Government Affairs Roundup
“Your Timely Roundup of Local, State, and Federal Updates”
Chamber members:
Welcome to 2024! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are ready to tackle a new year. We start off this year with a list of new laws that are interesting. Also, Governor Pritzker finally gets good news on Illinois population numbers.
*Government Affairs Roundup brought to you by CITGO & Silver Cross Hospital*
Governor Pritzker Announces Increased Illinois Census Numbers Following State Request for Review
Governor JB Pritzker announced today that the United States Census Bureau has approved the state’s request to have nearly 47,000 Illinoisans included in future population estimates. The review, which was requested following findings of inaccurately low counts in certain areas, ensures the state will receive a proportionate share of the $675 billion in annual funds distributed to states each year.
“I’m pleased that the Census Bureau has recognized the undercounting that I and many members of Illinois’ Congressional Delegation have worked to remedy since the 2020 census results were first released,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This correction will bring in millions in additional federal funding for crucial programs and help to ensure future counts reflect the true number of Illinois residents. I’m grateful to the NORC at the University of Chicago for their work on this appeal and all who helped make this decision possible.”
“The census is about resources and representation. Everyone deserves to be seen and heard and our communities deserve the resources they’re due,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “From rural to urban communities, this correction will allow us to expand those services. Thank you to everyone who made this appeal possible.”
Following the release of initial census results in 2020, a Census Bureau survey designed to estimate overcount and undercount rates within states revealed that Illinois had in fact gained population in the prior decade contrary to reported population declines. Governor Pritzker, alongside members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, called repeatedly for the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure that Illinois receives its fair share of federal funding reflective of the updated, accurate numbers that show Illinois is growing. In September of this year, the state requested an official Post-Census Group Quarters Review (PCGQR) to account for inaccuracies in census data, which was granted this week.
The review found that 733 Group Quarters were missed or undercounted in the 2020 Census Group Quarters Operation, along with a corresponding population of 46,400 people. The PCGQR submitted by the state identified 40,512 people residing in group quarter facilities such as care homes or senior living facilities who were missed in initial counts. The state also identified 123 dormitory settings where the population was undercounted for an additional 5,888 people.
Although the 46,400 identified people will not be added to Illinois’s official 2020 census numbers, the adjustment is crucial for the state as annual population estimates are produced over the next six years before the 2030 census. The updated group quarters population is added to the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program where they will be included in the baseline data used to produce upcoming annual population estimates. Those figures are used when determining the distribution of over $675 billion in state and federal programs. The state will continue to challenge population undercounts and plans to participate in additional opportunities for appeal and review to make further adjustments to the state’s count.
New laws for 2024
More than 300 new state laws took effect on January 1, affecting everything from education and criminal justice to employee benefits and indoor vaping, with most reflecting the priorities of Governor J.B. Pritzker and his allies in the Democratic-controlled legislature. Here’s a look at some of the laws that kick in with the new year.
Minimum wage increase
The minimum wage for workers 18 and older goes up by $1, to $14 per hour. The annual pay bumps result from a measure Pritzker signed in 2019, when the minimum wage was $8.25 per hour. The final increase will come in 2025, when it reaches $15 per hour.
In Chicago, the minimum wage for employers with more than 20 workers, which is tied to inflation, went up to $15.80 per hour on July 1 and will increase again this year by 2.5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.
On July 1, 2024, the city will begin phasing out the lower minimum wage for tipped workers, currently $9.48 per hour for large employers, cutting the gap between the two wages by 8% annually until they reach the same level in 2028.
Paid time off
Along with a pay raise, many workers across Illinois will receive a new benefit: paid leave. Under a measure Pritzker signed in March, all employees who aren’t currently eligible for paid time off will be entitled to one hour of paid time off for every 40 hours worked, up to at least 40 hours per year.
The measure will provide paid leave to an estimated 1.5 million workers who now receive no paid time off, according to the governor’s office. Any new local laws on paid leave will have to be at least as generous as the state law. While some business groups opposed the change, major organizations representing retailers, manufacturers and the hotel industry, among others, were neutral.
“That is a game changer for many employers, particularly those who have not previously offered any type of paid leave to their employees,” Scott Cruz, a labor attorney who conducted an online seminar for our chamber members in December, said during an interview with Capitol News Illinois in November.
In particular, he said, the law will be a major change for waiters, waitresses and other workers in the hospitality industry who have never received paid leave benefits in the past. The Illinois Department of Labor has published a list of frequently asked questions to help guide employers and employees through the new law.
