Legislative Inspector General Resigns
Earlier this week, the Illinois Legislative Inspector General (LIG) resigned from her position. Carol Pope, a former Appellate Court Judge, had been in the position for over two years. Pope, who will officially leave the position by December of this year, called the role of LIG a "paper tiger." Pope cited actions in the 102nd General Assembly as demonstrative of the body's unwillingness to tackle "true ethics reforms."
Pope said that legislation addressing ethics in the 102nd General Assembly not only ignored her suggestions for the legislature but also weakened the authority of the LIG position.
Pope's resignation follows the resignation of her predecessor in 2019, Interim LIG Julie Porter. At the time, Porter cited similar reasons for her departure.
Transportation Spotlight
On Wednesday, Governor Pritzker made an unannounced trip to Washington DC to meet with President Biden for a bipartisan discussion on Infrastructure. Pritzker took part in a roundtable conversation with other state governors and local mayors but was also given a private slot with the President.
Recapping the private conversation, Governor Pritzker says that he asked for federal funds for highway and rail improvements as well as assistance for the state's unemployment insurance trust fund deficit.
Illinois Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Clark Kaericher appeared on WTTW's Chicago Tonight with Amanda Vinicky to discuss these developments. Their conversation focused on the need for a federal infrastructure package, Rebuild Illinois and future transportation funding mechanisms at the state and federal level. The full Chicago Tonight episode can be viewed here.
Session Update
The House remains adjourned until the call of the Speaker. The Senate also remains adjourned until the call of the Senate President.
Both the House and the Senate released the dates for the Fall 2021 Veto Session. Both Chambers will be in session October 19th-21st and October 26th-28th. At this time there are no additional session dates scheduled.
Bills of Interest Signed into Law
HB 53 (Andrade) AI Interviews Provides that employers that rely solely upon artificial intelligence to determine whether an applicant will qualify for an in-person interview must gather and report certain demographic information to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Requires the Department to analyze the data and report to the Governor and General Assembly whether the data discloses a racial bias in the use of artificial intelligence. This bill passed the Senate 43-11 and the House 112-5. This bill has been signed into law.
HB 115 (Guzzardi) Business Data was signed into law. This bill amends the Business Corporation Act of 1983, the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986, and the Limited Liability Company Act. Provides that, with respect to entities organized under these Acts, the Secretary of State shall publish data required to be maintained by the Secretary in a machine-readable form that is freely available to the public. Abolishes charges for that data.
HB 118 (Guzzardi) Underpayment Penalties This bill provides that an employee is entitled to recover damages of 5% (rather than 2%) of the amount of any underpayments in wages for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid. This bill was signed by the Governor.
HB 226 (Greenwood) Higher Ed Admission was signed into law. This bill creates the Higher Education Fair Admissions Act. Provides that a public institution of higher education may not require applicants who are residents of Illinois to submit standardized college admissions test scores to the institution as a part of the admissions process. Provides that the submission of standardized test scores to the institution shall be at the option of the applicant. Requires the adoption of a policy.
SB 194 (Morrison) Pharmacies was signed into law. This bill provides that a student pharmacist or licensed pharmacy technician engaged in remote prescription processing of dialysate or devices necessary to perform home peritoneal renal dialysis at a licensed pharmacy shall be permitted to access an employer pharmacy's database from his or her home or other remote location while under the supervision of a pharmacist for the purpose of performing certain prescription processing functions, provided that the pharmacy establishes controls to protect the privacy and security of confidential records.
SB 332 (Collins) Telehealth was signed into law. This bill provides that a network plan shall make available, through a directory, information about whether a provider offers the use of telehealth or telemedicine to deliver services to patients for whom it would be clinically appropriate and what modalities are used and what types of services may be provided via telehealth or telemedicine.
Save the Date: Illinois Chamber to Host Annual Meeting
On Thursday, September 30th the Illinois Chamber will host its Annual Meeting at the Palmer House in Chicago. The event will take place between 11am-1:30 pm and feature keynote speaker Holly Sullivan, Vice President of Worldwide Economic Development for Amazon. The theme for this year's event is Global Growth Opportunities. Register today!
