Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday visited the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to sign a law to help boost the quality of distance and online learning programs across Illinois and other states....

“Attending college online is an important educational option more people around the world are pursuing,”  Quinn said. ”Illinois’ higher education institutions have found a willing and world-wide audience for these types of course offerings. This new law makes sure the educational programming offered online out of Illinois maintains the same high quality standards in order to help ensure all students receive a high quality education, regardless of where they live.”

Senate Bill 3441, sponsored by state Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Crest Hill, and state Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Sycamore, authorizes the Illinois Board of Higher Education to make agreements with other states to guarantee distance learning programs maintain common standards and that completed course work is recognized by institutions in each state. The agreements will also establish a mechanism for handling complaints and refunds across states and institutions. The new law is effective Jan. 1, 2015. Read more in the Morton Times News.

2014 will ring in hundreds of new laws. Over the next five days we will recap 25 of them. Some you may have heard about, others you may be just learning about now. Follow the links to read the law in its entirety.  

Third in a five part series:

Workplace Violence Prevention Act
HB 2590 (PA 98-430) – Creates the Workplace Violence Prevention Act. HB 2590 allows an employer to seek an order of protection if an employee has suffered violence or threats of violence at work, or if the threat can be reasonably assumed to be carried out at work.

Pensions – Illinois credit rating
Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s issue positive statements about Illinois pension progress.  After pension reform bill SB 1 was signed into law on Thursday, December 5, global credit-rating firm Moody’s labeled the move a “credit positive.”  Moody’s currently ranks Illinois’ general-obligation (G.O.) debt as A3 with a negative outlook, the lowest ranking among the 50 states, and this rating did not change this week.   The statement by the New York-based debt watchdog described itself as awaiting independent actuarial confirmation of the proclaimed $160 billion in savings “clawed back” from pledged future pension payments by the controversial measure.   The statement was issued on Friday, December 6.

Illinois Tornadoes

• Tornadoes strike communities throughout Illinois.  While twelve states were affected, Illinois was especially hard-hit by the severe frontal system that moved eastward on Sunday, November 17.  Death and destruction followed cyclonic strikes, including at least two tornadoes measured at a severe EF-4 on the North American scale of intensity, on the central Illinois city of Washington, located east of Peoria; the central Illinois town of Gifford, north of Champaign-Urbana; the southern Illinois town of New Minden, east of St. Louis; the far southern Illinois town of Brookport, north of Paducah; and other communities in Illinois.  More than 1,500 Illinois homes were damaged or destroyed. 

by Rep. David McSweeney
Originally Published November 11, 2013 - Northwest Herald 

It’s clear that Illinois is heading in the wrong economic direction. We have a 9.2 percent unemployment rate (second highest in the country), $6 billion of unpaid bills that will continue to grow, $100 billion of unfunded pension liabilities, the worst credit ratings in the nation, and a pension crisis.

The only way to start turning Illinois around is to adopt meaningful public employee pension reform soon. We owe to it our hard-working teachers and state workers to save the pension systems.

It’s a crisis because if we don’t act soon, Illinois will continue to be plagued with high unemployment and economic uncertainty. Small businesses will not want to expand and companies will not want to locate in Illinois because they will be concerned about the prospect of higher tax rates to fund future pension obligations. More here.

Taxes
House Republicans take stand against “progressive” income tax proposal.  At the end of the 2013 spring session, the Democrat majority introduced a new State constitutional amendment, HJRCA 33, for discussion.  This amendment, if it were approved by both houses and ratified by the voters, would abolish the current flat-rate income tax (the current rate is 5.0 percent on individuals) and replace it with a graduated or “progressive” income tax rate that would rise with the income of the taxpayer.  Enactment of a progressive income tax law could open the door to income tax rates much higher than 5.0 percent for many Illinoisans, and with inflation more and more households (including middle-class households) would be subjected to the higher rates.  Graduated income tax rates are higher in neighboring states which constitutions allow these rates to be charged.  For example, higher-income Iowa individuals must pay a rate of 8.98 percent.

Diabetes and Public Health
House Republican measures aimed at improving public diabetes awareness become law.  The bipartisan Illinois Legislative Diabetes Caucus 2013 agenda included two measures to raise funds for diabetes research and direct that the State systematically monitor the growing diagnosis of diabetes among Illinois residents.  HB 1815 (Cross/Hunter) and HB 2199 (Durkin/Muñoz) were signed into law on Thursday, July 18 as P.A. 98-96 and P.A. 98-97.

• HB 1815 creates the Diabetes Awareness special Illinois license plate.  As with most other Illinois special license plates, persons showing a commitment will help to raise money for a cause recognized by the State.  The supplemental fee for original issuance of this plate will be $40, and the fee for annual sticker renewal will be $27.  $25 from each sum will be transferred to the Diabetes Research Checkoff Fund, and will be used to supplement the monies raised from the State income tax checkoff for diabetes treatment and research.
• HB 2199 will create a biennial report to be submitted by the State Diabetes Commission, an independent panel staffed by the State’s Department of Public Health.  The report, which will be submitted every two years starting in January 2015, will list not only the number of Illinois residents with diabetes, but also (a) the number of Illinois family members directly affected by these diagnoses, (b) the financial impact of diabetes upon the Illinois economy and its public-sector budget, and (c) the costs and benefits of anti-diabetes public health and diabetes prevention measures.  The report will also direct the State to look at, and continuously monitor, the level of cooperation between different State and other public-sector programs that are aimed at the treatment of diagnosed diabetes and the slowdown and prevention of existing cases of metabolic syndrome and other pre-diabetic conditions from progressing to a diagnosis of diabetes.  

Pension Reform Conference Committee on July 8, 2013

Members of the the Pension Reform Conference Committee met for the third time yesterday to discuss options for comprehensive pension reform.

Today was the date established by the Governor to take action on pension reform. At yesterday's meeting, the Conference Committee overwhelmingly agreed that the July 9th date set by Governor was an unrealistic deadline without knowing what the Governor will accept as reform.

Testifying at the hearing were: Rep. Mike Fortner on his legislation HB 2365, Dave Urbanek on behalf of the Teachers’ Retirement System, Tim Blair on behalf of the State Retirement Systems, Jerry Stermer from the Governor’s Office, and Rich Whitney and Professor William Barclay on behalf of HB 1554 and SB 7.

At this time the Conference Committee has not set a date for the next meeting and will stand adjourned until the call of the chair.

Read more:
Rockford Register Star
News Channel 20, ABC
Capitol Fax

Leader Tom Cross & Rep. Nekritz introducing pension reform

This morning, the House Committee on Personnel and Pensions passed  SB001 HA#1, legislation sponsored by Speaker Mike Madigan to reform the states ailing pension system. This bill mirrors bipartisan-crafted legislation introduced earlier this year by House Republican Leader Tom Cross and Democrat Pension Committee chairperson Rep. Elaine Nekritz. That legislation stalled in the House after passing committee on March 14 of this year.  The Cross/Nekritz provisions from HB3411 remain intact in this new bill.

Here is a quick peek at this pension initiative: