House
Republicans champion legislation to help seniors.
Illinois House Republicans continue to step up to protect and support
the senior community through a series of legislative efforts aimedat enhancing the lives of seniors across the state. Representatives Ryan Spain, Jeff
Keicher, Kevin Schmidt and other House Republican legislators have introduced
and championed bills that address key issues affecting older adults, from
healthcare and housing to financial stability and driver safety.
Rep.
Ryan Spain has long been a vocal advocate for seniors. He has championed
property tax relief, increasing access to transportation, safeguarding
retirement benefits and protecting against exploitation.
“Our
seniors have given so much to our communities, and it’s our duty to ensure
they’re protected and supported,” said Rep. Spain. “We’re committed to passing
legislation that makes a real difference in their lives, from healthcare to
financial security.”
Rep.
Jeff Keicher has taken a stand on a critical issue affecting older drivers in
Illinois.
“Seniors
deserve to live with the respect and dignity they’ve earned,” Rep. Keicher
said. “Our focus is on ensuring they have the resources and support they need
to enjoy their golden years without unnecessary burdens.”
Rep.
Kevin Schmidt has sponsored and co-sponsored several key pieces of legislation
aimed at improving the financial and healthcare security of Illinois seniors,
by reducing property taxes, lowering the cost of groceries, protecting
retirement income and fighting financial exploitation.
“Supporting
our seniors isn’t just about policy—it’s about recognizing their invaluable
contributions and making sure they can live comfortably and securely,” Rep
Schmidt said. “We’re here to stand with them, advocating for their well-being
every step of the way.”
Reps.
Keicher, Spain & Schmidt have also shown strong support for protecting
seniors' financial stability by advocating for HR 24, a resolution that opposes any
taxation on retirement income. This resolution aligns with his commitment to
easing the financial burdens on seniors, allowing them to enjoy their
retirement without additional tax pressures.
Together,
House Republicans are championing legislation that directly addresses the needs
of Illinois seniors. Their collective efforts reflect a shared commitment to
protecting the rights, health, and financial well-being of older adults,
ensuring that they receive the respect and care they deserve in their golden
years.
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENTGeneral
Assembly makes a small, but potentially valuable, change to the job-threatening
Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The BIPA law, enacted in
2008, purports to protect the privacy of an individual’s biometric information
from misuse in Illinois. Biometrics are the biologically unique identifiers
that differentiate each individual human being, including eye and fingerprint
markings. Illinois Democrats have a long record of alliances with law firms
that issue contingent lawsuits for big-money damages. Especially in years that
followed 2008, the BIPA law was interpreted by the courts to grant ‘standing’
to file enormous lawsuits against any business firm in Illinois that had
collected biometric information about its employees, such as using biometric
locks or time clocks.
After some of these lawsuits began to move to trial and massive verdicts,
the Illinois business community began to warn the General Assembly that BIPA
was becoming a deadly threat to job creation and retention. House Republicans
sponsored bills to reduce or eliminate the threats created by BIPA misuse. Many
Democrats, faithful to their alliance with the trial bar, did not want to take
action. Under pressure, the leadership of the House and Senate Democrats partially
gave in. In the 2024 spring session, they allowed a bill to come to the floor
of the House and Senate. As passed by both houses, SB 2979 allowed many of the job-threatening
features of BIPA to remain untouched: trial lawyers will continue to be able to
use BIPA to file big lawsuits. However, SB 2979 also says that if a firm
collects biometric information two or more times from one individual without
explicit permission – as, for example, if a security camera repeatedly takes a
picture of an individual reporting to work, and the same picture is taken every
day – then only one act of alleged damage has
taken place. No plaintiff or
law firm can claim that two or more pictures, or fingerprints, create two or
more episodes of damage for which huge sums of money can be awarded.
Even after passage of SB 2979 and its enactment into law, the
Biometric Information Privacy Act continues to be highly hostile to job
creation and retention in Illinois. Employers and job creators do not face
similar lawsuits in any of the other states that compete with Illinois for
jobs. Firms that use facial recognition, fingerprint-scans, or any of the other
identification methods pinpointed by BIPA continue to be potentially liable for
lawsuits and damages. House Republicans would have preferred a much more
equitable biometric privacy law that would have balanced the interests of
business and labor. Two House Republican bills, HB 2335 (Keicher) and HB 5635 (Keicher) are good examples of what
an equitable BIPA bill looks like. Many
House Republicans voted against the 2024 law because it fell far short of true
BIPA reform.
