This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter provides an update from the 2024 National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference, conveys information about the spring legislative session, includes links to newly tracked bills, shares information about Historic Route 66 grant funding, provides current CD and Treasury Rates via ISACo corporate partner IPRIME, announces upcoming NACo and Public Surplus webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner Nationwide and invites counties to join ISACo. 

2024 Illinois Counties Dinner at National Press Club

On February 10, 2024, ISACo and the United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) jointly hosted the Illinois Counties Dinner at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Over 100 county officials and staff attended the successful event. The event was held during NACo’s 2024 Legislative Conference.

During the dinner, Illinois attendees were able to hear from the three candidates vying for election as NACo’s 2nd Vice President. That election will occur during the NACo Annual Conference in July 2024.

ISACo and UCCI would like to thank our guests for attending the Illinois Counties Dinner.

The NACo Legislative Conference provides a multitude of educational sessions and high-level speakers. On Monday, February 12, President Joe Biden addressed the conference.

Illinois county officials and staff are also responsible for sponsoring seven Interim Policy Resolutions that were considered by NACo Policy Committees. Updates about these resolutions will be provided in future ISACo publications.

Illinois is well-represented within NACo leadership. This affords Illinois county officials and staff with opportunities to influence NACo activities and shape federal public policy. A list of Illinois county officials and staff who serve leadership roles within NACo’s governance and policy structure is available via this link. 

2024 Legislative Session Update 

The General Assembly met on February 6-8 for the second week of the 2024 spring legislative session. Session was adjourned for the House and Senate on February 8. Both chambers are scheduled to reconvene from February 20-22. The Governor's Budget Address/State of the State Address will be held on February 21. 

The deadline for filing bills for consideration during the 2024 spring session was Friday, February 9. ISACo staff continues to review all bill introductions to identify bills that either affect or are of interest to counties. These bill will be categorized within our bill tracking system. 

List of Newly Tracked Bills

The following bills have recently been added to ISACo's tracked bill list. If there is no position listed then the bill is still under review by staff. A complete list of ISACo tracked bills is available via this link.

HB 4596 - Paid Leave for All-Employee (No Position)

HB 4598 - Employment-Return to Office

HB 4602 - One Day of Rest-Various

HB 4603 - Veh Cd-Pretextual Stops (Oppose)

HB 4604 - Camera Grant Act-Reports

HB 4612 - Counties Code-Wind Facilities (Support)

HB 4619 - Land Use-Rain & Compost Systems (No Position)

HB 4621 - Pretrial Services

HB 4623 - Sexual Explicit Digital Image (No Position)

HB 4626 - Sch Cd-Students and Officials (No Position)

HB 4627 - PFAS Reduction Act-Registry (No Position)

HB 4630 - Humane Care-Animals-Penalties (No Position)

HB 4631 - Lobbyist Reg-Exemption (No Position)

HB 4632 - SOS-Advance Directive Registry

HB 4633 - Ins-School-Based Health Center (No Position)

HB 4636 - Property Tax-Settlement/Valuation

HB 4638 - Local Parking Regulation Act

HB 4648 - Guaranteed Income Program-Ban (Oppose)

HB 4650 - Higher Ed-Comm Colleges-Misc (No Position)

HB 4655 - Revenue-Megaproject (No Position)

HB 4656 - $DCEO/Kane County State's Atty (Support)

HB 4657 - Property Tax-Housing Abatement

HB 4663 - $Grants-HFS-Behavioral Health

HB 4664 - Medicaid-Comm Mental Health Center

HB 4665 - Mental Health Professional Grant

HB 4666 - $DHS-Mental Health Professionals

HB 4667 - Health-Behavioral Clinic Grant

HB 4673 - Crim Cd-Attempt-1st Deg Murder (No Position)

HB 4678 - Elec Cd-High School Register (No Position)

HB 4679 - $DHS-Mental Health Care (Support)

HB 4680 - Veteran Service Organizations (No Position)

HB 4681 – Firearms & Ammo-Buyback (No Position)

HB 4688 - USE/OCC Tax-Food

HB 4689 - IEMA-Disaster Proclamation (No Position)

HB 4694 - Controlled Sub-Carfentanil (No Position)

HB 4695 - Property Tax-Limitation

HB 4697 - Restores Pre-P.A. 101-652 (No Position)

HB 4702 - PFAS-Monitoring Water Systems

HB 4706 - Mental Health-Death Notice (No Position)

HB 4708 - Public Access-Navigable Waters

HB 4709 - Elec Cd-School Polling Place

HB 4710 - IL Racing Board-Various (No Position)

HB 4715 - Unmanned Aircraft Regulation

HB 4716 - Property Tax-Assessment Limit (Oppose)

HB 4719 - Secure Choice Program-Plans (No Position)

HB 4722 - Priv Party-Vehicle Relocation

HB 4726 - Juv Ct-Excluded Jurisdiction (No Position)

HB 4734 - EPA-Zero Emissions Extension (No Position)

HB 4737 - Joint Purchasing-Ranking

HB 4741 - Medicaid-Safety-Net Hospitals (No Position)

HB 4742 - Organ Donation-Part Time (No Position)

HB 4744 - Voluntary Do Not Sell Firearms (No Position)

HB 4745 - Cd Corr-Discharge-Location (No Position)

HB 4750 - Property Tax-Tax Bill Information (No Position)

