CHICAGO – Measures to improve compensation for victims of crime and strengthen and enhance the SAFE-T Act, Illinois’ comprehensive criminal justice reforms passed earlier this year, championed by state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, were recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Although we made much needed progress with the passage of the SAFE-T Act to strengthen police accountability and devote more resources to fighting violent crime, we still have a lot of work to do before Illinois sees the equality and fairness that we so desperately need,” Slaughter said. “We must keep pressing forward in order to build an equitable, modern and more responsive public safety system.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law two bills sponsored by Slaughter that build upon the SAFE-T Act, also known as Public Act 101-0652. House Bill 3443 aligns the definition of a mental health crisis with standards from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This will help police departments meet requirements for monthly reports filed with the Illinois State Police (ISP) containing their responses to people experiencing a mental health crisis. House Bill 3443 also strengthens timelines for implementing the SAFE-T Act. House Bill 3295 increases potential compensation for victims of violent crime by over 66% from $27,000 to $45,000 and allows more time for victims to successfully complete applications for compensation.

“Illinois is experiencing a new day for equity and for justice by adopting a smart on crime approach to public safety and turning the page on the failed policies of the past that kept families less safe,” Slaughter said. “ I will continue to push for improvements to our justice system so that every family can feel safe in their community.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinoisans will not be responsible for returning overpaid unemployment relief under a bill backed by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, which was recently signed into law.

“The COVID-19 pandemic created enormous financial challenges for many Illinois families, and forcing them to wade through government red tape while they are just beginning to recover is a pointless and unfair burden,” Hernandez said. “Rebuilding a healthy middle class will drive our economy up to and beyond where Illinois was before the pandemic.” 

Hernandez backed House Bill 2643, which allows for the waiver of repayment for non-fraud overpayments for unemployment insurance recipients. This will effectively ensure Illinoisans are not falsely held responsible for government errors with their unemployment payments. The bill passed the legislature unanimously and was recently signed by Gov. Pritzker. 

“Helping people get back on their feet is my top priority right now. This legislation is one critical step to providing the requisite aid to Illinois families across the state,” Hernandez said. “I will continue to work to help our state overcome the physical, medical and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

PEORIA, Ill. – In recognition of National Women’s Small Business Month this October, state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth is highlighting reforms to reduce taxes on small businesses and attract new businesses to Illinois.

“I am committed to building a stronger Illinois by building a stronger middle class and that means supporting the small businesses that are drivers of our economy,” Gordon-Booth said. “During National Women’s Small Business Month, it is important to highlight the tax reforms and opportunities available to small businesses in Illinois.”

Women own 42% of all businesses according to Business.com, compared to less than 5% in 1972. During the last five years, the number of small businesses owned by all women grew 21% and that rate was nearly double for women of color.

As Deputy Majority Leader in the Illinois House, Gordon-Booth helped spearhead negotiations with Republicans for a bipartisan, balanced budget that instituted a number of reforms to reduce taxes for small businesses and make it easier for the state to attract new businesses. Gordon-Booth backed:

• Senate Bill 689 to eliminate the burdensome corporate franchise tax, helping 300,000 small businesses, and increase tax credits for small businesses that employ workers in areas of high unemployment or underemployment
• Senate Bill 690 to allow a tax credit for workers on small business data center projects and to allow sales tax credits for data center businesses that invest in Illinois
• Senate Bill 1591 to invest in small businesses that invest in local jobs by creating tax credits for small businesses to train and employ apprentices

“Small businesses are the heart of our economy in Illinois and women-owned small businesses are a growing and critical part of building a stronger middle class in our state,” Gordon-Booth said. “Reducing taxes on small businesses and making it easier for them to hire and train workers will assist the growth of all small businesses, but will be particularly helpful for small businesses owned by women and women of color that historically were excluded from accessing business development programs and resources.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, is spotlighting a new law to increase transparency regarding school class sizes.

“Over the past four years, class sizes at Chicago Public Schools have risen over 13.5% and we need more information about the effect of this increase,” Lilly said. “This law will put critical additional information about class sizes in front of parents and the public.”

Lilly supported House Bill 254, which requires all school districts, including the Chicago Public Schools, to beginning reporting more information about class sizes to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), which will include the information on its annual Illinois Report Card, a compilation of educational metrics measured statewide as well as by individual district and individual school. Currently, the Illinois Report Card contains only the basic student to teacher ratio, but under the Lilly-backed transparency measure it will now include additional information on the total number of teachers employed by district and school, the number of class instructors by grade level and subject in each district and the class size for every class at each school and the total number of classes in each school that exceed class size guidelines.

“Parents are rightfully concerned about increasing class sizes and this law will help parents and the public have a greater understanding of class size management in our public schools,” Lilly said. “When classrooms are too crowded, teachers don’t have the time or resources to adequately see to the needs of their students. With more information available about class sizes, we can work to remedy existing problems and prevent other classrooms from becoming too crowded.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, is fighting to protect access to health care with a new law creating Illinois’ first comprehensive system to rein in prescription drug costs and ensure hospital visits are covered, regardless of whether the diagnosis turns out to be an emergency or not.   

“Access to health care is a basic human right and our health care system is failing to provide that to the middle class,” Didech said. “This reform will ensure the well-being of our local seniors and families by putting in place a comprehensive way to rein in the costs of potentially lifesaving drugs and protect access to care.”

