Illinois Chamber Government Affairs Report 7.17.2020
Federal Prosecutors Make Enormous Public Statement
The
United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced
an agreement with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) to resolve an ongoing criminal
investigation into corrupt lobbying practices. Of particular interest, the
deferred prosecution agreement notes that the company was making payments to
associates of Public Official A at the same time it was seeking his
support for the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA).
For
those of you who do not closely follow energy policy, FEJA was the predecessor
of the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) currently being pushed for consideration in
Springfield. The Chamber opposes CEJA and strongly believes today's news is yet
another reason why CEJA is wrong for Illinois.
For
more on this story read the Chicago Sun-Times groundbreaking article here.
Governor Prtizker Announces New "Restore Illinois"
Regions
On
Wednesday, Gov. Pritzker announced that Illinois would expand from the four
current COVID-19 response regions to eleven. The new regions closely follow the
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) regions
already in place.
The
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said that this transition would
allow for more targeted action against the virus while "keeping as much of
the state open as possible." In this new mapping, the city of
Chicago is given its own region while central Illinois is divided into a
eastern, western and northern division. A full listing of the
regions can be found here.
Also on Wednesday, the
IDPH announced
new mitigation procedures if resurgence of COVID-19 occurs. Possible mitigation
techniques include restricting access to gyms, restaurants, salons and other
indoor locations.
Business Groups Call for Face Covering Compliance
Many
business groups across the State, including the Illinois Chamber, have called
for residents to wear face coverings in public when social distancing cannot be
maintained. This is in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and
revitalize the Illinois economy.
Gov.
Pritzker has
stated his willingness to once again close sectors of the economy if the
virus spread becomes uncontrollable. Business leaders calling for mask use have
recognized
that a second economic shutdown could have a dire financial impact on the
state and its people.
Other
business groups calling for face covering compliance include the Illinois
Manufacturers Association (IMA), Illinois Retail Merchant's Association
(IRMA), Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois (ABDI), Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce and many more.
Key Bills Signed into Law
The
conclusion of the special session in May was accompanied by the passage of
numerous pieces of legislation in the House and Senate. Listed below are key
bills that have now been signed into law by the Governor.
- HB64
(Hoffman/Harmon)
- This bill is the
re-appropriation for capital projects and maintains the current
infrastructure funding level.
- HB357
(Harris/Harmon)
- This is the budget implementation
bill (BIMP). The percentages of income tax collections to be deposited
into the income tax refund fund have been lowered. In the case of
corporations, the percentage is lowered to 14% from 14.25%.
- HB2174
(Willis/Jones)
- This bill extends the sunset
of a number of regulations by one year. Some of the regulations
included are the Telecommunications Article of the Public Utilities Act;
and the Transportation Network Providers Act.
- HB2455
(Hoffman/Holmes)
- This bill waived the benefit
charges to individual employers due to benefits paid and caused by
COVID-19. This change will save employers who had to lay off workers
following the pandemic from costly increases. The bill also complied with
federal conditions in order to net the state approximately $2 billion in
federal funds.
- SB2052
(Castro/Welch)
- This bill extends the expiration
deadlines for a number of local TIF districts.
- SB2541
(Steans/Harris)
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