ISACo News and Views Newsletter for March 9, 2020

March 9, 2020

ISACo News and Views

This Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) weekly News and Views e-newsletter summarizes last week's House and Senate committee activity, highlights several bills of interest to counties, reports on ISACo's attendance at the National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference, updates readers on the recent approval of federal funding to address the Coronavirus, provides a county news round-up, urges county officials to register for ISACo's 2020 Lobby Day, asks county officials to follow ISACo on social media, spotlights ISACo corporate partner AT&T and invites counties to join ISACo.

2020 ISACo Legislative Agenda

ISACo's 2020 Illinois County Action Program (ICAP) is available via this link.

ISACo's 2020 County Platform is available via this link.

ISACo's 2020 Policy Resolutions are available via this link.

Please visit our website (www.isacoil.org) for additional resources and information.

COUNTIES COUNT!

Committee Action Last Week

House and Senate Committees met during the week of March 2-6, 2020, and took action on various bills.

A handful of bills acted upon are of interest to counties. Click on this link to review these bills.

The General Assembly does not convene this week and both chambers will return to business on Wednesday, March 18 following the March 17 Illinois primary election.

County Legislation Spotlight

ISACo maintains an updated list of legislation of interest to counties. This list is organized by category and available within the legislative section of our website and via this link.

ISACo has taken positions on several bills. A list of these bills, along with ISACo's position, is available via this link.

ISACo will frequently highlight bills of interest to counties. This week's highlighted bills are below. In some cases ISACo has a position. In other cases, ISACo does not have a position or the position has not yet been determined. ISACo positions on legislation are informed by our County Platform (available via this link).

HB 3707 - Enterprise Zone Eligibility (Support)

HJR 106 - Local Bond Reform Task Force

SB 2519 - Disqualification of Coroner (Oppose)

SB 3412 - Dissolution of Mosquito Abatement Districts (Support)

SB 3564 - County Regulations to Address Diseased Trees (Support)

ISACo Attends 2020 NACo Legislative Conference

ISACo attended the National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. (February 29-March 4).

The conference saw a tremendous turnout of Illinois county officials. In keeping with ISACo's growth, this year's ISACo-hosted event for Illinois delegates was attended by approximately 80 people. This is double the number of people who attended our event at the Legislative Conference in 2019.

ISACo continues to work with NACo to appoint more Illinois county officials and staff to NACo policy steering committees. Increasing our state's representation within NACo to influence federal public policy is a key objective of ISACo. Please contact Executive Director Joe McCoy at jmccoy@isacoil.org if you would like to be appointed to a NACo committee.

Our candidate for NACo 2nd Vice President, Will County Board Speaker Denise Winfrey, attended numerous state delegation events and other meetings to discuss her candidacy. Her message was very well-received by NACo Legislative Conference attendees from throughout the country.

ISACo Vice President Jim Healy is at the forefront of a federal effort to lobby Congress and the Trump Administration to substantially increase grant funding for railroad grade separations. An emergency resolution in support of this effort was approved during the conference and is now part of NACo's federal agenda. ISACo will assume a leadership role in working to achieve the railroad grade separation funding. Additional information about the proposed grant program is available via this link.

Pictures from the NACo Legislative Conference are posted on our Facebook page and available via this link.

President, Congress Approve Funding to Combat Coronavirus

$8.3 billion was approved by Congress and enacted into law by President Trump last week for emergency funding necessitated by the Coronavirus.

The supplemental appropriation includes money for state and local efforts to address the spread of the virus. This funding includes $100 million for Community Health Centers (CHC).

Additional information is available via this link.

Counties in the News

Illinois County Finds Zoning Violations with New Software (Government Technology)

Jail's Future is an Issue in Champaign County Board Election (Illinois Newsroom)

Chief Justice Seeks $1.6 million in Tech Upgrades to Better Connect Illinois' Courts (The Southern)

Save the Date! ISACo Lobby Day Scheduled for April 29, 2020

ISACo will host its first Lobby Day event on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, in Springfield.

The day will begin at the Wyndham City Centre in Springfield with breakfast at 9 a.m followed by a legislative briefing at 10 a.m.

Following the briefing, county officials will head to the Statehouse to lobby their legislators. There will be an early evening reception to conclude the day's activities.

The event is designed to allow people to drive to Springfield and return home the same day. Some may opt to seek hotel accommodations on the evening of April 28 or 29. Attendees wishing to seek lodging are encouraged to reserve a hotel room as soon as possible.

Please RSVP to Brenna Metrow at bmetrow@isacoil.org or at 217-679-3368. We look forward to seeing you there!

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!

Click here to visit our Facebook page.

@Isacoil

Click here to visit our Twitter feed.

@IsacoTweets

Corporate Partner Spotlight

This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with AT&T.

AT&T Inc. is a modern media company whose mission is to inspire human progress through the power of communication and entertainment.

The company brings together premium video content, a large base of direct-to-consumer relationships, high-speed networks optimized for video and advertising technology to lead the next revolution in technology, media and telecommunications.

AT&T has recorded 35 consecutive years of quarterly dividend growth and is a Fortune 10 company.

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.

The Key to ISACo's Success is YOU!

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.

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.