Illinois Insights: An Update from Cozen O’Connor (6/28)

ILLINOIS

Gov. Pritzker takes bill action

Yesterday, Gov. Pritzker signed into law the following five bills:

• HB 1186: Provides that Health Maintenance Organizations are not required to use a referral system for enrollees to access providers under contract with or employed by the health maintenance organization.
• HB 1364: Creates the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Workgroup Act.
• HB3296:  Increases the cap on regulatory fees for Illinois largest credit unions.
• SB 2228: Amends the Personnel Code and other relevant statutes to modernize the Personnel Code by seeking to remove inefficiencies, which delay the hiring process for state employees, and represents an overall clean-up to account for modern hiring practices.
• SB 2379: Extends the deadline of the Counsel in Immigration Proceedings task force report to July 1, 2024.

HB1186 is effective Jan 1, 2024, and all the other bills are effective immediately.

AROUND THE STATE 

— Gov. Pritzker Signs Legislation Authorizing a State-Based Marketplace for Health Insurance, Rate Review: “Governor JB Pritzker was joined by state and local officials as he signed legislation authorizing a new state-based marketplace (SBM) for Illinois, which gives state agencies additional tools to create a more consumer-focused health insurance exchange and better identify traditionally uninsured communities,” from the Office of Gov. JB Pritzker.

— Illinois Department of Public Health Welcomes Health Equity Champion and Nursing Leader as New Assistant Director: “The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today Governor JB Pritzker’s appointment of Janice Phillips, Ph.D., RN, CENP, FAAN as its new Assistant Director,” from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

— Pritzker addresses coming July 1 tax hikes on groceries, motor fuel: “On July 1, Illinois’ gas tax will undergo its annual increase [roughly three cents per gallon] and the state’s moratorium of [the local 1 percent] grocery tax will expire,” by Capitol Fax.

— Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology to Provide Credit Monitoring and Call Center to Address Global Data Security Attack: “The Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) is establishing a dedicated call center and providing credit monitoring to approximately 390,000 impacted individuals. Notices are starting to be mailed this week to all impacted individuals with information on registering for the credit monitoring,” from the Illinois Department of Information Technology.

— Cook County aims to restart small business grant program it halted after a white business owner sued: “Ten months after announcing but then stalling a grant program to help small businesses that struggled during the pandemic, Cook County is preparing to relaunch the Source Grow Grant program,” by the Chicago Tribune.

— County committees to consider resolution supporting drag, gender-affirming care, hold hearing on juvenile detention facility: “Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners will hold committee meetings Wednesday, during which they will vote on measures to support and protect the LGBTQ+ community and hold hearings on the county juvenile detention facility and systemic concerns with the treatment of gender-based violence survivors,” by The Daily Line.

CHICAGO

President Joe Biden visits Chicago 

President Joe Biden visited Chicago today to give an official speech on the economy and to attend two fundraisers.

In his speech at the newly-restored Old Post Office, Biden touted his administration’s efforts to boost the U.S. economy and put the middle class at the center of “Bidenomics,” a term news outlets have used to describe his approach to a post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

“Guess what? ‘Bidenomics’ is working. When I took office, the pandemic was raging and our economy was reeling. Supply chains were broken. Millions of people unemployed … Today, the U.S. has the highest economic growth rate, leading world economies since the pandemic; the highest in the world. … We created 13.4 million new jobs, more jobs in two years than any President has ever made it. Folks, it’s no accident. ‘Bidenomics’ is about building an economy from the middle-out and the bottom-up, not the top-down,” the president said.

Afterwards, Biden headed to the J.W. Marriott hotel to headline two fundraising luncheons, one hosted by Gov. JB Pritzker for about 200 people and another organized by a group of trial lawyers where about 50 people are expected.

MORE FROM CITY HALL 

— Johnson Administration lays out big picture migrant plan at first of monthly refugee meetings: “From buying supply space and city shelter sites to advocating for long-term change to immigration policies, Chicago grapples with the costs and needs of being a sanctuary city,” by WBEZ.

— Garien Gatewood, Chicago’s New Deputy Mayor for Community Safety, Aims to Transform City’s Approach to Violence: “It will be up to Garien Gatewood, the city’s new deputy mayor for community safety, to make good on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s promise to take a new approach to the surge of crime and violence that took hold in Chicago during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to fully recede,” by WTTW.

— Chicago mayor meets with city’s youth to discuss crime prevention: “Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson met with students from Whitney Young High School and said more money for policing does not stop crime,” by The Center Square.

— NASCAR has downtown-area hotels primed for steady stream of guests: “NASCAR kicks off this weekend but it’s not the only show in town, proving Chicago can absorb the tourism and meeting business,” by the Chicago Sun-Times. 

— Good timing! CTA announces big grant for electric buses: “The agency won a discretionary $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to upgrade a bus-charging facility adjacent to its terminal at 95th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, which serves 16 bus lines that carry 26,000 riders on an average workday,” by Crain’s Chicago Business.

— CPS Board of Education President Miguel del Valle is stepping down ahead of transition to elected school board: “Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle said Wednesday he’s leaving the post this week. Tapped as president by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2019, del Valle announced at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting that it will be his last. His seat on the board expires Friday,” by the Chicago Tribune.

— Chicago officials, residents cope with ‘extreme’ air quality issues in city: “With air quality concerns expected to last at least another day in the Chicago area, city officials are implementing a variety of strategies to help residents until conditions improve,” by NBC 5 Chicago.

FEDERAL

Beltway Briefing: “It’s called government relations for a reason”

Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies’ team of strategic advisers and partners share lobbying tips to be successful on Capitol Hill. Being an expert in your field is only part of the formula, understanding the importance of etiquette, finding common ground, and the interacting spheres of influence, will make or break you inside the beltway.

Featuring: Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer & Rodney Davis.

Listen to the full Beltway Briefing here.

Cozen Currents: Biden Owns Bidenomics

• Former President Trump and the eponymous Trumpism may still be front-and-center, but no less consequential for voters, the economy is the fate of a new eponym in the DC zeitgeist: Bidenomics.
• Interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is scorching hot in both the executive and legislative branches, making AI policy a key area to watch this summer.
• President Biden is in conflict with industry as his administration gears up to distribute billions to build electric vehicle chargers more and more car manufacturers are abandoning.

Read the Cozen Currents article here.

Share

Share this...

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Linkedin