Clark Kaericher | Vice President of Government Affairs | 618-806-1501

I took my dog on our annual river trip this past weekend. We had a great time covering 32 miles in two days. The lone exception is that I failed to listen to my father’s advice in testing my equipment in advance. When I was a kid, he would always say “prior planning prevents poor performance.” My other idol, Bobby Knight, added a sixth “P”- for color- but the sentiment was the same. 

I should have listened. Sleeping on a gravel bar with a deflated air mattress is less than ideal.  

Tech Council Meeting Wrap-up 

Thank you to everyone who attended our Tech Council meeting this week at our office in Chicago. Additionally, I would like to thank our speakers Representative Lamont Robinson, DoIT Secretary Jennifer Ricker and Assistant Secretary Brandon Ragle.  

Representative Robinson focused most of his remarks on narrowing the digital divide. He is focused on both racial and wealth gaps, as well as geographic ones in terms of access to the digital infrastructure required to prosper in the 21st century. He mentioned the success of the data center incentive and the need in the coming sessions to extend its duration. 

The representative also generously stood for questions. Of course, I asked him about BIPA and he indicated he felt there was room for improvement with the bill and a willingness to work with us in order to do so. His goal is to balance the interests of privacy and innovation. 

DoIT Secretary Ricker also spoke about diversity issues. She mentioned that the agency has doubled its BEP spend and recently hired a Chief Diversity Officer. The agency is struggling to fill vacancies in a timely manner but is ramping up efforts with local colleges and universities. They currently have 500 openings out of a headcount of 1700. 

Assistant Secretary Ragle spoke about the efforts to move state websites off premises. They are roughly one-third of the way finished with that effort. He also discussed cybersecurity efforts as DoIT works with local election authorities and will soon work to help municipalities with their cyber navigator program. Coming full circle, that local government portion was passed in legislation carried last year by Representative Robinson.  

Speaking of DoIT… 

Further congratulations are in order to the agency as NASCIO selected DoIT as a national awards finalist on Wednesday. The national award nominations showcase the use of information technology to address critical business problems, more easily connect residents to their government, improve business processes, and create new opportunities that improve lives. DoIT is among 31 finalists across 10 categories from nearly 90 nominations for NASCIO’s State IT Awards.  

Illinois Chamber Annual Luncheon- Sponsorships Available!  

The Chamber’s biggest event of the year is our annual luncheon. This year’s event will be held at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago on October 6th from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm. We have a fantastic lineup.  

The agenda includes our one-hour pre-event reception “All Council Mix & Mingle”. The luncheon program is the “Future of Energy and Impact on Illinois: Actions of the Federal Reserve”. Featured speakers include the Chief Sustainability Officer at Boeing, the Vice President of Strategic and Corporate Planning at CITGO and the CEO of LS Power.  We will also hear from Charles Evans, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  

Sponsorship of the All Council Mix & Mingle is available for $2,500.00. Benefits of sponsorship are: 

· Two seats for your company at the Annual Luncheon 

· Acknowledgement on signage at pre-event reception, on website, and 

invite for the event 

· Exhibitor space to highlight your company during the pre-event reception. 

View more about the sponsorship levels here.

For more information or to register call Clark Kaericher at (618) 806-1501 or ckaericher@ilchamber.org or go to www.ilchamber.org/annual-meeting 

The event is always a great time and I hope to see you there!  

BIPA Supreme Court Scheduling Update

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the case of Tims v. Black Horse Carriers for September 22nd. 

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce filed a brief in this case.  If we prevail, this will significantly reduce liability. Once again, our friends at Shook, Hardy & Bacon have done outstanding work on behalf of the business community. Here is Shook's Matt Wolfe's summary of both the brief and the appellate court ruling: 

The Appellate Court “split the baby” and held that claims under BIPA section 15(c) (sale of biometrics) and 15(d) (disclosure of biometrics) are subject to the one-year statute of limitations for “publication of matter violating the right of privacy”; but claims under BIPA sections 15(a) (failure to have and comply with a biometrics policy), 15(b) (failure to abide by BIPA’s notice and consent procedure), and 15(e) (failure to store biometrics with due care) are subject to the “catch-all” five-year statute of limitations.  

As you will recall, a major theme of our brief was that BIPA’s overarching intent is to protect against the disclosure of biometrics. Accordingly, we argued that the one-year SOL should apply to all claims under BIPA because they all either involve or are designed to protect against unauthorized publication of private information. Although the Court acknowledged that BIPA is designed to protect a secrecy right, it did not address our argument in any detail. Instead, the Court said the statute was unambiguous and that was all it needed to consider.

Veto Session  

As we discussed last week, a special session is now a very remote possibility.  

The General Assembly has released the schedule for veto session. Lawmakers will be back in Springfield Tuesday, November 15 -November 17 as well as November 29-December 1. 

View and download the veto calendar here. 

Articles of Interest

Rep. Elik Receives "Freshman of the Year" Award From Illinois Chamber of Commerce 

Amazon plans to expand into health care, smart homes 

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