Bill Tracking
Legislative Bill Tracking Latest Update March 18, 2024
Legislative News Section
Legislative Bill Tracking
Session News/2024 House & Senate Session Calendars
Public Act Highlights
Other News of Interest (Broadband - U.S. Census & More)
(See below)
NACo (National Association of Counties) click here
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
For Federal/State/Local Government News & References click here
NEWs of Interest
- Minimum Wage Increase. Starting January 1, 2024, Illinois minimum wage increased to $14 per hour.
- Paid Leave for All Workers Act signed into law. Illinois workers will begin earning paid time off starting January 1, 2024. Public Act 102-1143 (SB208)
Law allows workers to earn up to 40 hours of paid leave time that they can take for any reason. Workers earn 1 hour of leave for every 40 hours worked. Employees can begin using their time starting March 31, 2024, if they are already employed, or 90 days after they start a job.
- Prevailing Wage Database Available for Public to Monitor Wages Paid on Projects. Effective January 1, 2022, the Illinois Department of Labor will be responsible for maintaining a database that allows the public to search certified payrolls submitted by construction contractors on public works projects subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. (12-6-21)
lEGISLATIVE BILL TRACKING 103rd Illinois General Assembly
United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) tracks legislation pending before the Illinois General Assembly that is of interest to county government. Access to currently active proposed legislation being tracked is available through the reports listed below. A schedule, by date, of those pieces of legislation being tracked by UCCI that are currently set for committee hearing is provided for your review and information, as well as a listing of all bills that have passed both chambers.
Session News/2024 Spring Session Calendars (SENATE) (HOUSE)
2024 Spring Session began on January 16, 2024.
DATES OF INTEREST:
House & Senate are adjourned until Wednesday, March 20th
Governor's State of the State/Budget Address - February 21, 2024
Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget can be found here.
Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Budget can be found here.
Fiscal Year 2025 Budget in Brief can be found here.
2023 SPRING SESSION ADJOURNMENT
Around 2:30 AM on Saturday, May 27th, the Illinois House passed the state budget and sent it to the Governor's desk for his signature. Legislative Bill Tracking section above reports on bills UCCI tracked and their status as of the date indicated.
The Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) was increased from 6.16% to 6.47% (roughly an $112M increase).
DATES OF INTEREST:
Governor's State of the State/Budget Address - February 15, 2023
Fiscal Year 2024 Budget
PUBLIC ACT HIGHLIGHTS of legislation signed into law
- PA102-1143 (Effective January 1, 2024) SB208/102nd IGA
Creates the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. Requires employers to provide paid leave to employees for any purpose. Sets forth provisions regarding employer responsibilities, unlawful employer practices, and other matters. Provides that an employee who works in this State is entitled to earn and use a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period. Makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, deny, change scheduled workdays or hours to avoid paid leave, or discipline an employee for the exercise of any right under the Act. Authorizes the Department of Labor to administer and enforce the Act. Provides for the imposition of civil penalties. Authorizes individuals to file civil actions with respect to violations. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Paid Leave for All Workers Fund as a special fund in the State treasury.
CONTACTING SPONSORS OF LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS
From time to time, UCCI will be requesting that our members contact the primary sponsor of various legislative proposals, be they proposals that might be beneficial to local government or proposals that would be detrimental.
This can be done electronically, which is maybe not the best method but the one that is available to us during the current COVID-19 environment.
When opposing a legislative proposal, you should not only indicate your opposition but also state your reasons why! It is an appropriate courtesy to extend to the sponsor.
As elected county board members you expect your constituents to express the basis of their opposition or support. We should extend the same to members of the Illinois General Assembly.
Illinois law provides that the minimum wage will increase gradually to $15 by 2025, with the first increase from $8.25 to $9.25 having gone into effect on January 1, 2020. On July 1, 2020, the minimum wage will increase to $10.00, followed by one-dollar increases on January 1st each year until it hits $15 in 2025.
Prevailing Wage UPDATE (December 6, 2021-Public Act 102-0332)
Prevailing Wage Database Available for Public to Monitor Wages Paid on Projects
Effective January 1, 2022, the Illinois Department of Labor will be responsible for maintaining a database that allows the public to search certified payrolls submitted by construction contractors on public works projects subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act.
(May 2019) Amendments to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act made by Public Act 100-1177 became effective on June 1, 2019. Some of the changes to the Act can be found in this May 23, 2019 Prevailing Wage Update prepared by UCCI Legal Counsel.
All prevailing wage information can be found on the Illinois Department of Labor’s website. https://www2.illinois.gov/idol/Laws-Rules/CONMED/Pages/prevailing-wage-act.aspx.
You will note on the Department of Labor's website, how they post the prevailing wage rates has changed from fixed text on a page to an interactive table.
Illinois Law Prohibits Employers from Asking for Wage History (October 2019)
Pursuant to Public Act 101-0177, the Illinois Equal Pay Act bans employers and employment agencies from asking about applicants’ past wage and compensation histories.
This law became effective on September 29, 2019.
Employers can be penalized for asking the applicant or the applicant’s current or former employers for wage or salary history. Employers are reminded to review their employment applications to make sure they do not ask for salary and wage history. They should also train those involved in hiring on this law.
For more information you may contact the Illinois Department of Labor at the Equal Pay Hotline 866-372-4365.
'CONNECT ILLINOIS' News & Updates
Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Development
Broadband USDA/e-Connectivity@USDA
Resources for Rural America
DCEO/Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Newsletter
Federal Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to Launch by May 1
February 22, 2021 'Amidst a Winter Freeze'
January 25, 2021 'Seizing the Broadband Moment'
January 11, 2021 'New Data on Illinois' Digital Divide
December 21, 2020
December 7, 2020
November 23, 2020 "Illinois' Digital Equity Push'
2020 U.S. Census … Your Response Matters
The Census is more than a population count.
It's an opportunity to shape your community's future.
Counting every person living in the United States is a massive undertaking, and efforts begin years in advance.
2020 CENSUS RESULTS for Illinois by County
Click here to learn more
Census Bureau Intergovernmental Affairs Updates
New Statistics Available from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Last Revised 3-18-22)
What can you Learn About Counties from the American Community Survey (3-17-22)
Census Bureau to Release 2020 Census Data Quality Results (2-17-22)
The Census Bureau will release the first set of results from the 2020 Post-Enumeration Survey (PES) along with additional results from the 2020 Demographic Analysis (DA) estimates on March 10, 2022.
The purpose of the PES is to measure the accuracy of the census by independently surveying a sample of the population. The survey estimates the proportion of people and housing units potentially missed or counted erroneously in the census.
America Counts Releases State Data Profiles (8-25-21)
Adapting the American Community Survey Amid COVID-19 (6-8-21)
Quality Assessments for 2020 Census (12-9-20)
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) ... Impacting County Boards
As our state and our country continue with lingering effects of COVID, it is best for County Boards to be familiar with the guidelines and adjust accordingly to specific scenarios as they arise.
Get the latest Federal, State and Local Government COVID-19 information here.