This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter provides an update on Illinois' election results, shares the dates for the upcoming Veto Session, announces the extension of the state's COVID-19 disaster declaration for another 30 days, informs about the extension of a disaster declaration regarding asylum seekers, links to upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, spotlights ISACo's partnership with Nationwide and invites counties to join ISACo.

Illinois Election Recap

The following is an overview of the results of the November 8 elections. Updates will be provided where ballot counts have not been finalized.

Constitutional Offices

Incumbent Governor JB Pritzker (D-Chicago) was re-elected to a second term after defeating his opponent Darren Bailey (R-Louisville). Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton (D-Chicago) was also re-elected as part of the ticket.

Democrat Alexei Giannoulias (D-Chicago) prevailed over State Representative Dan Brady (R-Normal) and will serve as Illinois' next Secretary of State, an office long held by retiring Secretary of State Jesse White (D-Chicago).

Incumbent Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) defeated Greenville Republican Thomas Devore to earn a second term.

Incumbent Comptroller Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) prevailed over Republican McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi and will begin a new term.

Incumbent State Treasurer Michael Frerichs (D-Champaign) defeated State Representative Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) to win another term.

General Assembly

The first election under Illinois' new legislative map saw Democrats retain their House and Senate majorities in the General Assembly. 

As of Friday, November 11, election results showed Democrats leading in two tight races that had yet to be called.

In the State Senate, Senator Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort) held a narrow lead over his Republican challenger. Assuming he prevails in this race, Democrats will have a 40-19 super-majority in the State Senate. This would be a Republican gain of one seat.

In the House, incumbent State Representative Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) was losing to her Democrat challenger. Should this seat flip to the Democrats, the House Democrats will hold a 78-40 super-majority. This would be a Democrat gain of five seats.

Constitutional Amendment

Proponents of the Worker’s Rights Amendment are optimistic they have enough votes for passage, although votes remain to be counted. According to their calculations, while the amendment only received 58.07 percent of votes cast on the measure (60 percent voting on the question is required), the measure has support from 52.83 percent of those voting in the election. The amendment will pass if the latter percentage remains above 50 percent after all ballots are counted.

Congress

Democrats prevailed in 14 of the 17 Illinois Congressional Districts and incumbent Democrat United States Senator Tammy Duckworth prevailed over Republican Kathy Salvi to earn a second term. 

Leadership Changes Forthcoming

Following the election, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (Western Springs) announced that he would not seek another term as Republican Leader. As of this writing, it appears that State Representative Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) has sufficient support to succeed him as House Republican Leader. 

Current Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) is facing a leadership challenge from State Senator John Curran (R-Downers Grove). Senator Curran appears to have the support required to become the Republican Leader in the Senate.

Both Democrat Leaders, House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester) and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) are expected to continue in their leadership roles.

Veto Session 

As previously reported, the 2022 Fall Veto Session is scheduled for November 15–17 and November 29–December 1. Both chambers have already cancelled the session day scheduled for November 17. During the Veto Session, ISACo will be tracking legislation of interest to counties and advocating for counties where necessary.

It is anticipated that a trailer bill with changes to the SAFE-T Act will be considered. As previously reported, ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy sent a letter to the Governor and the Legislative Leaders to identify problems some counties anticipated as a result of the underlying law.  

Another issue expected to be considered is a trailer bill to a law enacted earlier this year concerning funding and authority for Veterans Assistance Commissions. ISACo has been advocating for certain provisions to be included in the trailer bill. These provisions are identified within our September 22 letter to the Office of the Attorney General.

Issues not addressed during the Veto Session are expected to be taken up during the January "lame duck" session or perhaps later during the spring session.

State Disaster Declaration Extended

On November 10, Governor JB Pritzker signed a new Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation that extends the state's COVID-19 disaster declaration for an additional 30 days.

The Governor also issued COVID-19 Executive Order (EO) 2022-22. This EO re-issues several previous COVID-19-related EOs. 

Per P.A. 101-0640, remote meetings remain a permissible option for local governments as long as certain criteria are met. Additional information about this authority is available via this link.

Governor Pritzker Signs Disaster Declaration Regarding Asylum Seekers

On November 10, Governor Pritzker extended a statewide Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation regarding asylum seekers. The proclamation authorizes The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to coordinate with the Governor, other state agencies and local authorities to develop and implement strategies and plans to respond to the impact of asylum seekers.

