This would allow Amtrak to file expensive civil suits against freight companies. The Chamber opposes this legislation.

The House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety passed the following unanimously:

HJR 109 (Stephens) - States the belief that O'Hare International Airport's noise monitoring technology should be coupled with artificial-intelligence software to match the noises perceived by each station at each time to specific individual flight operations and the operations of individual airlines and to gauge the compliance of each individual airline firm with the guidelines set down in the Fly Quiet Program. Calls for a measurable improvement in Fly Quiet compliance no later than January 1, 2021, with further improvements to follow. Urges the Aviation Department of the City of Chicago to select a trusted third party that represents the interests of O'Hare International Airport's noise neighbors and to share the information enumerated in this resolution with this third party. Urges the Aviation Department and the trusted third party to collaborate to develop a rank-ordered chart of each airline firm's compliance with Fly Quiet Program guidelines. Urges the Aviation Department and the trusted third party to give the charts explicit and formal consideration as elements in any decisions made, subsequent to the start of the generation of this data and these charts, on the reallocation of departure gates and support facilities at O'Hare International Airport.

Red Light Camera Updates

Rep. McSweeney removed his procedural hold on HB 322 which bans red light cameras in non-home rule areas. The bill will move to the Senate for consideration where it will be sponsored by Sen. Jones. McSweeney's total ban of red-light cameras ( HB 323) was assigned last week to the House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety Committee.

Rep. McSweeney is not the only legislator interested in carrying red light camera bans. The following bills featuring some level of camera enforcement ban were also assigned to the House Transportation Committee.

HB 4352 (Skillicorn)- Provides that in an administrative hearing in which the owner of a vehicle may contest the merits of an alleged automated traffic law violation, the violation must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and the formal or technical rules of evidence that apply in court proceedings on moving traffic violations apply in the administrative hearing.

HB 4353 (Stava-Murray)- Statewide red light camera ban

HB 4402 (Skillicorn)- Statewide red light camera ban

HB 4671 (Ortiz)- Statewide red light camera ban

HB 4921 (Sosnowski)- Statewide red light camera ban

The Senate sent two camera enforcement bills to subcommittee in the Senate Executive Committee: