This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter provides a link to ISACo's 2024 spring legislative session resource page, announces the opening of the U.S. headquarters for an electric vehicle (EV) plant in Illinois, highlights recipients of the Natural Area Stewardship Grant Award, shares the Illinois employment rates for the month of August, makes county officials aware of the rise in unlicensed dental care in the state, shares what ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, announces upcoming Public Surplus and National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner United Healthcare and invites counties to join ISACo.

2024 Spring Legislative Session Resource Page

ISACo provides a resource page that includes informative and helpful reports about the 2024 spring legislative session. The following information is available via this link.

• End-of-Session Summary Report
• Public Acts Report: Legislation of Interest to Counties in 2024
• 2024 State Mandates Report
• Local Grocery Sales Tax Authority Policy Brief

Questions about legislation can be directed to Legislative Advocacy and Research Manager Nekya Hall at nhall@isacoil.org. 

EV Manufacturer Announces Opening of U.S. Headquarters in Illinois

Ymer Technology, a manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) components for the heavy equipment industry, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Lake County Partners and the Village of Buffalo Grove, announced the grand opening of its new U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove. The company’s $5.7 million investment, bolstered by a Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) agreement, will enable Ymer Technology to produce cooling technology and thermal management systems for EVs while supporting Illinois’ clean energy economy.

The press release is available via this link.

Nearly $1 million for Natural Areas Stewardship Grants Awarded

On September 19, 2024, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced nearly $1 million in grants to support 14 stewardship programs managed by land trusts on land protected by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC).

The list of recipients and press release is available via link. 

Illinois Employment Rates in August 

On September 19, 2024, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced that nonfarm payrolls were up +800 while the unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 5.3 percent in August, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. The July monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +12,900 to +10,300 jobs, while the revised unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, unchanged from the preliminary July unemployment rate. The August payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

The press release is available via this link. 

Campaign Launched to Fight Unlicensed Dental Care in the State

In response to a troubling rise in reported unlicensed dental practices across the state, the Illinois State Dental Society (ISDS) and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations (IDFPR) have joined forces to launch a collaborative campaign urging the public to seek dental care only from licensed dentists.

The campaign ‘Fake Dentist, Real Risk – Verify Before You Trust’ aims to educate Illinois residents about the serious dangers posed by unlicensed dentists. It promotes verifying dental licenses and provides easy-to-use tools and resources for reporting unlicensed activities. This initiative comes in response to multiple reports of unlawful dental practices by unlicensed practitioners, which have resulted in harm to patients – from fake braces and chipped teeth to permanent damage and infections.

The press release is available via this link. 

What We're Reading

More Illinois Schools Hiring Teachers After Big Investment from the State Data Shows (WTHI) 

Chicago’s Transit Authority Looks to AI-Powered Gun Detection to Help Curb Violent Crime (American City and County) 

AOL’s Founder Predicted a Midwest Tech Hub: A Decade Later, Illinois’ Quantum Ecosystem is Fulfilling the Prophecy (Quantum Insider)

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.  

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. 30 - Friday, October 4, 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. 

A Better Path to Priority-Based Budgeting: How Do We Get There and What’s the Payoff?

(Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Seeking to modernize budgeting, local governments are looking to priority-based budgeting to enable budget decisions that relate directly to their priorities and save money. This session will explore the steps toward priority-based budgeting, obstacles, and payoffs.

After an overview of priority-based budgeting and its benefits, a public sector budgeting expert and a Collier County, Florida, commissioner will explore best practices for implementing this new budgeting approach.

While local governments want the benefits of program- and priority-based budgeting, they often lack the resources to undertake the process. Speakers will discuss how AI modeling technology offers a solution to reduce the program budgeting lift significantly. Attendees will learn how AI modeling can analyze huge data sets to make logical connections and discover patterns in the data to predict programs – including inventory, costs, and scores.

Collier County will share real-world insight into how priority-based budgeting can surface innovations for how programs are funded, resources can be freed up and reallocated, and spending can be optimized to support community priorities.

Upon completion of this session, participants will:

- Recognize the critical steps involved in implementing priority-based budgeting.
- Know how to leverage machine learning and AI to streamline translating existing budget data into actionable program data, mitigating a primary obstacle to enacting priority-based budgeting.
- Understand how to use priority-based budgeting to further the mission of local government while saving money.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Unlock the Power of CJCCs: Responsive Policies Through Community Engagement

(Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

Active community collaboration is crucial for shaping county operations and policy priorities. Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCCs) are one approach to ensure that community members are involved in county governance. Many counties form CJCCs to identify systemic challenges and work across stakeholders to guide local policy to improve public safety.

In this webinar, NACo explores how ongoing and consistent community engagement enhances the impact of CJCCs and how these bodies can serve as effective tools for county leaders to actively involve their residents. Learn from real-world examples and discover strategies to create a more responsive and inclusive criminal legal system.

Unlock the Power of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils is NACo’s series on how counties can develop and leverage CJCCs to more effectively administer and strengthen their criminal legal system. Learn more at NACo’s CJCC Resource Hub.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Pre-Proposal Content Webinar for 2025 NACo Technology Innovation Forum

(Monday, October 7, 2024, 12:00pm-12:45pm CST)

This 45-minute webinar will provide an overview of the process for submitting content for the 2025 Legislative Conference Technology Innovation Forum (formerly CIO Forum). 
 
Proposed Theme:

• Risk Management in a Digital World
• OR Empowering Leaders: Navigating Technology Risks in County Government

Subtopics that can be covered:

• Managing risk in general - strategies including cost benefit analysis of deciding on the level of risk a county is willing/able to accept
• ADA Compliance - Websites, electronic documents, adaptive technologies, regulations, upcoming legislation, etc.
• FOIA/Public Records - Records retention, response timeliness and completeness, redaction, compliance, etc.
• Investigations - Employee primarily, policy allowing review of content created by personnel, access to personal drives and email accounts, network and web activity, etc.
• Resilience – How to respond to technology crises (cyber and other)
• Reputation - Managing organizational image and communications in times of crisis
• Human Resources – the human factor in technology risk management
• Insurance – Cyber Insurance
• Contractual Terms and conditions – general legal technology, cyber clauses
• Federal and state obligations - HIPAA, CJIS and Technology
• IoT risk – best practices around managing the risk of various devices (cameras, HVAC, etc)

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

AI in County Government: Today's Impact and Tomorrow's Potential

(Tuesday, October 8, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

Join NACo for a 1-hour roundtable discussion where county leaders discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in county government services – both now and tomorrow. The speakers will cover strategies to overcome barriers to entry, share real county use cases, and explore the challenges of integrating AI. They'll also highlight emerging technologies and how county governments can start building a strong foundational understanding of AI before planning future investments.

Key takeaways:

• Learn about the barriers to implementing AI and hear how counties have overcome obstacles.
• Discover AI use cases that are enhancing county service delivery and the challenges faced along the way.
• Get insights into emerging technologies and how to take the next steps to exploring how AI can impact your county.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Think Outside the Box: Coal Communities Embracing New Roles to Spark Economic Development

(Thursday, October 10, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Coal-impacted counties are taking on new roles to promote economic development in their communities. Join the BRECC National Network this October to learn how counties are stepping into innovative sectors and pursuing unique projects to diversify their local economy. This learning session will spotlight inspiring projects on engaging community members, growing industry clusters, and addressing housing challenges.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.