This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter welcomes Williamson County as our newest member, links to a model resolution concerning reapportioning county board districts, provides an update on ISACo initiatives approved by the Senate, includes a list of bills of interest to counties that were approved by the House or Senate last week, provides links to helpful ISACo resource pages, announces cyberattack simulation training opportunities, shares information about upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) webinars, spotlights ISACo corporate partner 2im Group and invites counties to join ISACo.

ISACo is pleased to welcome Williamson County as our newest member! Learn more about ISACo membership here.

ISACo Model Resolution Urging Assistance with County Board Reapportionment 

ISACo has drafted a model resolution for county boards to consider approving to build support among state legislators to assist counties in reapportioning county board districts despite the delay in receiving federal census data. The resolution can be approved as drafted or customized accordingly. 

Two ISACo Initiatives Approved by State Senate, Advance to House

Two of the bills from ISACo's Illinois County Action Program (ICAP) were approved by the Senate and will next be considered in the House.

SB 501 (Senator DeWitte/Representative Wheeler) would remove the requirement that counties rename townships with duplicate names unless the similarly named townships are located within the same county. 

SB 1595 (Senator Holmes/Representative Evans) would require that a county board chair and vice chair be elected by a majority of the board when those offices are elected by the board and would create consistency in the statute concerning filling vacancies in the position of county board chair. 

Bills of Interest that Passed the House or Senate Last Week

The deadline to pass House bills out of the House and Senate bills out of the Senate was last Friday, April 23. Some legislation remaining in the chamber of origin may receive deadline extensions. 

House Bills

HB 34 - Enterprise Zone Eligibility (Support)

HB 53 - Video Interview Demographic (No Position)

HB 68 - Hospitals - Female Deaths (No Position)

HB 118 - Wage Theft - Damages Amount (No Position)

HB 162 - Local Government Consolidation - 10 Years (No Position)

HB 282 - State's Attorney - Legal Opinion (No Position)

HB 369 - Minors - Juvenile Court - Probate (No Position)

HB 396 - Vehicle Code - Overweight Permits (No Position) 

HB 398 - Complete Streets Act (Support)

HB 417 - Pension Code - Forest Preserve - Tax Levy (Support)

HB 453 - Property Tax - Vendor Report (No Position)

HB 633 - Vegetable Garden Protection (Oppose)

HB 813 - Grade Crossing Protection (No Position)

HB 1765 - Open Meetings - Background Check (No Position)

HB 1916 - IDOT - Construction Notification (No Position)

HB 2380 - Utilities Repeal Extension (No Position)

HB 2379 - Small Wireless Facility - Repeal (No Position) 

HB 2427 - Public Defender - Task Force (No Position)

HB 2433 - Nursing Homes - Complaints (No Position)

HB 2454 - County/Municipality Permit Relief  (Support)

HB 2589 - Substance Abuse Disorder - Opioids (No Position)

HB 2590 - IMDMA - Marriage Certificates (No Position)

HB 2643 - Local CURE Program - Funding Flexibility (Support)

HB 2806 - Local Volunteer Board Members (Support)

HB 2863 - Highway Code - Appeals - Equipment (No Position)

HB 2870 - Counties Code - Recorder Fees (Support)

HB 3065 - IDPH - Public Health Emergencies (Under Review)

HB 3138 - Courts - Security Officers (No Position)

HB 3160 - Forest/Conservation - Design - Build  (Support)

HB 3195 - Equitable Restrooms - All Gender (No Position)

HB 3277 - Juvenile Court - Appointed Special Advocate (Under Review)

HB 3289 - Property Tax - Homestead Exemption (No Position)

HB 3355 - Controlled Sub - Opioid<18 (No Position)

HB 3445 - Opioid Overdose Reduction (No Position)

HB 3474 - Pension Code - IMRF Board of Directors (No Position)

HB 3513 - Juvenile Court and Code of Corrections - Youth Centers (No Position)

HB 3592 - IDPH - Medical Examiner Offices (No Position)

HB 3595 - Juvenile Court - DCFS Assessment (Support)

HB 3596 - Controlled Substances - Opioids (No Position)

HB 3666 - Nursing Home Care - Transfer (No Position)

HB 3739 - Lead Service Line Replacement (No Position)

HB 3767 - Juvenile Court - Age of Detention (No Position)

HB 3793 - Juvenile Court - DCFS - Visitation Ban (No Position)

HB 3881 - Hazardous Materials - Local Road (Under Review)

HB 3886 - Juvenile Court - Media Access to Minor (Under Review)

HB 3922 - State Holiday - Juneteenth (No Position) 

HB 3956 - Circuit Court Clerk Regulation (Under Review)

Senate Bills

SB 134 - Local Journalism Task Force (No Position)

SB 135 - Sheriff - Commencement of Duties (No Position)

SB 140 - Treasurer - Clerk and Record Fees (Under Review)

