This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter includes 2025 Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) estimates, makes county officials aware of an upcoming webinar about the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA), announces the appointment of James Jennings as Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director, includes information on the Illinois Special Bridge Program, reports on upgrades made to the Bright Start 529 College Savings Program, conveys that the Home Illinois Workforce Pilot Program received funding, shares what ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, announces upcoming Public Surplus and National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partnership with the Illinois State Treasurer's Office and invites counties to join ISACo.
SFY 2025 PPRT Estimates
In case you missed our initial report from August 26, the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) Fiscal Year 2025 Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) allocations are estimated at $2.016 billion. This is a decrease from Fiscal Year 2024 PPRT allocations that totaled $2.991 billion.
A detailed listing of the approximate 6,500 local taxing districts entitled to receive an allocation for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025) is available via this link.
ISACo has prepared a Policy Brief (available via this link) with additional information about PPRT.
Paid Leave for All Workers Act Webinar
IDOL is hosting a webinar about the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA). The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. CST. Additional information is available via this link. Individuals with questions or comments may contact IDOL by email at DOL.PaidLeave@illinois.gov.
As a reminder, the Paid Leave for All Workers Act became effective on January 1, 2024, and applies to every employee working for an employer in Illinois but excludes independent contractors. The City of Chicago and Cook County have an existing paid sick leave ordinance in place and employees and employers in those jurisdictions will be subject to their ordinances. The law also exempts employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement in the construction and parcel delivery industries.
ISACo has a resource page (available via this link) with information about the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.
James Jennings Appointed as IEPA Director
On September 13, 2024, Governor JB Pritzker announced the appointment of James Jennings, environment professional and policy expert, as the next director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) pending Senate approval. James Jennings began serving as Interim Director in July.
Additional information is available via this link.
Illinois Special Bridge Program
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (available via this link) for the Illinois Special Bridge Program (ISBP). This announcement addresses the SFY 2030 local increment, as IDOT develops its SFY 2026 through SFY 2031 proposed Highway Improvement Program. The program provides funding for the construction and construction-related engineering of local public agency bridges that are estimated to cost more than $1,000,000. The deadline to apply is Friday, October 11, 2024.
Upgrades for the Bright Start 529 College Savings Program
Families with a Bright Start College Savings Program (Bright Start 529) will soon pay lower fees, gain access to low-cost, high-quality investments and manage their accounts on a new phone app, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced on Thursday, September 12, 2024.
The changes will go into effect September 30 as TIAA, one of the largest and most widely recognized program managers of 529 college savings plans, takes over as Bright Start 529 program manager. TIAA is a pioneer in 529 college savings plans. The agreement marks the largest new plan mandate in the history of TIAA's Education Savings business, follows a competitive proposal process and speaks to TIAA's state-focused approach.
The press release is available via this link.
Home Illinois Workforce Pilot Program Receives Funding
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) awarded more than $6 million in grant funding to four recipients through the Home Illinois Workforce Pilot Program. This program is a partnership between DCEO, the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) and the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and is funded through the Illinois Job Training and Economic Development Program (JTED).
The list of recipients and press release is available via this link.
What We're Reading
A Year After End of Cash Bail, Early Research Shows Impact Less Than Many Hoped or Feared (Capitol News Illinois)
This New Satellite Could Help Cities and Towns Contain Methane Emissions (Governing)
‘People who should be held are being held’: Pretrial Fairness Act Marks First Year this Week (Daily Herald)
What Did States Do With Their Budget Surpluses? (Governing)
Governor Pritzker Announces James Jennings as Next Director of Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Governor J.B. Pritzker's Office)
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:
- October 10, 2024, at 2 pm CST
- October 22, 2024, at 3 pm CST
Please contact Member Services and Communications Manager Tiffani Homer at thomer@isacoil.org to sign up for the webinar.
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.
Serve Your Constituents Through Better Cybersecurity
(Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)
In today’s world, cybersecurity is a critical component of effective governance and risk management. Join NACo and Celerium on September 17 at 1 PM ET for an informative webinar tailored for county governments on how they can serve their constituents through better cybersecurity.
This session will provide an overview of strategies and best practices to enhance your county’s cybersecurity and risk management posture. Learn how to proactively address the unique challenges faced by local government entities, including protecting citizen information and mitigating emerging threats.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Help Employees Protect Their Retirement Income when It Matters Most
(Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)
When it comes to retirement investments, your employees may need help choosing the right thing at the right time. Join Nationwide and NACo EDGE for this September 18 webinar to learn how you can help savers stay on track for retirement by offering automatic features that deliver in-plan lifetime income.
Can’t wait for the webinar? Learn more at our resource hub at nrsforu.com. You can also enjoy this quick read and watch a 2-minute video in Nationwide's nrsforu.com newsroom to learn more about helping employees be more confident in their retirement planning.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
State Funding for County Behavioral Health Crisis Services: Examples and Opportunities
(Thursday, September 26, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)
State support can be pivotal for counties pursuing the sustainability and expansion of their local behavioral health crisis services and infrastructures. In this webinar, speakers will explore examples of state-funded initiatives that bolster county-level behavioral health crisis services. This session will share lessons learned from two different counties that have successfully navigated state funding opportunities to enhance their crisis response systems. Participants will gain insights into the potential avenues for securing and utilizing state funds, learn about the challenges and triumphs experienced by county programs, and discover new opportunities to strengthen their local behavioral health services.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
NACo Cyberattack Simulation: Financial Access
(Monday, Sept. 23 - Friday, September 27, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)
Financial transaction systems are prime targets for cyber threats due to the value and sensitivity of the data. This cyber simulation assesses risks and fortifies safeguards within financial access systems. The simulation involves breaches from unauthorized access to financial systems, often obtained through what seem to be legitimate contacts, but in reality, are not. The simulation seeks to foster a comprehensive understanding of the complexities inherent in securing financial access to systems, enabling the development and testing of proactive strategies to mitigate cyber risks effectively. Insights derived from this simulation will empower institutions to fortify their cybersecurity posture, implement stringent controls, bolster incident response capabilities, and proactively defend against evolving cyber threats targeting financial infrastructure.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office provides treasury management services for local governments to conduct business safely and efficiently. The Illinois Funds is a $19 billion local government investment pool servicing 1,500 local and state participants, ePAY offers competitively priced payment processing options. The office also offers free cybersecurity training and encryption technologies to our participants.
Click here to learn more about the Illinois State Treasurer's Office.
Become an ISACo Member!
Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?
ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.
ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.
Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.
If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Member Services and Communication Manager Tiffani Homer at (217) 679-3368 or thomer@isacoil.org. ISACo member counties are listed here. Thank you for your consideration.