Expanded unpaid leave for grieving family members
A new law went into effect Monday to help those parents during their grief. The state legislature created the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act so parents who lost a child to suicide or homicide can take unpaid leave from work without losing their jobs or benefits. The law went into effect Jan. 1.
How much leave depends on the size of their workplace. If an employer has more than 250 employees, workers under this act get 12 weeks of leave. For employers between 50 and 250 employees, workers can take six weeks off. This law does not guarantee any leave for workers who work for an employer with less than 50 employees.
Another law went into effect this week that amends the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act to guarantee employees with unpaid leave to attend or arrange a funeral and grieve if a family or household member is killed in a crime of violence.
“When people in Illinois experience tragedy at the hands of violence, their livelihood should be protected when they’re most vulnerable,” Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan said. “The amendments to the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act and establishment of the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act provide employees with some security in difficult, uncertain times.”
Civil rights
Police will no longer be allowed to pull over motorists solely for having small objects such as air fresheners dangling from their vehicle’s rearview mirror. The law seeks to prevent traffic stops for such minor infractions being used as a pretext to look for more serious offenses.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office, which initiated the legislation, has said such stops can be racially motivated and have the potential to lead to violent confrontations between motorists and police. The secretary of state’s office said in May that Illinois was among a handful of states with laws banning items from hanging from a rearview mirror.
Gun registry
Illinois residents who owned now-prohibited high-powered guns prior to a sweeping firearm ban Pritzker signed into law last Jan. 10 are required to have the firearms registered with the Illinois State Police by New Year’s Day. The registration process began Oct. 1. People who owned those guns prior to the ban but don’t register them by Jan. 1 can be charged with a misdemeanor for a first offense and felonies for subsequent violations.
The gun ban prohibits the delivery, sale, import and purchase of more than 100 so-called assault weapons, in the form of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and handguns. Also banned are the delivery, sale and purchase of high-capacity magazines of more than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns.
The ban has withstood several legal challenges, but gun rights groups are still fighting in court.
Deterring book bans
In another Giannoulias initiative, public libraries in Illinois could be cut off from state funding if they’re found to have removed books and other materials from their shelves for “partisan or doctrinal” reasons.
The law comes as debates over book banning have exacerbated partisan divides across the U.S. and triggered intense discussions about censorship, school curricula and how much say parents should have over what books are on library shelves.
The law requires libraries to follow the guidelines of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. Libraries could also develop a written policy to “prohibit the practice of banning specific books or resources,” according to the law.
Protecting drivers’ data
Giannoulias’ office also pushed for a new law that restricts the sale, sharing and access of automated license plate reader data by law enforcement when it interferes with someone’s abortion rights, particularly if they come to Illinois from out of state.
The law also restricts the sale, sharing and access of this data to law enforcement for the purposes of detaining or investigating a person based on their immigration status.
Expanded parole
The possibility of being locked up for life without a chance of release for a crime committed at a young age will mostly be a thing of the past in Illinois. Under a measure Pritzker signed in February, most convicted felons receiving a life sentence for serious crimes committed before they turned 21 now will be eligible for parole after 40 years in prison.
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board will conduct parole reviews, and those convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child will not be eligible. With Pritzker’s signature, Illinois became the 26th state to prohibit such sentences from being imposed on anyone under 18.
The change is not retroactive, however, applying only to sentences going forward. Efforts to allow parole for those previously convicted stalled in Springfield.
DACA recipients in law enforcement
Another law is intended to clear a path for participants in a federal immigration program who are not U.S. citizens to become police officers.
Noncitizens in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, may apply to become police officers in Illinois, though there would likely be obstacles for such officers to carry guns off-duty without a revision to federal law. The new state law makes clear that potential hires need to get federal approval to carry a gun.
Supporters of the measure set it as another avenue to beef up recruitment of law enforcement within police departments in Illinois.
Anti-carjacking initiative
Automakers will be required to establish a 24-hour vehicle theft hotline to help law enforcement locate vehicles stolen in carjackings.
Carjackings have skyrocketed in Chicago in recent years. There were 1,092 carjackings in the city that were reported from January through October, according to city crime statistics. That figure represents an increase of roughly 127% from the same period in 2019, when there were 482 carjackings, the statistics show.
