Updated on June 28, 2022, to reflect Governor's bill actions.

The 102nd Illinois General Assembly completed its work for the spring on Saturday, April 9, 2022. The Senate adjourned at 3:22 a.m. and was followed by the House at 6:09 a.m. 

An early adjournment, almost two months prior to the usual May 31 adjournment date, allows legislators to focus on their re-election campaigns ahead of the June 28 primary election.

During the 2022 spring legislative session, over 2,600 bills were filed compared to the over 7,000 bills filed in 2021. This excludes resolutions and proposed constitutional amendments. Several bills introduced in 2021 were also considered during the spring. 

ISACo took official positions of support or opposition on legislation 115 times during the 2022 spring session. 

This report provides a general overview of the more consequential and relevant legislation approved during the second year of the 102nd General Assembly. ISACo will soon publish our complete list of bills approved by both chambers as well as supplemental materials that provide additional information about approved legislation of interest to counties.

ISACo will continue advocating in support of ISACo-introduced legislation with the intent of advancing those bills later this year.

State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2023 Budget

The House and Senate worked through the night on Friday and into the early morning hours on Saturday to debate and approve the SFY 2023 budget prior to adjournment.

The SFY 2023 state budget appropriates $46.5 billion in spending and anticipates revenue collections of $46.53 billion. Higher than expected state tax revenues along with a significant infusion of federal COVID-19 relief dollars has resulted in the SFY 2023 state budget possibly being the first truly balanced budget in almost 25 years. The bills are as follows:

HB 900 (Speaker Welch, D-Westchester/Senator Sims, D-Chicago) is the appropriation bill. Signed into law as P.A. 102-0698.

HB 4700 (Representative Harris, D-Chicago/Senator Sims, D-Chicago) is the Budget Implementation (BIMP) bill. Signed into law as P.A. 102-0699.

SB 157 (Senator Hastings, D-Frankfort/Representative Zalewski, D-Riverside) is a revenue omnibus package that includes the following tax relief provisions, none of which will negatively impact local tax collections:

• A temporary, six-month suspension (July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022) of the state’s scheduled inflationary increase of Motor Fuel Tax (MFT). 
• A sales tax holiday on school supplies (August 5, 2022, through August 14, 2022).
• A temporary, one-year suspension of the sales tax on groceries, but not pharmaceuticals. The bill includes reimbursements for local units of government from the newly-created Grocery Tax Replacement Fund.
• A one-time property tax rebate of up to $300 for specified taxpayers and a one-time income tax rebate of $50 for single filers, $100 for joint filers, with an additional $100 for each dependent (up to three dependents) for certain taxpayers based on their adjusted gross income.

Signed into law as P.A. 102-0700.

Counties Benefit from Modest LGDF Increase - ISACo Priority Issue!

The county share of Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) revenue as a percentage of state income tax collections will increase from 6.06% of individual income tax collections to 6.16%. While this modest increase is well below the official 8% target sought this year by ISACo and our municipal partners in the LGDF coalition, the additional revenue is welcome and ISACo appreciates its inclusion within the SFY 2023 state budget.

ISACo will continue to work with our coalition partners to restore LGDF distributions to the full 10% received by counties and municipalities at the beginning of 2011. ISACo has prepared more information about LGDF in a Policy Brief.

Anti-Crime Legislation Approved

Criminal activity is on the rise and will be a significant issue during the 2022 election. The General Assembly debated several policies intended to address rising crime. Several of these policies were included in the following legislation approved by both chambers:

HB 1091 (Representative Buckner, D-Chicago/Senator Glowiak-Hilton, D-Western Springs) would create the Illinois Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act. Requires online marketplaces to collect and disclose to consumers contact and other information about high-volume third-party sellers. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Creates the offense of organized retail crime. Defines the offense and establishes penalties. Provides that a retail mercantile establishment that is a victim of a violation of retail theft, organized retail crime, financial institution fraud or related offenses or looting shall have certain rights. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0757.

HB 1568 (Representative Vella, D-Rockford/Senator Martwick, D-Chicago) would amend the Law Enforcement Intern Training Act to require the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board to collaborate with the Illinois Community College Board and the Board of Higher Education to create a report with recommendations to the General Assembly for establishing minimum requirements for credits that may transfer from public institutions of higher education to satisfy the requirements of law enforcement and correctional intern courses. The bill also includes provisions amending the Department of Revenue Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Counties Code, the Illinois Gambling Act, the Unified Code of Corrections, and the Probation and Probation Officers Act requiring programs to be established for specified officers, investigators, agents, and employees who are retiring in good standing to purchase specified badges or service firearms. Effective immediately, except that Section 15 takes effect January 1, 2023. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0719.