However, the 2024 law is better than nothing and marks a rare
partial defeat for the trial bar in Illinois. The SB 2979 biometric law
modification statute was signed into law in August 2024.
ENERGYProposed
wind energy high-voltage line, which would pass through Central Illinois, faces
uncertain future. The proposed “Grain Belt Express” transmission
line would be an electricity trunk line similar to the lines already familiar
to Illinoisans that radiate outward from nuclear, gas-fired, and coal-fired
power plants. It has been mapped out to be 800 miles long, carrying electricity
generated by windmills from the Kansas Great Plains to the eastern Midwest,
terminating in Indiana. Its proposed route includes many miles of high-tension
line in Central Illinois. As with other high-tension lines, the belt and towers
would be built on private property throughout almost all its length.
Many Illinoisans do not want new high-tension “green energy”
electricity lines built on or near their properties. Various stories and
questions have been reported and asked about what these lines may do as they
run and operate. Furthermore, an entirely separate question set has been asked
about the financing package behind “Grain Belt Express,” and whether its
developers have lined up the financing needed to construct the line. Under
Illinois law, developers of a high-tension line that will cross private properties
have to prove up their financing and provide detailed data about their customer
base, prior to construction. Among other reasons, this is so that property owners
are not potentially encumbered with an unfinished construction project on their
properties.
The 5th District Illinois appellate court issued a unanimous
decision last week in the case entitled “Concerned Citizens & Property
Owners v. Illinois Commerce Commission,” stating that the proposed “Grain Belt Express” has not yet, as
of August 2024, proved up its financing or future customer base at the level
required to gain the right to build out over private Illinois properties.
Unless this decision is reversed on appeal, this decision could halt further
planning and construction of the line. Nothing in the appellate decision
touched directly on the question of the consumer safety of high-tension lines,
or the desirability of “green energy”; the decision concentrated on the
financing elements of Illinois electricity construction law.
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) was one of the plaintiffs in the
so-far successful “Grain Belt Express” lawsuit. The appellate decision was
published on Friday, August 16.
ENVIRONMENTRep.
Schweizer and bipartisan group of legislators work to protect safe drinking
water. State Representative Brandun Schweizer has filed
HB 5870 to ban any carbon sequestration
activity in and around federally designated Sole Source Aquifers, including the
Mahomet Aquifer. The legislation also prohibits the
Environmental Protection Agency from issuing permits to any applicant that is
knowingly intending to conduct any carbon sequestration activity over any sole
source aquifer.
The
legislation comes after Governor Pritzker signed SB 1289 late last month. The newly
signed law introduces a three-step process to capture, transport, and sequester
carbon. The carbon is captured from high carbon emitting areas and transported
to central and southern parts of the state to be sequestered and stored in pore
storage sites under the rock shale formations. The legislation fails to address
drinking water protections, allowing piping and drilling in and around water
sources, like the Mahomet Aquifer.
“My
biggest concern with the newly signed legislation is the possible drilling in
and around the Mahomet Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to my entire
district and much of east-central Illinois,” said Rep. Schweizer. “I cannot be
supportive of legislation that allows a region to be put at risk with possible
water contamination and sequestration function failures. That is why I filed
legislation in support of safe drinking water, a measure that should have been
taken before the legislation was signed into law.”
Following
the passage of SB 1289, Rep. Schweizer was one of twelve bipartisan, bicameral
legislators that signed a letter that was sent to Gov. Pritzker. The letter emphasized the risks that
carbon sequestration poses to drinking water and asked that injecting carbon
waste through and under the Mahomet Aquifer be banned. Although no response
came from the Governor’s office regarding the bipartisan plea, Rep. Schweizer
remains dedicated to working across the aisle and fighting for stronger water
protections.
Du Quoin State FairThe
Du Quoin State Fair opens on Friday. The
annual Du Quoin State Fair will kick off with a ribbon cutting and Twilight
Parade this Friday, August 23.
Learn about
all the activities, events, and performers at this year’s fair!
The Du Quoin State Fair has announced their
theme
days for 2024.
“Theme days at the Du Quoin State Fair
highlight everything this great fair has to offer,” Rep. David Friess said.
“I’m especially thrilled about how they showcase the importance of agriculture.
A big thank you to everyone at the Du Quoin State Fair for always bringing our
community such exciting summer fun!”
