Illinois Senate Week in Review: March 7 to 11

Republican lawmakers wrapped up the week in Springfield by laying the groundwork for budget cuts that State Sen. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) says will total between $4 billion and $6 billion.

Also this week, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a number of bills, but he made national news when he approved controversial legislation to abolish the death penalty in Illinois.

On March 10, Senate GOP lawmakers said that even with the 67 percent income tax increase, unless significant cuts are made to Gov. Quinn’s budget proposal, Illinois will soon face a budget deficit that will leave the state with an annual deficit of $8 billion and a cumulative deficit of more than $22 billion within five years. Senate Republicans released a budget review that shows Illinois’ spending and revenue trends indicate it will take $4 to $6 billion in additional spending reductions to the Governor’s proposed budget to get the state back on track.

“We are in a severe situation, and we are operating at a pace that will only make the problem worse,” Sandack said.  “What is even harder to understand is that Illinois will be worse off at the end of the next five years with higher taxes than it was before the tax was increased.”

Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said Senate Republicans are working to identify a menu of realistic cuts to bring state spending back into line with available revenues. Senate Republicans plan to outline needed reductions as early as this week. In addition, Radogno has set a goal of providing half the necessary votes in the Senate to implement the savings.

In other news, historic legislation to abolish the death penalty was signed into law March 9. Gov. Quinn signed the abolition bill after wavering for two months. The measure, which will take effect July 1, only applies to future death penalty sentences; however, Quinn commuted the death sentences of the 15 prisoners currently serving time on death row. Illinois is now the 16th state to ban capital punishment.

The Governor also acted on redistricting legislation intended to protect minority rights during the upcoming legislative remap process. Senate Bill 3976 (PA 96-1541) makes it more difficult to divide communities where there is a significant racial minority or language minority. In the past these communities have frequently been divided into different districts as a way to split votes.

This component of the new law will require map creators to preserve these communities, which are known as crossover districts, coalition districts and influence districts. Crossover districts are communities where the minority population doesn’t constitute a majority of the voting-age population, but is large enough to elect the candidate of its choice with the help of the majority population’s “crossover” support. Coalition districts are composed of a minority population that is large enough to elect the candidate of the coalition’s choice. Influence districts refer to a district where a minority group can influence the outcome of an election, even though the minority population doesn’t have enough influence to elect its preferred candidate.

The new law also establishes new requirements that supporters of the legislation say offer the public an opportunity to participate in the redistricting process. However, many Republican lawmakers and political reform organizations criticized Senate Bill 3976, which requires four statewide public hearings on Illinois’ current legislative districts before the remapping process begins.

Republican lawmakers praised efforts to incorporate the public into the remap process; however, they criticized the legislation for not requiring any public hearings after a potential map has been created and offered for legislative consideration by a redistricting committee. 

On March 10, the Governor signed another controversial measure that has come to be known as the Amazon Tax. The measure requires “affiliates” of major Internet retailers, such as Amazon.com or Overstock.com, to collect sales tax and turn the revenue over to the state. These affiliates make money through interest earned on the profits the larger Web site earns from the business the affiliates referred.

Proponents of House Bill 3659 (PA 96-1544) say the bill levels the playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses that are required to collect the sales tax, and there have been estimates circulated that the measure could bring in more than $100 million in new revenue. However, opponents of the bill contend that imposing the tax will drive businesses away, pointing to other states that imposed similar taxes, after which Amazon terminated its contract with that state’s affiliates. Amazon promised it would cancel its Illinois contracts if the law was signed.

In legislative action, a number of bills that will impact all areas of state government were advanced by Senate committees. Bipartisan legislation to support school choice for Chicago children was approved by the Senate Education Committee. Senate Bill 1932 would allow parents to place their children in better-performing schools if the student is enrolled in one of the 50 most underperforming or overcrowded schools.

The Senate Criminal Law Committee advanced measures that will increase oversight and improve public safety considerations associated with the state’s Meritorious Good Time (MGT) program. The MGT program, MGT Push, drew heavy criticism last year when the Department of Corrections (DOC) quietly released 2,000 prisoners, including violent offenders. Because some inmates were released through MGT Push after spending very little time in custody, Senate Bill 1341 will require inmates to spend at least 60 days in DOC custody before they can receive a meritorious good conduct award.

Another measure, Senate Bill 1338, requires DOC to establish uniform procedures to provide the sheriff of the county where the prosecution took place with advance notice that the offender will be released. This legislation was introduced in response to cases where DOC failed to notify the proper authorities of an MGT Push inmate’s release.

The Senate State Government and Veterans Affairs Committee advanced Senate Bill 1728, which could save the state as much as $31 million per year by requiring the Illinois Comptroller to use electronic fund transfers instead of paper checks to pay interest on the state’s overdue bills. Currently, the state spends millions of dollars on interest payments on the state’s overdue bills. In many cases the cost of paper, printing and postage to send the interest payment costs more than the interest payment that’s due. By requiring interest payments to be made by direct deposit, the state could realize substantial savings.

Additional legislation approved by Senate committees this week includes:

Ag Research (SB 2012): Changes how funds are appropriated for Food and Agriculture Research to be appropriated among all public and private Illinois universities. The amount of distribution would be determined by the board of directors of the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research.

Big Truck Speed Limit (SB 1913): Provides that outside the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will, the speed limit for big trucks is uniform with cars (65 mph) on four-lane divided highways.