The measure includes safeguards to protect consumers, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office, ensuring that data is only released to police with the vehicle owner’s permission, when a warrant or court order is issued, or in instances where there is a threat on someone’s life or well-being.
Casino jobs for ex-offenders
Under a measure supported by state gambling regulators, Illinois is loosening hiring restrictions for jobs in casinos. Previously, people convicted of felonies were ineligible for any job in an Illinois casino. The new law will allow people convicted of certain crimes to be eligible for employment in positions that don’t directly deal with betting, such as food service, housekeeping and maintenance.
The change comes as several new casinos have opened in the state, including the first in Chicago, as a result of a 2019 gambling expansion, and proponents say the law will provide more job opportunities in a growing industry.
The Illinois Gaming Board, which licenses all casino employees in the state, still will have the authority to deny applications based on past convictions, but will consider factors such as how long ago someone was convicted, the age at which they committed a crime, and the nature and severity of the crime and whether it relates to “the safety and security of others or the integrity of gaming.”
Addressing student trauma
Illinois will attempt to quantify the level of adversity faced by children in communities across the state. The plan calls for the Illinois State Board of Education to develop a publicly reported “Children’s Adversity Index” at the community or school district level that will “measure community childhood trauma exposure across the population of children 3 through 18 years.”
The index, which must be created by May 31, 2025, will draw on data covering issues including the prevalence of homelessness, contacts with the child welfare system, community violence and other factors.
Beginning in October, the state school report card will include data on the number of counselors, social workers, nurses and psychologists in each school and district and the student ratio for each category.
In addition to collecting new data, the law also requires training for teachers on “trauma-informed practices” prior to the start of each school year beginning this fall and codifies definitions of trauma and other related terms.
Combating fentanyl
Several measures taking effect in 2024 are aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic, which led to 3,261 overdose deaths in Illinois in 2022. Fentanyl, the highly dangerous synthetic opioid that contributes to many overdose deaths, was a particular target for lawmakers attempting to address the crisis.
One new law allows pharmacies and other retailers to sell fentanyl test strips over the counter. Proponents say availability of test strips is an important harm-reduction strategy because they allow users and others to detect whether the potentially deadly opioid is present in other drugs.
A separate but related law allows trained overdose responders for organizations enrolled in the Illinois Department of Human Services’ drug overdose prevention program to dispense drug adulterant testing supplies, which was previously restricted to doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals.
Another measure requires high schools to begin teaching about the dangers of fentanyl in every state-required health course beginning during the 2024-25 school year. Instruction must be based on information from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and include material such as side effects and risk factors, how to detect the drug using test strips, and other methods to obtain and use opioid antagonists such as naloxone to treat an overdose.
In addition, public and private schools in Illinois now are required to keep naloxone or other opioid antagonists in a secure location on campus. Keeping the medication on hand previously was optional.
Indoor vape ban
Vaping no longer will be allowed in most indoor public places under an expansion of the Smoke Free Illinois Act, 16 years after the statewide smoking ban took effect.
Use of electronic cigarettes is now prohibited anywhere that use of combustible tobacco products was previously not allowed. That includes within 15 feet of entrances to public buildings. The move comes nearly five years after Illinois raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21.
Picket protections
Following a year of historic labor actions nationally, including strikes by autoworkers and Hollywood writers and actors, union-friendly Illinois has two new laws that aim to protect demonstrating workers and punish those who attempt to interfere.
One new law makes it a class A misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $500, to place an object in the public way to obstruct or interfere with a picket, labor demonstration or protest.
Another change prohibits courts from awarding monetary damages to an employer stemming from a labor dispute, except in cases of property damage that occurred as a result of illegal activity.
Grocery initiative
The state of Illinois is creating a $20 million grant program aimed at bringing grocery stores to areas that lack easy access to fresh food.
The program was approved with broad bipartisan support during the legislature’s spring session, though Republicans voted against the $50.4 billion state budget that provides the program’s funding.
Under the Illinois Grocery Initiative, the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will provide financial assistance and other support to independent for-profit and nonprofit retailers, co-ops and local governments that open or preserve grocery stores in both urban and rural areas that lack or are in danger of losing them.
The bulk of the program’s funding will go toward financial assistance in the form of grants or loans for purposes such as feasibility studies, marketing, salaries and benefits for workers, down-payment or rent assistance, capital improvements, or for buying and establishing a new grocery store. Grant recipients also will qualify for other incentives such as tax exemptions on utilities and building materials.
