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History was made this week when the Illinois House of Representatives welcomed a new speaker. Good or bad, and you will find lines of people wanting to say both, Michael Madigan was an Illinois institution. I'm on the wrong side of 30 and Madigan was Speaker before I was born. He was sworn in as a state representative in the Nixon administration and elevated to Speaker during Reagan's first term. Whatever happens going forward, things will never be the same.
Representative Emanuel "Chris" Welch was elected the first new Speaker since 1983 (barring a 2-year interlude for Lee Daniels when Angels in the Outfield was in movie theaters and Todd was rocking Zubaz pants). For more perspective, Representative Welch was born a month after Speaker Madigan was first sworn into the General Assembly. The Chamber released the following statement:
"The Illinois Chamber would like to congratulate Representative Emanuel "Chris" Welch on his election today as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Speaker Welch will be the first new speaker in the lifetime of many Illinoisans. It is no secret that Illinois faces a number of challenges including its budget and business climate, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois Chamber hopes to work collaboratively with Speaker Welch to better the state's economy and jobs climate."
Lame Duck Bills of Interest Update
The following bills were considered during the Lame Duck Session of the General Assembly:
- HB3469 Creates the Illinois Future of Work Act. Creates the Illinois Future of Work Task Force. This task force will study a number of issues of interest to the Tech Council including: automation, artificial intelligence, the future of work and other emerging technologies. We'll keep you updated as to the task force's progress.
- HB 4276 Workers compensation. This bill passed out of the Senate by a vote of 55-0 and passed the House 113-0. This bill concerns the extension of rebuttable presumption and workers compensation dealing with COVID-19 until June 30th.
- SB 1480 Employment. This bill passed out of the House by a vote of 70-43 and passed the Senate 31-15. This bill states that it is a civil rights violation for any employer to use a conviction record as a basis to refuse to hire, to segregate, or to act with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, conditions of employment, and further requirements concerning conviction records provided there is not a direct connection to the job duties.
- SB1608 Procurement. This bill passed both the House and Senate late last night by a vote of 70-39-1 and 32-15 respectively. This bill specifies further requirements in the awarding of State contracts under the act concerning diversity and underrepresented groups. It also amends the Illinois Procurement Code. This would allow for the cancellation of contracts for not meeting "aspirational goals". The Chamber has concerns with this legislation due to the burden it places on contractors doing business with the State.
- HB 3360 Civil justice regression. This bill has passed out of both the House by a vote of 69-42-1 and the Senate by a vote of 38-17-2. This bill provides that a plaintiff shall recover prejudgment interest on all damages set forth in a judgement. In addition, the prejudgment interest shall begin to accrue on the date the defendant has notice of the injury from the incident itself or a written notice. The court shall add to the amount of the judgment interest on the amount calculated at the rate of 9% per annum. The Illinois Chamber opposed this legislation.
Bridge Bundling Update
The Illinois Soybean Association put together a working group in which the Illinois Chamber was happy to participate. After nearly a year of meetings, the group put together this white paper which you can read here.
The TL:DL ("too long, didn't read") synopsis on bridge bundling: Bridge bundling is the project delivery concept used by many states and local jurisdictions throughout the nation which takes advantage of an "economy of scale" by issuing a single contract for the replacement, rehabilitation, or repair of multiple bridges. While bridge bundling doesn't mean that every bridge is repaired or replaced, it does allow for a significant number of bridges to be fixed quicker and less expensively than through traditional methods. Likewise, it is important to note there is no one-size-fits-all solution as it pertains to bridge bundling. Each state and jurisdiction approaches the concept differently depending on the characteristics of its state/community and its end goal.
The Illinois Chamber would like to give its full sign on of support to this concept. Please let me know if you have any objections. If you'd like more information, WSP is having a contractor meeting on behalf of the Soybean Association and they've invited the Infrastructure Council members. The meeting will be held at noon on February 1st
You can participate at this link: They will have a panel of Ohio based contractors who have firsthand experience with the Ohio Department of Transportation's "Ohio Bridge Partnership Program". Additionally, following the panel discussion there will be time for Q & A from the audience.
Join Zoom Meeting Highway and Bridge Improvements During the 2020 calendar year, IDOT completed more than 600 highway projects, ranging from minor resurfacings to interstate and bridge reconstructions. - A 7-mile stretch of Interstate 255 in the Metro East, one of the worst roads in the state, was rehabilitated and completed nearly a month ahead of schedule. The $67 million project, one of the first under Rebuild Illinois, was completed cheaper, faster and safer by closing the work zone to all traffic for one construction season. In the fall, the department broke ground on the Delhi Bypass and the expansion of U.S. 67 to four lanes in Jersey County.
- A $42 million investment upgraded the Murray Baker Bridge in Peoria, another project that saved time and money by diverting traffic and condensing the construction schedule to one year.
- In Southern Illinois, more than 5 miles of Interstate 57 were expanded to six lanes between Johnston City and West Frankfort, the latest phase in a multiyear effort to improve safety and capacity along a crucial corridor.
- Construction started in July to replace the U.S. 150 bridge over I-57 and the Mattis Avenue bridges over I-57 and I-74, advance projects leading to next year's start of the I-57/74 interchange reconstruction in Champaign-Urbana. A cornerstone of Rebuild Illinois, the I-57/74 project will remake a critical freight juncture that accommodates almost 40,000 vehicles a day.
- The $27.4 million Illinois 178 bridge over the Illinois River in Utica was completed, providing a new gateway with dedicated bike and pedestrian access to Starved Rock and Matthiessen state parks.
- A rebuilt 8-mile section of I-70 between Altamont and Effingham opened in the fall.
- In the Rockford area, completed projects included a $20 million resurfacing of Interstate 39 from Baxter Road to Harrison Avenue, along with U.S. 20 from just west of Alpine Road to I-39. The U.S. 20-Illinois 2 interchange was reconfigured to a signalized diamond interchange with various other safety improvements.
- A joint project with Iowa, the new Interstate 74 Mississippi River Bridge in the Quad Cities reached a key stage with the opening of the new westbound bridge. The twin eastbound bridge is due to open in late 2021.
- The Jane Byrne Interchange in Chicago marked a major milestone with the completion of all 11 ramps at the confluence of Interstates 90, 94 and 290. The project, which modernizes one of the nation's worst bottlenecks, moves to rebuild mainline I-90/94 before wrapping up in 2022.
- Progress continued on a new Interstate 80/U.S. 30 interchange in Will County. The project involves extending a third lane in each direction on I-80 from approximately Interstate 355 through U.S. 30. Other components include modernized traffic signals, drainage improvements and the extension of a bicycle and pedestrian path along U.S. 30 before everything wraps up in 2021. Engineering efforts continue on a much larger $1.1 billion overhaul of I-80 between U.S. 30 and Ridge Road, including replacing the Des Plaines River bridges in Joliet.
- A $14.8 million widening of Illinois 132 through Lindenhurst in Lake County, with multiple safety, pedestrian and bike improvements, finished in September.
Articles of Interest Remote work and employee recruitment https://www.chicagobusiness.com/technology/why-remote-work-makes-it-even-harder-local-tech-companies-recruit-talent-they-need
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