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

I spent way too long looking for last year's "Elf on a Shelf" for my children last night for the traditional December 1 appearance. Best of luck to all the parents that have to hide that goofy thing around their house the next 3 weeks.



BIPA Win in Illinois Supreme Court

It’s really nice to be able to report on good BIPA related news for once. Special thank you is due to John Adams at EimerStahl for drafting the Chamber’s amicus brief for this case.

The Illinois Supreme Court held that the Biometric Information Privacy Act “excludes from its protections the biometric information of health care workers where that information is collected, used, or stored for health care treatment, payment, or operations, as those functions are defined by HIPPA. A health care worker’s biometric information, used to permit access to medication dispending stations for patient care . . . is exempt from [BIPA’s] protections.” Mosby, 2013 IL 129081, ¶ 54 (citing 740 ILCS 14/10). Accordingly, the Court reversed the judgement of the appellate court and remanded the case to the circuit court for further proceedings.

As you’ll recall, the certified question in this case asked whether the language following “or” in Section 10 of BIPA—which excludes as “biometric identifiers” “information collected, used, or stored for health care treatment, payment, or operations under HIPPA”—refers exclusively to a patient’s biometric information (as the plaintiffs argued) or includes a health care worker’s biometric information used to access patient medications and provide patient care (as the defendants argued). Agreeing with the defendants, the Court adopted the reasoning from our brief.

Meta Ribbon Cutting Event in DeKalb

I was honored to attend Meta’s Dekalb Data Center grand opening with Governor Pritzker and legislators like State Senator Sue Rezin, State Representatives Lance Yednock and Jeff Keicher.

This 2.3 million sq foot facility, run entirely on renewable energy, is a huge win for Meta and for Illinois. It is also proof of the real-world impact of legislation and public policy. This building broke ground in 2020, one year after the passage of Rebuild Illinois with its data center incentives championed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. As the result of that law, Illinois is the 3rd biggest market in America for data centers and the 5th largest in the world.

We applaud Meta for their investment in Illinois and lawmakers for passing incentives to encourage development in our state. As the next legislative session begins in a little more than a month, we look forward to getting to work on the next policy initiatives to make Illinois the best place to live and work in the country.

Letter to State Leaders on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The Illinois Chamber signed onto a letter with other state chamber leaders, and a few of our chamber partners instate, to urge state leaders to defer to federal action on AI. While you can read the full letter here, the most pertinent section is this:

AI is developing quickly, as are the opportunities it brings to revolutionize industries, attract investment, and create new jobs. However, we are concerned that a patchwork of state-level proposals to regulate artificial intelligence could slow realization of these benefits and stifle innovation by making compliance complex and onerous, especially for small businesses that stand to benefit the most from the productivity boosts associated with AI.

A federal framework is the best option to provide American businesses with the certainty they need to invest in AI development and adoption, and our workforce is prepared to transition to an AI-empowered economy. While there are roles for states to promote adoption of AI within schools, businesses, and government entities, the federal government should take the lead in developing a comprehensive framework for regulating AI. This is not an easy task, but federal agencies, leading technology companies, and other critical stakeholders including researchers are working in a collaborative manner alongside U.S. allies to establish governance frameworks for AI.

On behalf of chambers of commerce and business voices across the U.S., the undersigned urge state leaders to embrace the benefits of artificial intelligence (“AI”) for their states, and to study whether legal gaps exist before pushing for new regulatory frameworks. 

New Bills of Interest

HB 4230 (Sanalitro) - Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that subject to federal approval, transportation by means of a transportation network company service for individuals undergoing a colonoscopy that is a follow-up exam based on an initial screen where the colonoscopy was determined to be medically necessary by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced practice registered nurse, or a physician assistant, shall be covered under the medical assistance program for persons who are otherwise eligible for medical assistance.

Paid Leave for All Workers Act Update

The Illinois Department of Labor's (IDOL) proposed rule to implement the Paid Leave for All Workers Act was published in the November 3, 2023 Illinois Register (see pages 15559 to 15588). We are reviewing the proposal and will be scheduling a virtual meeting to assist us in preparing our comments that are due December 18th. If you have any suggestions, concerns or thoughts we should consider in our comments, please contact us at your earliest convenience. IDOL is hosting webinars for employers. Information on upcoming webinars can be found here. Also, IDOL has established a FAQ page for additional assistance for employers.

Additional Rulemaking

 No rulemaking of note has occurred the previous two weeks.

Spring Session Schedule

Both chambers will return to Springfield on January 16th at the call of the Speaker and Senate President. The 2024 Spring session calendar is now available. Click to view the House and Senate calendars.

Articles of Interest 

The Biggest Delivery Business in the U.S. Is No Longer UPS or FedEx

Pritzker discusses electric vehicle development, labor benefits in Illinois

Illinois is back, Pritzker declares in message that could go national

Supreme Court will decide on First Amendment protections for social media

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