This Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) weekly
News and Views
e-newsletter reports on the enactment of significant changes to election law, links to our
Policy Brief
on changes to the Open Meetings Act (OMA) that allow local government to hold remote meetings under emergency circumstances, provides information about financial relief for households effected by COVID-19, includes an update about a new federal Executive Order on policing, discusses how local government employment compares to private sector employment during the economic recovery, announces grant programs made available to provide financial aid to communities and businesses impacted by the pandemic and civil unrest, provides a toolkit to combat disinformation about COVID-19, encourages county officials to discuss how social distancing requirements will affect courthouses, conveys information about the upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) Town Hall and Annual Business Meeting, advertises upcoming NACo webinar opportunities, asks county officials to follow us on social media, spotlights ISACo corporate partner Comcast and invites counties to join ISACo.
COUNTIES COUNT!
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Governor Pritzker Signs Election Bill Into Law
On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill into law that makes substantial changes for how the 2020 general election will be conducted.
The primary provisions within SB 1863 -
linked here
are intended to facilitate an
application process
by which eligible voters can obtain and utilize mail in ballots and to make changes to ensure the safety of, and enhanced participation in, the 2020 general election. The bill is only applicable to the 2020 general election.
In a press release announcing the signing, Governor Pritzker stated the following:
“In the face of a pandemic, massive economic upheaval, and renewed calls for racial justice, it’s more important than ever that Illinoisans can hold accountable a truly representative and transparent government – and that means ensuring all eligible residents can wield their right to vote in a way that doesn’t risk their personal health,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Sending vote by mail applications to residents who have participated in recent elections will allow more people to exercise that right from the safety of their own homes and help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. I applaud Leader Kelly Burke, Senator Julie Morrison, the House Democratic Women’s Caucus and leaders in the General Assembly for working to ensure Illinoisans can continue to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming general election.”
ISACo previously published an analysis of the bill now enacted into law, which is
available via this link.
County leaders are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the provisions within the bill because of the impact on county operations and budgets.
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ISACo Policy Brief - Local Government Remote Voting
In our June 15, 2020, "News and Views" e-newsletter, we reported that the Governor signed SB 2135 into law. The new law P.A. 101-640 -
linked here
) includes an ISACo-supported provision amending the Open Meetings Act (OMA) to allow public bodies to meet remotely under certain emergency circumstances. ISACo has published a
Policy Brief
(
available via this link
) with information about this provision in the new law.
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Emergency Relief Announced for Households Impacted by COVID-19
On Monday, June 15, 2020, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced $275 million in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) programs. This funding includes an additional $90 million allocated via the CARES Act, allowing the state to increase eligibility for these programs to 1 million income-qualified Illinoisans.
Effective immediately, eligible Illinois residents and families can apply to receive assistance with food, rent, utilities, temporary shelter, medicine and other essential household services. To learn more about these expanded offerings and to fill out remote applications, visit
www.helpillinoisfamilies.com
.
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President Signs Executive Order on Policing
On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on Safe Policing for Safe Communities. The EO is
available via this link.
Key provisions within the Executive Order are as follows:
Certification:
The Justice Department will now allocate certain funding only to law enforcement agencies that meet high standards for use-of-force and de-escalation, as credentialed by reputable independent bodies. As part of this new credentialing, chokeholds will be banned except if an officer’s life is at risk.
Information Sharing:
The Attorney General will create a database for federal, state, and local law enforcement to track terminations, criminal convictions, and civil judgments against law enforcement officers for excessive use-of-force.
Mental Health:
To protect both officers and our most vulnerable populations, the Administration will prioritize training for police and social workers who respond to incidents involving the mentally ill, addicted and homeless.
Legislative Action:
The Administration will develop and propose new legislation to Congress to build on these policies and boost community engagement.
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Local Government Employment Recovery Lags General Rebound
The National Association of Counties (NACo) highlights a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report showing that recent declines in unemployment numbers have not reached local governments.