Of the total funding, 20% will be set aside to help existing eligible stores upgrade to energy-efficient equipment.
EV charging stations
Aiming to spur the state’s goal of increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road, new residential construction now will be required to include basic infrastructure to accommodate EV charging stations.
The law applies to both single- and multifamily residential construction, with a designated number of EV-capable spaces for each type of dwelling. It also lays out guidelines for how homeowners associations and condo boards deal with requests for EV charging stations to be installed.
Zooming while driving
Starting on Jan. 1, it will be illegal for Illinois drivers to participate in videoconferencing or check their social media pages while behind the wheel.
The law adds the use of any mobile videoconferencing software, explicitly referencing Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex, to banned actions under existing distracted driving laws.
The law also specifically names social media sites Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and “Twitter,” which was rebranded to X a few months after the law’s passage.
Illinois law currently bans cell phone use generally while driving, although it does allow drivers to use phones through hands-free or voice-activated means. In 2022, more than 24,000 drivers were cited for distracted driving in Illinois, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Illinois drivers continue to be able to use cell phones in handheld mode if they are reporting an emergency, are parked on a road’s shoulder or if they are stopped due to a traffic obstruction and the vehicle is in neutral or park.
Building Blocks of Success: IDOT announces January dates for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program workshops
The Illinois Department of Transportation is hosting free virtual workshops in January as part of its continuing Building Blocks of Success series for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms interested in strengthening their skills, growing their business and bidding on state projects. New and existing DBEs, as well as firms interested in becoming certified in the program, are invited.
January workshop dates and topics:
- Jan. 9, 10 a.m. to noon: Capital and Lending Series – Accessing Capital
- Jan. 11, 10 a.m. to noon: Capital and Lending Series – Advanced Banking (Underwriting Process)
- Jan. 16, 10 a.m. to noon: Capital and Lending Series – Improving your Personal and Business Credit Score
- Jan. 18, 10 a.m. to noon: Capital and Lending Series – What Banks Look For/How to
- Connect with Lenders
- Jan. 23, 10 a.m. to noon: Bonding and Insurance – Advanced Insurance and Bonding (Underwriting)
- Jan. 25, 10 a.m. to noon: Bonding and Insurance – Insurance, Bonding and Risk Management for Construction Firms
- Jan. 30, 10 a.m. to noon: Marketing and Networking Series – Business and Strategic Plans Q&A
Building Blocks of Success will continue through April. Workshop information, including dates and times, is available through Eventbrite at bit.ly/DBEworkshops. Advance registration is required.
Questions can be directed to IDOT’s Bureau of Small Business Enterprises at (217) 785-4611.
Through Gov. JB Pritzker’s historic, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois, IDOT is helping to deliver the largest capital program in state history while promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Administered by IDOT, the DBE program provides minorities, women and eligible small businesses with opportunities to participate in federally and state funded highway, transit and airport contracts. For more information on becoming a certified DBE and learning more about available IDOT resources, visit www.idot.illinois.gov/dbe.
Illinois Back to Business New Business Grant Program (B2B NewBiz)
Illinois B2B NewBiz will provide financial relief to businesses that started during the pandemic in the industries most impacted by the pandemic. Businesses that started during the pandemic have not been eligible for state grants and most federal emergency support provided for emergency relief to small businesses thus far.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for a grant award under Illinois B2B NewBiz, for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations must meet all the criteria listed below:
- Started operations between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021.
- Had gross receipts of at least $25,000 and up to $20,000,000 in 2021 (annualized if started during 2021).
- Currently active operations in Illinois.
- Have not received a Back to Business (B2B) grant prior to 2023.
- Business Interruption Grant (BIG), Back to Business (B2B) Grant issued prior to 2023, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), or Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grant (RRF).
- Must meet one of the following two criteria:
- The business or nonprofit is in a priority industry as defined for the previous Back to Business program
- A list of priority industries and their definitions can be found here.
- The business is majority owned by an individual or individuals that became eligible for and received unemployment insurance benefits – including from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – between March 13, 2020, and the date the business began operations.
- The business or nonprofit is in a priority industry as defined for the previous Back to Business program
Application Window Opens: November 30, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. CT.
Application Window Closes: January 11, 2024, at 11:59:59 p.m. CT.
Full information and forms can be found at https://b2bnewbiz.com/
Stay well,
Mike Paone
Executive Vice President
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry
mpaone@jolietchamber.com
815.727.5371 main
815.727.5373 direct