• 10:00 a.m. - Five House and Senate committees will hold a joint subject matter hearing on SB316 and HB2353, the twin bills containing the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act. Senate committees to appear include Appropriations I, and Commerce and Economic Development. The three House committees slated to appear: Appropriations-Public Safety Committee, Economic Opportunity Committee, and the Committee on Tourism, Hospitality & Craft Industries. The body will convene in room C-600 of the Bilandic Building in Chicago. SB316 is currently in the Senate Assignments Committee, while HB2553 remains in House Rules. Lawmakers are not expected to vote on either bill at this time.


• A report from The Daily Beast revealed the largest PAC-funder for accused sexual assailant and Senate candidate Roy Moore (R-Alabama) is Illinois businessman Richard Uihlein, a prominent funder of the Illinois Policy Institute and of Illinois GOP candidates. The “mogul and his wife donated a combined $26.4 million to federal campaigns, party organs, super PACs, and interest groups during the 2016 election cycle, according to FEC data.”  


• 11:30 a.m. - Gov. Bruce Rauner and Lt. Gov Evelyn Sanguinetti will be in Chicago this morning for a campaign stop, but to cover it members of the press will be required to present credentials which may include a driver’s license. The pair will join State Police Director Schmitz, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to discuss enhanced international mail screening procedures to combat the opioid epidemic at the Chicago International Service Center, 11600 W. Irving Park Road. A note included in the governor’s press release says “Media must check-in before 11 a.m. Credentialed media only. To expedite identification process, email [email protected] with names and a copy of driver’s license.”


• A new attempt at the Equal Pay Act has started picking up co-sponsors in the House. HB4163, from Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) “prohibits an employer from: (i) screening job applicants based on their wage or salary history, (ii) requiring that an applicant's prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, and (iii) requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary. Prohibits an employer from seeking the salary, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, of a job applicant from any current or former employer, with some exceptions. Limits defenses. Provides for penalties and injunctive relief.”
  
  


• SB867, from Sen. Thomas Cullerton (D-Villa Park) was finally sent to the governor’s desk yesterday. The bill reduces filing fees for LLCs “to match the fees for similar documents in the fee schedule for corporations.” The measure becomes effective on the governor’s signature.


• Rep. Art Turner (D-Chicago) filed HB4173 which “provides that a committed person who is at least 50 years of age and who has served at least 25 consecutive years of imprisonment in a Department of Corrections institution or facility may petition the Department for participation in the Pathway to Community Program.” Participants would have to complete a Department of Corrections “restorative justice program” before being considered for the Pathway to Community Program, which it authorizes the DoC to administer with some discretion. 


• In a press release from her office yesterday, Attorney General Lisa Madigan “condemned Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to roll back existing net neutrality rules that prohibit internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating among consumers and content providers. Madigan argues the rollback will result in consumers losing internet freedom to visit and obtain content from any site of their choice without interference...In July, Madigan led a coalition of 14 attorneys general in submitting comments to the FCC in opposition to the proposed rollback of critical net neutrality protections.”