The article states that "
The continued hardship of county and city governments prevails at a time when other industries are seeing a historic reversal: overall, the unemployment rate decreased to 13.3 percent and 2.5 million jobs were gained across industries, surpassing the previous record of monthly jobs gained in a single month from 1983."
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Governor Pritzker Announces Equity-Driven Community and Business Grant Programs
On Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Governor JB Pritzker joined members of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucuses of the state legislature and small business owners to announce a package of state grant programs to support communities and businesses impacted by the pandemic and recent civil unrest.
The package includes more than $900 million across more than ten programs and four state agencies to help working families and small businesses who have been hit the hardest by COVID-19’s economic impacts, which was compounded by recent property damage and civil unrest.
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CISA COVID-19 Disinformation Toolkit
The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a Disinformation Toolkit to help raise awareness about misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories related to COVID-19. The Toolkit includes talking points, frequently asked questions, flyers and provides simple steps individuals can take to combat false or misleading information related to the pandemic.
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Courthouses and COVID-19
One of the issues raised during ISACo's June 19, 2020, Board of Directors meeting was how social distancing requirements will affect courthouses.
With the resumption of more regular judicial proceedings on the horizon, counties may find themselves needing to make accommodations to their facilities to permit jury trials while mitigating against the spread of the virus.
Your county may want to begin discussing this issue if it has not yet been raised. Making appropriate modifications to existing facilities can be problematic and expensive.
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NACo Town Hall and Annual Business Meeting Registration
As a result of COVID-19, the National Association of Counties (NACo) will hold a virtual membership town hall on Monday, July 13, 2020, and a virtual Annual Business meeting on Monday, July 20, 2020. These events are being held in lieu of the NACo Annual Conference.
All NACo members are invited to attend the virtual membership town hall meeting on Monday July 13 at 3 p.m. (CST) that will include the 2nd Vice Presidential candidates forum, an overview of proposed bylaws amendments, a status report on voting delegate credentials totals and a federal policy update.
The virtual NACo Annual Business Meeting will be held on Monday, July 20 at 1 p.m. (CST). The meeting will include the election for 2nd Vice President and other officers, consideration of bylaws amendments and other association business. Participation is completely free for all NACo members.
The 2020 NACo Annual Business Meeting and membership town hall are free events for all NACo members. If you had previously registered for the 2020 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition, no further action is required on your part. You will be automatically registered for both the Annual Business Meeting and membership town hall.
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Upcoming NACo Webinars
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has scheduled the following webinars with content related to CARES Act funding:
Using Data to Maximize Tax Dollar Value
(Wednesday, June 24, 2020 from 1 pm – 2 pm)
NACo, NACo Financial Services Corporation, and Three + One will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, June 24 at 1 pm CST to show counties how to use liquidity analyses and data to maximize the value on current tax dollars and any CARES Act funding received. New opportunities exist to increase the value of public funds during a time it’s needed most, this webinar will highlight ways to look under every stone for taxpayer benefit.
Local Response to COVID-19: How Counties are Investing CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Dollars
(Friday, June 26, 2020 from 12 pm - 1 pm)
On March 27, 2020, Congress passed and the president signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which established a new $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) for state, county and municipal governments with populations of over 500,000 people to address necessary expenditures incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Now that the U.S. Treasury has distributed CRF payments, eligible counties are now tasked with distributing these funds in the best way possible to support our nation’s residents and communities. Join NACo for a webinar to hear from county leaders about their process for developing and implementing their CRF plans to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Follow ISACo on Social Media
A great way to stay current on issues affecting or of interest to counties is by following ISACo on social media. Please follow our Facebook page and Twitter feed and join the conversation!
@Isacoil
@IsacoTweets
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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, produces 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.
Click on this link
to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.
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The Key to ISACo's Success is YOU!
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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. Thank you for your consideration.
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News and Views
is a service provided by ISACo for county officials and staff. Please feel welcome to share with interested parties. You can contact ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy at jmccoy@isacoil.org or (217) 679-3368 if we can be of service. Thank you for your support of ISACo.
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