HB 1321 (Representative LaPointe, D-Chicago/Senator Hastings, D-Frankfort) establishes a First Responder Mental Health Grant Program Act. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0911.

HB 3699 (Representative Delgado, D-Chicago/Senator Martwick, D-Chicago) provides grants and financial support to assist in the identification, apprehension and prosecution of hijackers and the recovery of hijacked and stolen motor vehicles. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0904.

HB 3772 (Representative Delgado, D-Chicago/Senator Aquino, D-Chicago) would provide protection for persons victimized by carjackings who receive red light or speed camera violations subsequent to the vehicle being stolen. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0905.

HB 4383 (Representative Buckner, D-Chicago/Senator Collins, D-Chicago) would provide that it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, offer to sell or transfer an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm, including those produced using a three-dimensional printer, unless the party purchasing or receiving the unfinished frame or receiver or unserialized firearm is a federal firearms importer, federal firearms manufacturer or federal firearms dealer. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0889.

HB 4736 (Representative Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria/Senator Peters, D-Chicago) would create the Crime Reduction Task Force and instructs the Task Force to develop and process policies and procedures to reduce crime in Illinois. The bill requires the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) to establish a grant program for organizations and units of local government to create an anonymous tip hotline. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0756.

The following bill was approved by the House of Representatives but was not considered in the Senate prior to adjournment:

SB 2364 (President Harmon, D-Oak Park/Representative Slaughter, D-Chicago) includes technical modifications to the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity - Today (SAFE-T) Act. Several effective dates within the original law would be delayed by this bill. (Under Review) 

Highlighted Legislation of County Interest

HB 3138 (Representative Hernandez, D-Cicero/President Harmon, D-Oak Park) would create the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022. The bill divides the 3rd, 7th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 22nd judicial circuits and the Cook County judicial circuit into subcircuits. It also amends the Circuit Courts Act to provide that, on and after December 2, 2024, the Circuit of Cook County is divided into 20 subcircuits and, beginning in 2031, the General Assembly shall, in the year following each federal decennial census, redraw the boundaries of the subcircuits to reflect the results of the most recent federal decennial census. Includes other provisions. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0693.

HB 4489 (Representative Hoffman, D-Swansea/Senator Bennett, D-Champaign)  would amend the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) to provide that the requirements established under the Act do not apply to awards, including capital appropriated funds, made by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to units of local government for the purposes of transportation projects utilizing State funds, federal funds or both State and federal funds. (Support) Signed into law as P.A. 102-1092.

HB 4772 (Representative McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills/Senator McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods) would create the County Design-Build Authorization Division in the Counties Code to provide that a county may enter into design-build contracts. Nothing in the Act prohibits counties from using a Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) process. (Support) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0954.

HB 5184 (Representative Kifowit, D-Aurora/Senator Wilcox, R-McHenry) makes several changes to the Veterans' Assistance Commission (VAC) law by establishing minimum funding levels, specifying that county boards can impose a separate levy for VAC funding and reducing VAC oversight by county boards. (Opposed) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0732.

SB 829 (Senator Morrison, D-Deerfield/Representative Stuart, D-Edwardsville) would amend the Election Code to require the State Board of Elections to provide a certified remote accessible vote by mail system for the General Election of November 8, 2022 and all subsequent elections, through which a vote by mail ballot can be delivered by electronic transmission to voters with print disabilities and through which voters with print disabilities are able to mark and verify their ballots using assistive technology. The bill further provides that election authorities shall permit voters with a print disability to receive and mark their vote by mail ballots (i) through that certified remote accessible vote by mail system or (ii) through a certified remote accessible vote by mail system provided by the election authority. (No Position) Signed into law as P.A. 102-0819.

DROP Legislation Stopped

An amendment was placed onto HB 1568 in the House during the final week of session that would have created a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) for participants within the Sheriff's Law Enforcement Personnel (SLEP) within the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF). DROP plans allow employees to accumulate pension distributions while still working and can create significant costs for employers. The bill with the DROP provision was quickly approved by the House despite the absence of an actuarial study to determine the cost. ISACo continued to advocate against the bill and the DROP provision was removed from the bill in the Senate. HB 1568 was ultimately approved by both chambers without the objectionable DROP provision.   

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