Springfield News
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The Illinois Chamber of Commerce on Thursday filed its own proposed capital bill Thursday — just one week after the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 filed their own bill out of frustration with Gov. JB Pritzker’s office.
A city crew patches a pothole. [Quinn Ford, DNAinfo Chicago]
The chamber’s plan is focused on “horizontal” projects — as in roads and bridges — which is similar to Local 150’s plan. The chamber’s plan aims to raise about $2 billion per year.
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After a series of bills dealing with complicated energy issues emerged in the first half of the Spring legislative session, there is a movement to combine them all into one major package to make them palatable for the highest number of lawmakers.
The Clean Energy Jobs Act would move Illinois to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. [Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition]
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The Daily Line is starting a new feature to track interesting bills introduced, passed in committee or passed on the floor. Tweet us @TheDailyLineIL or email [email protected] to flag bills that have caught your attention during a committee hearing or while listening to floor debate.
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More than two thirds of Illinoisans support the idea of a graduated income tax, a new poll out Tuesday from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found.
Gov. JB Pritzker proposes graduated income tax rates in his Capitol office. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
But the 67 percent the poll found in favor of the idea of a graduated tax has fallen slightly in the last year, when the idea first got some time in the spotlight during the gubernatorial campaign.
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Just two months into the job, Gov. JB Pritzker’s approval rating is only 2 percentage points higher than his disapproval rating, according to a new poll out Wednesday. The Illinois Supreme Court said Wednesday it would not hear an appeal over HB 40, a 2017 law that expanded access to abortion for those on Medicaid and state workers. A bill that would force the State Board of Elections to report to the General Assembly will be amended after the board publicly opposed the legislation.
[Paul Simon Public Policy Institute]
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Now that Democrat JB Pritzker is governor, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President and CEO Mark Denzler wants to pick his battles carefully.
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President and CEO Mark Denzler [Submitted]
Denzler, who has been at IMA’s helm for only a few months after years of working under former leader Greg Baise, has long advocated for pro-business reforms, and is well-known for his ideas for overhauling Illinois’ workers’ compensation system.
But in introducing IMA’s six-bill legislative agenda Tuesday, workers’ compensation reform was nowhere to be found.
“There are interest groups that have no interest in working on this, and I just don’t think we’re going to have any action in the House or Senate so we’re trying to focus on things where we can have movement this year,” Denzler said at a Capitol news conference.
Instead of expending time and energy drafting legislation and lobbying on workers’ comp bills this session, the group is turning its attention to both measures with the potential for bipartisan support, and fighting against any progressive ideas coming from the governor’s office.
[Secretary of State Jesse White]