HB 4752 - EPA-Lead Pipe-Timeline Extension (No Position)

HB 4753 - Case Review-Homicide Victims (No Position)

HB 4754 - Uniform Crime Report-Homicides (No Position)

HB 4769 - Transportation Proj-Unhoused

HB 4776 - Juv Ct-Sentencing (No Position)

HB 4778 - DHFS-Kids Comm Hlth Cnter-Rate (No Position)

HB 4788 - Elec Code-Deceased Voter (No Position)

HB 4789 - Ins Cd-Dental Preauthorization (No Position)

HB 4794 - Property Tax-Equity (No Position)

HB 4795 - Single-Family Zoning Ban Act

HB 4797 - CDB-Wastewater Regulation (No Position)

SB 2932 - Elec Cd-Elec Worker Harassment (Support)

SB 2938 - Mosquito Abate Dist-Powers (No Position)

SB 2939 - One Day of Rest-Various (No Position)

SB 2941 - Public Hospital-Investment

SB 2945 - Nursing Home-Discharge

SB 2950 - Vets-Mental Hlth Case Manager (No Position)

*An ISACo tracked bill includes bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations, bills that may be of interest to county officials for the performance of their duties and legislation presented "for your information." ISACo positions of "support" or "oppose" are usually reserved for bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations. ISACo also supports member county initiatives that are consistent with ISACo's County Platform. 

Historic Route 66 Receives Grant Funding

On February 7, 2024, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced seven awards, totaling $3.3 million, through the Route 66 Grant Program. This funding is intended to boost local tourism and attract visitors to the historic Route 66, leading up to the 100th Anniversary of Route 66 in 2026.

The press release is available via this link. 

What We're Reading

5 Evacuation Efficiency Planning Tips for Any Scenario (American City and County)

State Supreme Court Denies State Lawmaker’s Bid to Vacate Gun Ban Ruling (Capitol News Illinois)

Current CD and Treasury Rates Provided by IPRIME

The following rates provided by ISACo corporate partner IPRIME are current as of February 12, 2024. Please click on the image below to review the rates. 

Upcoming Public Surplus Webinar Dates

Public Surplus will be offering 20-minute webinar sessions to interested individuals to learn more about Public Surplus and its online auction site. Participants will also be guided on how to register, or re-register to create a new account.

Public Surplus is an online auction platform that offers services to local government agencies.  

ISACo has partnered with Public Surplus to provide large discounts for our county members when it comes to doing online auctions, specifically real estate sales.

Through a partnership with ISACo, Illinois counties are eligible to list items with a reduced buyer's premium, which will encourage competitive bidding on surplus items listed. With Public Surplus, buyers are responsible for all service fees, and it costs counties nothing to use the service.

Public Surplus will also provide a 10 percent rebate to ISACo on each sale so that the Association can continue to offer a high level of service at minimal cost to members.

The webinar will take place on the following dates: 

February 15, 2024, at 1:00pm CST (Link Available Later)

February 26, 2024, at 2:00pm CST (Link Available Later)

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. 

Public Promise Procurement Public Agency People Moving Solutions

(Tuesday, February 20, 2024, 12:30pm-1:00pm CST)

NACo's Public Promise Procurement (PPP) in collaboration with Lead Public Agency Maricopa County, Arizona offers public agencies a fantastic option for procuring the latest in people moving systems and services through the newest competitively-bid cooperative contract awarded to KONE, Inc. During the webinar participants will hear from KONE about their company, capabilities and what is available through the contract. Maricopa County procurement team will provide an overview of the procurement process and contract and PPP will be on hand to provide information about the cooperative purchasing program.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Collaborative Governance for Delivery of Successful Human Services

(Thursday, February 29, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Join NACo’s Technology Xchange initiatives for this collaborative webinar that showcases successful programs in Human Services

The webinar will focus on the use of collaborative governance to improve the outcomes and efficiency of county human service delivery. Collaborative governance provides a structure to support the coordinated delivery of services, bridging the spectrum of health, human and social services, for individuals with intellectual, mental health and/or physical disabilities and children and families involved in the child welfare system. Specific examples will be provided of collaborative governance structures and how those structures have resulted in improved outcomes for individuals and families. Research on the concept will also be discussed.

Audience Key Takeaways

1. Gain a basic understanding of the concept of collaborative governance.

2. Gain a basic understanding of the research supporting the concept of collaborative governance.

3. Understand how the use of cross system data and communication can help to address current barriers in county human services.

4.Learn more about implementation successes in a county delivered human social services system.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

How Franklin County Ohio Modernized Government Experiences (GX) For Staff and Residents Using Low/No

(Thursday, March 14, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Join NACo for an eye-opening webinar as they explore Franklin County, Ohio's journey to solving long-standing challenges. Uncover how they've embraced "Rapid Low-Code Application Development" to become faster and more collaborative and pave the way for smarter governance through iterative solutions.

During the webinar, you'll get to hear firsthand from the team that brought Quickbase to Franklin County. They'll share valuable insights on their collaborative approach, staying ahead in tech, effective prioritization strategies, and the exciting prospects ahead.

Plus, we’ll hear from Quickbase expert Jen Bensi to see some of the macro trends that are impacting government agencies around country and how Quickbase can digitize your public sector data and workflows without compromising your transparency, collaboration, and security.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT 

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.

Click here to learn more about Nationwide.

Become an ISACo Member!