Prior to the beginning of the 103rd General Assembly Jan. 11, the House and Senate will head back to Springfield for a Lame Duck Session Jan. 4-10. The House still needs to pass the appropriation bill to address Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund debt. Additionally, Rep. Bob Morgan introduced HB 5855, which includes an assault weapons ban, and could be taken-up in Lame Duck Session or the ensuing 103rd General Assembly.

Rivian, with almost 6,000 employees in Normal, and Lion Electric, which is beginning to build electric school buses in Joliet, along with 14 other businesses connected to electric vehicles and clean energy, asked Pritzker to commit to a dramatic decrease in the sale of diesel vehicles by 2030 and a pledge that by 2050 all new medium- to heavy-duty vehicles sold in Illinois will be zero-emission models. More than a dozen states have signed a nonbinding agreement stating those goals, but so far, Pritzker has decided not to join them.

Robert Wolfe, the state board of education’s chief financial officer, said at Wednesday’s board meeting that there is a need to increase state funding for career and technical education as the program has not seen a significant increase for almost two decades. School advocates asked for a $40 million increase.

ComEd is moving from a pilot program to convert 100 homes to a much larger-scale project with the goal of spending $40 million over the next three years – even as Peoples Gas is spending billions of dollars to lay hundreds of miles of new pipeline underground, a program that the utility plans to continue through 2040.

In the Senate, Majority Whip Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, will donate his contribution to an “appropriate charity,” a spokeswoman said. Bankman-Fried also sent campaign cash to a slew of incoming House Democrats, including Nikki Budzinski, who all donated their contributions to local charities.

The unemployment rate increased by 0.1% to 4.7%, while the number of people on nonfarm payrolls increased by 17,500 in November. IDES said the change in the rate reflects an increase in the number of workers looking to return to the labor force.

The governor said this is an accomplishment for many Illinoisans. “We proclaimed that there would be no right-to-work laws ever to see the light of day in Illinois, and that’s because of the great leaders in the Senate, the great leadership in the House, and electing a governor that is pro-worker.”

State Rep. Chris Bos said the law is going to force some communities to raise property taxes to cover the extra costs. “In many cases, probation departments will need additional pretrial staff to supervise the increase of those released from jail. There will also be enormous IT needs.”

Public Act 100-0200, passed in 2017, requires all Illinois homes to have a smoke alarm with a sealed 10-year battery by Jan. 1, 2023. According to the bill, homeowners without an updated alarm will get a 90-day notice to get a sealed battery model; after those 90 days they can be fined up to $100.

“Illinois is leaving millions in federal conservation funding on the table by not matching federal grant funds, not applying for funding or not supporting the efforts of conservation agencies to apply for federal funding. The Inflation Reduction Act, Land and Water Conservation Fund and upcoming Recovering America’s Wildlife are among some of the opportunities the state isn’t prepared to fully utilize…”

The dashboard will allow users to view funding allocations and real-time updates on spending pertaining to each of the three federal pandemic relief grants. According to ISBE, the state has received nearly $8 billion through three rounds of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding; Ninety percent of relief funding flowed directly to districts.

The new laws affect education, hunting, criminal law, carjacking, among other areas. One item: people who buy vehicles that were manufactured in Illinois will be able to apply for a $25 break on their registration fees starting Jan. 1.

Jim Dey: “Prosecutors have raised a series of objections to the law — some technical, some not. They claim legislators violated their own rules to pass the legislation in January 2021 and that specific provisions in it violate the Illinois Constitution as well as the separation of powers between the legislature and judiciary.”