Kelly Concludes 2024 Session with 6th Balanced Budget, Public Safety Focused Legislation

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Following the end of the 2024 legislative session, state Rep. Mike Kelly, D-Chicago, is highlighting key bills aimed at enhancing public safety—as well as his role in passing Illinois sixth consecutive balanced budget.

Kelly sponsored Senate Bill 2702 in the House, which more tightly regulates licensed fire sprinkler inspectors by requiring that individual inspectors be employed by only one licensed sprinkler inspection contractor at a time.

“Ensuring that the people entrusted with ensuring that critical safety equipment like fire sprinklers are up to code can be held accountable is crucial,” Kelly said. “That’s why it’s important for inspectors to be affiliated with one and only one licensed contractor at a time—we need to know who is responsible for whom, and contractors need to be able to oversee their inspectors without being second guessed by another company they are also working for.”

Kelly also sponsored Senate Bill 3201 in the House, which mandates the creation of training programs for police officers in autism-informed responses, procedures and techniques within 2 years.

“People with autism often have difficulty understanding or responding to others in the same way that neurotypical individuals do, which means that the risk of misunderstandings—that can have tragic consequences—is higher,” Kelly said. “That’s why it’s important for law enforcement to be able to recognize and respond to autism safely and constructively.”

Kelly’s House Bill 4321 would extend the same presumption of full duty disability to downstate first responders disabled by COVID-19 that is currently enjoyed by those in the Chicago-area. Kelly passed the bill unanimously out of the House, but it stalled on First Reading in the Senate, where it was not assigned to a committee.”

“The lack of movement in the Senate is disappointing, obviously, but I’m not done fighting to ensure that every first responder in our state gets the support they deserve after putting their health on the line for their community,” Kelly said. “First responders who can no longer work because of the lingering effects of COVID-19—especially those who fell ill before vaccines were available—were injured in the line of duty and they should be treated as such.”

More information about Kelly’s legislation is available at ILGA.gov.

Capping off the session, Kelly joined House and Senate colleagues in passing Illinois’ sixth consecutive balanced budget.

“After a long and diligent process, I’m proud to say that we’ve once again created a state budget that goes line-by-line identifying efficiencies and prioritizing beneficial spending that aligns with the priorities and needs of working families,” Kelly said. “Despite the noisy grumbling from some quarters, the truth is that we’re continuing to move Illinois forward by focusing on basics, identifying and addressing critical needs and mapping out a path to a brighter future for everyone.”

Among the priorities in the budget being sent to the governor’s desk are:

• a $50 million Child Tax Credit that will help families raising young children make ends meet;
• New funding to expand early childhood education opportunities to 5,000 additional Illinois families;
• $350 million for K-12 classroom education—for a five-year total of over $1.5 billion;
• New funding to community birth centers, to help improve outcomes for moms and babies;
• Expanded funding for innovative approaches to combatting homelessness;
• New funding for local road repair in historically disinvested communities;
• New tools to help local governments control property taxes.

“This is a budget backed by business groups, that gives back to families, all while holding the line on taxes,” Kelly said. “By honoring our commitment to do the people’s business in a responsible manner instead of playing partisan politics, we’re lifting up everyone and planning for a better future.”