SB 170 - Vegetable Garden Protection (Oppose)

SB 273 - Public Funds - Authorized Invest (No Position)

SB 337 - Courts - Security Officers (No Position)

SB 481 - Courts - Fees - Various (Under Review) 

SB 508 - Property Tax Extension Limitation Law - Aggregate Extension (No Position)

SB 561 - PFAS Reduction (No Position)

SB 583 - FOIA - Clerk of Court (No Position)

SB 626 - Criminal and Traffic Assessment - Credit (No Position)

SB 642 - Clerks of Courts - Payments (Support)

SB 651 - Juvenile Court - Venue - Transfer (Under Review)

SB 664 - Enterprise Zone Certification (No Position) 

SB 825 - Branch Polling Place - County Jail (No Position)

SB 826 - Township Code - County Board (No Position)

SB 1552 - Juvenile Court - Information (No Position)

SB 1595 - Counties - Chair and Vice - Chair (Support)

SB 1650 - Line of Duty Claim Deadline (No Position)

SB 1681 - Line of Duty - Probation Officer (No Position) 

SB 1691 - Property Tax - Veterans (No Position)

SB 1721 - Property Tax - Delinquent Property (Support)

SB 1750 - Property Tax - Disabled Veteran Exemption (No Position)

SB 1776 - Property Tax - Taxing Districts (No Position)

SB 1842 - Controlled Substances - Opioids (No Position)

SB 1845 - Property Tax - Notice (No Position)

SB 1965 - State Holiday - Juneteenth (No Position)

SB 1975 - Property Tax - Homestead - Disabilities (No Position)

SB 2192 - GATA - Applicability (Support)

SB 2194 - Juvenile Court - Permanency Goal (No Position)

SB 2201 - Local - Industrial Residential Buildings (Oppose)

SB 2244 - Property Tax - Senior Freeze - Income (Oppose)

SB 2270 - Nursing Homes - Behavior Manage (No Position)

SB 2278 - Counties Code - Public Safety (Oppose)

SB 2356 - Open Meetings - Session Minutes (No Position)

SB 2506 - Counties - Clerk - Technology (Support)

SB 2522 - Quick - take: Moultrie County (No Position)

SB 2553 - Local Official Vacancy Posting (No Position)

ISACo Resource Pages

For the convenience of county officials and staff, ISACo has created resource pages on our website for the aggregation of information about the State and Local Fiscal and Recovery Funds and COVID-19 Vaccinations. Please visit these pages for updated information.

NACo Cyberattack Simulations 

In response to the growing threat landscape and complexity of the interdependent and networked business of counties, the NACo County Tech Xchange is partnering with the Professional Development Academy and their community of CISOs, CIOS, risk managers and cyber leaders to launch cyberattack simulation training.

The NACo Cyberattack Simulation is a reality-based simulation that prepares county risk leaders for cyberattacks by assessing counties' current state of readiness and identifying gaps. This simulation will help attendees evaluate their incident response procedures and tools and guide them in developing a detailed cyberattack response strategy.

Enrollment is free for NACo member counties. Additional information is available here.

Upcoming NACo Webinars

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities:

Enhancing Workplace Skills That Match Local Industry Needs

(Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 12pm-1pm CST)

County leaders are partnering with post-secondary education institutions, local businesses and workforce development boards to identify and develop programming designed to maximize the skillsets needed for local industry jobs. They are using innovative approaches that support both human capital and major industry needs. Local leaders can partner with major corporations and small businesses to expand employment opportunities for residents and support a growing local economy. Learn what your county can do to expand career pathways and strengthen the local economy.

NACo will soon release a Counties Supporting Post-secondary Education Systems and Workforce Opportunities report. The report will be posted on NACo’s website here.

Click on this link to register for this event.

Insights Along the Journey of IT Automation and Modernization

(Thursday, April 29, 2021, 1pm-2pm CST)

Red Hat will share insights on the cost savings of automating and modernization, including several county department examples relevant to human resources, payroll and other departments, and how they can address the larger issues facing your organization to help save time, money and resources.

Click on this link to register for this event.

NACo National Membership Call 

(Thursday, April 29, 2021, 1pm-1:30 CST)

Click on this link to register for this event.

Corporate Sponsor Spotlight

This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with 2im Group. 

2im Group, LLC is a multi-disciplined civil engineering and environmental services firm, specializing in water resource management. Their experience includes working with transportation agencies and private sector clients. 2im Group, LLC strives to recognize their clients’ priorities to ensure project success!

​The project scopes include: Phase I studies, reports, and investigations; Phase II detailed plans, specifications, and engineer’s cost estimates; and Phase III construction engineering services.

​2im Group was established in July 2005 and has a combined personnel experience of over 100 years. Major clients include the Illinois Tollway and Illinois Department of Transportation.

More information about the services provided by 2im Group, LLC 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!