Didech voted to pass House Bill 465, which creates the state’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), in an attempt to rein in the rising costs of prescription drugs. The Didech-backed reform also protects consumers entering the emergency room from being denied coverage, regardless of whether their diagnosis turns out to be a non-emergency. Recently, insurance companies like Anthem have rolled out plans in states like Missouri that allow them to deny paying an individual’s emergency room visit if they deem such visit as “non-emergent care.”  

“What insurance companies are doing in Missouri is immoral. They are threatening families with thousands of dollars of debt, if they seek emergency medical services,” Didech said. “This new law makes it very clear to big pharmaceutical and insurance companies that Illinois will not tolerate anti-consumer policies that put profits over people.”

ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. – Continuing his tour of local small business around his district, state Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, met with the owner of the local small business Julio’s Mexican Restaurant to gain feedback about what he can do to help the local small business community. During his time in the General Assembly, Yingling has made positive change for small businesses across Illinois, passing legislation that would give tax breaks to small and medium sized businesses.

“Getting feedback from small business owners is critical to my work in Springfield,” said Yingling. “As someone who grew up working for his family’s small business, I’ve seen first-hand just how important they are to the economic health of the communities they serve. I am committed to working in Springfield to make sure our small businesses have the resources they need to be successful.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A measure introduced by state Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, to limit the overwhelming delinquency penalties placed on mobile home owners was recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Before, it was possible for mobile homeowners to quickly wind up with penalties that were several times what they originally owed in delinquent taxes,” Didech said. “The people most affected by these penalties are often the people who can least afford it.”

Didech introduced House Bill 925, now Public Act 101-0454, which changes the way that Illinois assesses penalties on delinquent mobile home taxes, so that the maximum penalty for late tax payments is $100 or 50% of the original tax bill in Lake and DuPage counties.

The legislation was the result of collaboration between Didech and Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim due to concerns that constituents who became delinquent on modest tax bills were facing penalties that were several times higher than the actual bill. Lake County is reported to have the second highest number of mobile homes subject to the mobile homes tax in the state, so Didech hopes the legislation will help provide local families with much-needed relief.

“This new law fixes an unfair situation in our state that was placing a tremendous economic burden on working families,” Didech said. “I want to thank Gov. Pritzker, Treasurer Kim, and everyone else who joined me in taking action to help me address this inequity.”

CHICAGO – Thanks to a new law supported by state Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, homeowners who qualify for the senior homestead property tax exemption will no longer need to annually reapply to keep the exemption.

“Seniors that qualify for the exemption shouldn’t have to go through the process to requalify every year,” said Andrade. “Part of fixing the property tax system is cutting through red tape that makes life more difficult for middle-class homeowners. This is an easy way to make it easier for seniors to get real relief.”

Andrade sponsored House Bill 833, which creates a five-year pilot program that will allow homeowners to continue receiving the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption without having to reapply every year. Andrade hopes the pilot program will prove to be successful.

“Cook County is currently the only county that requires seniors to file an application every year, and that is an unnecessary burden,” said Andrade. “Now that this bill is law, the senior homestead exemption is not going to require yearly maintenance for people living in Chicago.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A new law supported by state Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Northlake, will protect seniors from their property taxes increasing by creating a five-year program that maintains the Cook County Senior homestead Exemption, eliminating a mandated annual application for the exemption.

“Seniors living on a fixed-income already pay a lot in taxes, and they should not be overpaying on property taxes because of burdensome paperwork,” Willis said. “This new law will cut down on bureaucratic paperwork and install a simpler policy to help seniors save on taxes.”  

Previously, Cook County seniors had to reapply annually for the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption while all other counties can choose to allow seniors to have the exemption automatically applied each year.

Willis supported House Bill 833, which institutes a 5-year pilot project for Cook County to allow senior citizens to apply for the senior homestead exemption once instead of having to apply for it annually. The law requires the Cook County Assessor to list the number of years remaining before a senior must reapply on assessment notices and includes protections to terminate the exemption when a senior citizen passes away. Additionally, the new law requires the Cook County Assessor to perform at least two audits of all claimed senior exemptions and take action to correct erroneously or fraudulently claimed exemptions.

“No one should be paying more in taxes than they already do, and this will help thousands of seniors from paying more,” Willis said. “I am fighting to build a stronger Illinois and middle class, and reducing overbearing paperwork to help seniors keep more of their money will help.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A new law from state Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, will begin to simplify Cook County’s byzantine property tax system by instituting a program to reduce the amount of times seniors must apply for property tax exemptions.

“Rising property taxes are hurting Cook County seniors, many of whom live on fixed incomes,” Lilly said. “This law will help ensure that seniors are receiving the property tax savings they have earned by reducing burdensome application requirements.”

Lilly sponsored House Bill 833, which institutes a 5-year pilot project for Cook County to allow senior citizens to apply for the senior homestead exemption once instead of having to apply for it annually. Currently, Cook County seniors must reapply annually for the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption while all other counties can choose to allow seniors to have the exemption automatically applied each year. Lilly’s law requires the Cook County Assessor to list the number of years remaining before a senior must reapply on assessment notices and includes protections to terminate the exemption when a senior citizen passes away. Additionally, the new law requires the Cook County Assessor to perform at least two audits of all claimed senior exemptions and take action to correct erroneously or fraudulently claimed exemptions. By reforming the annual application process, Lilly’s law will help to ensure that senior citizen homeowners are accessing their exemptions and are not overpaying property taxes.

“Building a stronger Illinois means creating fairer taxes for the middle class, including seniors who have spent their lives making our communities better,” Lilly said. “Simplifying our property tax system for seniors will reduce burdensome paperwork requirements, help ensure seniors aren’t overpaying their property taxes and could be the difference between a senior staying in their home or being forced to move.”