Bodily Harm (SB 1962): Provides that any person who has served two prior prison sentences for inflicting great bodily harm on a person and commits a third offense involving the infliction of great bodily harm is to be sentenced to life in prison.

Contaminated Property Tax Credit (SB 1900): Creates a credit for 100 percent of the eligible project costs for the remodeling, rehabilitation, modernization, or remediation of abandoned or underutilized Illinois property that is contaminated with hazardous substances, petroleum products, or lead-based paint, or a combination of those factors.

DCEO Quarterly Report (SB 2082): Requires the Department of Commerce and Economic  Opportunity to issue a quarterly report to the Senate Commerce Committee that will include the number of new businesses incorporating in Illinois, the number of businesses not seeking renewal of their registration or having lapsed registration in Illinois, and the number of businesses renewing registrations in Illinois.

Defendant Fee (SB 1697): Implements a $2 fee on defendants to go to state’s attorneys in all counties but Cook, to pay for automated record keeping systems.

Discrimination (SB 1943): Adds language to hospital patient's rights statement to include the right not to be discriminated against due to race, color, or national origin where such characteristics are not relevant to the patient's medical diagnosis and treatment. 

Dry Cleaners (SB 1617): Prohibits the installation or operation of dry cleaning machines that use perchloroethylene, and makes other significant regulatory changes relating to dry cleaners.

Farmers’ Markets (SB 1852): Forms the Farmers' Market Task Force to assist the Department of Public Health in enacting statewide administrative regulations for farmers' markets.

Feral Hog (SB 2190): Prevents the importation of feral hogs into the state.

Fertilizer Research (SB 2010): Establishes the Nutrient Research and Education Council to establish research and education programs to address nutrient efficiency and water quality challenges.

Information Safeguards (SB 151): Prohibits the use of a radio frequency identification device to steal personal identifying information from a radio frequency identification chip – now found in some credit cards – to commit a felony.

Interest (SB 2148): Eliminates state interest payments on wage claims that are under $5.

False Information Against Police Officer (SB 1243): Provides that a work-related complaint and sworn affidavit filed against a police officer that is found to contain false information must be referred to the state’s attorney for determination of prosecution.

Job Posting (SB 1869): Requires the Illinois Department of Central Management Services to accept job postings from all local units of government and post those job openings on its Web site. 

Juvenile Detention Center Assault (SB 1754): Increases the penalty for an assault on a juvenile detention center employee.

Labor Disputes (SB 1952): Privatizes labor dispute resolutions, requiring the employer and employee to foot the bill instead of the state.

MGT Report (SB 1562): Requires the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide the governor with monthly written reports, and the General Assembly with an annual written report, on the award of good conduct credit for meritorious service. The bill defines the required content of the reports and stipulates the reports must be published on DOC’s Web site within 48 hours of transmitting them to the governor and General Assembly.

MGT Rules (SB 1560): Requires the Illinois Department of Corrections to implement rules not only to revoke good time credit, which is credit that all inmates receive for good behavior while incarcerated, except for murder, but also to revoke additional meritorious good time credit, extra time off the prison sentence that can be given at the discretion of the director.

Overdose Immunity (SB 1701): Gives prosecution immunity to drug overdose victims or persons seeking help for drug overdose victims.

Parole Terms (SB 1740): Requires that a defendant's "parole" or mandatory supervised release terms must be written as part of the sentencing order.

Pregnancy Discrimination (SB 1122): Makes it a civil rights violation for any employer to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in hiring or personnel decisions.

Real Estate Discipline (SB 1830): Strengthens the ability of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to revoke or suspend a real estate license holder for violations, as well as for the conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor of which an essential element is dishonesty or which is directly related to the practice of the profession.

Repo Registration (SB 1306): Requires the licensure of repossession agencies and recovery managers, and the registration of their employees.

Sex Offender Regulation (SB 2151): Prohibits an adjudicated juvenile delinquent child sex offender from being present in a school building, school property, school bus stop or to loiter near parks or other public places while persons younger than 18 are present.

Student Athlete Safety (SB 150): Requires each school board and park district to adopt a policy regarding student athlete concussions and head injuries. 

Student Transportation (SB 1669): Places numerous requirements on buses and cabs used to transport students including, among other things, stipulating that individuals who apply for a school bus driver permit must not have been under an order of court supervision or convicted of two or more serious traffic offenses within a year of applying; requires all companies that contract with school districts for student transportation to carry personal liability insurance in the amount of $1 million for any one person in any one accident and $5 million for two or more persons injured; requires all vehicles used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit to submit their vehicle for a “safety test” and secure a certification of safety from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Tax Database (SB 43): Directs the Illinois Department of Revenue to create an online searchable database of all tax rates in the state.

Veteran Police (SB 1587): Allows honorably discharged veterans who have been awarded an Afghan or Iraqi campaign medal through military service to substitute that experience in lieu of the completion of two years of law enforcement studies at an accredited university, as currently required by the State Police.

Vender Vouchers (SB 1836): Requires within 10 business days after a state agency receives a vendor's bill or invoice, the agency must submit the voucher to the comptroller for payment, or return the bill or invoice to vendor for corrections. Also requires the comptroller to post a copy of a voucher on the official Web site within five days of receipt of the order in which they were received by comptroller, and must be searchable by the date and the name of vendor