By Rep. Barb Wheeler

While slavery is illegal across the globe, a modern-day version of slavery is thriving in the United States and even in our own communities. This form of slavery manifests itself primarily through human trafficking, which is the buying, selling and smuggling of people to profit from their forced labor or sexual servitude. While every state criminalizes at least some forms of trafficking activity, legislators across the nation continue to explore new ways to combat traffickers and provide support for victims. Read more.

Illinois’ pension liability as a percentage of state revenue is far and away the nation’s highest, according to a new report from a major credit-rating agency.

The state’s three-year average liability over revenue is 258 percent, Moody’s Investors Service says.

The next closest? Connecticut, at about 200 percent.

The Moody’s report averaged the Illinois percentage from 2010 through 2012. In 2012 alone, the state’s rate was 318 percent.

The state has a $100 billion deficit in the amount of money that should be invested in the portfolios of five state-employee pension accounts. Lawmakers adopted an overhaul plan last fall that cuts benefits and increases worker contributions to significantly cut that debt.

But the law has been challenged in court. A Sangamon County judge indicated last week he wants the case moved swiftly to appellate courts, suggesting the Illinois Supreme Court’s rejection in July of a law affecting retiree health insurance could prove a model for the pension challenge. Read the AP story in the Chicago SunTimes.

Energy – Fracking 
New Quinn fracking rules seen as stalling budding industry in Illinois. The General Assembly enacted legislation in 2013 to add Illinois to the list of U.S. states that utilize horizontal hydraulic “fracking” shale drill operations to increase production of crude oil and natural gas. This is the technology used successfully in North Dakota, Texas, and other states. With the help of fracking technology, U.S. crude oil production has increased to 8.4 million barrels per day and natural gas produced has increased to 328 billion cubic feet per day. The United States is now the world’s largest producer of natural gas and gas liquids.

Complaining they were “misled,” Illinois House Republicans are asking Gov. Pat Quinn not to enforce a significant new business tax they helped create a few months ago."There's anger,” House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said in an interview. “People are upset.” he co-chaired earlier this year on business tax reform issues. “It's going to be very difficult to trust the administration in the future when they seek a technical change.” Read the entire story by Paul Merrion in Crain's Chicago Business.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration Wednesday turned down a bid by a Downstate Republican to search state computer servers personally for any unreleased emails related to the governor’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative anti-violence program.

Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, was not given access to state email systems by officials at the state Department of Central Management Services, who cited state and federal law and security concerns as the basis for their decision. Read more.

Legislation that will help cooperatives grow and expand in Illinois has been signed into law by Governor Quinn.

Cooperatives operate for the benefit and mutual gain of members/shareholders, who purchase shares in exchange for having a voice in how the cooperative operates. In most cases, they allow shareholders to purchase products and services as a lowest-possible cost.

The new law, signed by Quinn on August 26 as Public Act 98-1122, amends the Cooperative Act to increase the following values:

The number of shares for which a person may control from 5 to 10
The maximum price per share from $100 to $1,000
The maximum value of stock one stockholder may control from $500 to $10,000

Read more.

It had been 437 days since the wait began for Illinois' rules governing the high-impact form of oil and gas drilling, also known as hydraulic fracturing.

On Friday, they were finally dropped off at the state committee charged with their approval.

And then another clock began ticking: 77 days for the Illinois legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to approve the rules. If it fails to approve them, the process starts all over again.

For now, highlights from the package include:

• Strengthened public disclosure rules for water volumes and fracking chemicals.
• Public hearings for fracking permits take place in the county where the drilling would occur.
• Public information in cases of water pollution.
• Stronger penalties for violations.
• Expanded rules covering fracking that doesn't use water.
• A requirement that toxic flow-back materials are not stored in open pits for more than seven days.

Julie Wernau has the rest of the story in the Chicago Tribune.