Upcoming NACo Webinars

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities.

Exploring Digital Transformation as a Key Driver to Modernizing Voting Infrastructure

(Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 12:00pm-1:00pm CDT)

Digital transformation represents a wealth of potential for governments to change how they create value for society and modernize for the future. Taking a project from ideation to reality requires not only leadership and vision, but dedication and resources. This webinar will focus on the transferable elements of a secure digital transformation strategy that can be applied across a wide range of use cases. We’ll explore a digital transformation initiative in depth as applied to elections critical infrastructure, and how LA County reimagined their voting processes through human-centric design principles.

Click on this link to register for the event.

Laying the Foundation: How Recovery Funds Can Build Prosperous Communities for the Next Generation

(Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 2:00pm-3:00pm CDT)

Join us for the final webinar in our 2022 ARPA investment series to learn how counties are fostering vibrant communities through critical investments in the next generation. This webinar will feature county representatives from across the country who will discuss how they are strategically investing ARPA dollars to provide new opportunities and supportive infrastructure for their growing and diverse populations.

Click on this link to register for the event.

FFI Data-Sharing Technology for Behavioral Health & Justice Learning Series: Cloud 9 Infrastructure

(Thursday, November 17, 2022, 1:00pm-1:30pm CDT)

Join NACo and the Familiar Faces Initiative (FFI) for a series of webinars highlighting new technologies that share and integrate data across local behavioral health, health and justice systems. Cross-system data-sharing enables jurisdictions to identify their familiar faces—residents who are cycling through jail, emergency departments, homeless shelters or other crisis services at a high frequency—and better coordinate care to improve outcomes for the highest-needs residents.

Cloud 9 Telehealth Software connects communities’ healthcare, public safety and social services with vital communications and information that facilitate cross agency collaborative care. 

Click on this link to register for the event.

County Strategies for Reducing Maternal Health Disparities

(Thursday, November 17, 2022, 2:00pm-3:00pm CDT)

Counties play a key role in managing the multiple systems that influence maternal health outcomes. Maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the United States have increased in recent years and are much higher compared to rates in other wealthy nations. Systemic inequities greatly contribute to wide disparities in maternal health outcomes – Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes and Native American women are more than twice as likely to die compared to White women.

Women living in rural areas also experience worse maternal health outcomes compared to women living in urban areas. Join this webinar to learn about the available national and local resources and potential strategies counties can use to address the current maternal health crisis and save lives.

Click on this link to register for the event.

Effective County Strategies for Broadband Deployment Projects and Partnerships

(Thursday, November 17, 2022, 2:00pm-4:00pm CDT)

There are a myriad of ways in which counties can get involved in broadband deployment and adoption efforts. Hear from local government experts for our third and final webinar in the Broadband Boot Camp for Counties series on the top strategies for forming strong partnerships, assessing various financial costs, and ensuring local government interests are preserved in all broadband deployment projects.

This Boot Camp webinar series is provided free of charge. Registration is reserved exclusively for NACo members. To learn more about a NACo membership, please click here.

Click on this link to register for the event.

Your E-Mail is Full of Surprises!

(Thursday, November 17, 2022, 3:00pm-4:00pm CDT)

Serge Jorgenson, President of Sylint LLC, will discuss Business Email Compromises (BEC), an ongoing concern for counties of all sizes. What may start out as a single phishing message can quickly evolve into a complex and expensive incident requiring detailed forensics, legal counsel guidance, data mining and notifications. Key points discussed will include the importance of a forensic assessment to pinpoint dates and potentially impacted data, the need for audit logging and how smart data mining can reduce notification complexity and expenses. The focus will be on BEC’s and the (unexpected) data in mailboxes that can trigger costly analysis and response.

Click on this link to register for the event.

CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT 

This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Nationwide.

Over the past 85 years, focusing on customers and valuing people have helped Nationwide become one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world.

Even though Nationwide has dozens of affiliated companies, people are its biggest resource – and its greatest asset in providing excellent customer service to its customers. That's why its Supply Management Services group makes sure agents and associates get the best quality products and services, at the best possible cost. It's also why Nationwide has an Office of Customer Advocacy. 

More information about the services provided by Nationwide is available via this link.

Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.

Become an ISACo Member!