Some of the dumb new laws from the Illinois General Assembly – Wirepoints

By: Mark Glennon*

Have mercy if this list is woefully incomplete. The recently concluded session of the Illinois General Assembly sent a blizzard of some 560 bills to Gov. JB Pritzker for signature, so we certainly don’t know what all is in them (and most lawmakers don’t, either.)

Below, however, are some of the more foolish bills that caught our attention. Keep in mind that each will require Pritzker’s signature before becoming law.

What’s clear from the session is that progressives were unrestrained, passing laws supposedly providing government answers to whatever they see in the world that they don’t like. Take just the output of lawmakers from my area, for example, who are all progressives. Rep. Robin Gabel sponsored 65 bills and resolutions, 44 of which passed. Sen. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz sponsored 92, 61 of which passed. But Rep. Laura Fine beat them both – 203 of which 92 passed. That’s according to a compilation by the Daily Northwestern.

We’d like to hear from you if you know of others we missed:

Mandatory inclusion of pay scales and benefits in job postings. HB3129 will impose fines on any company with 15 or more employees that fails to include the pay scale and benefits for a position in any specific job posting. And if the employer engages a third party to post or publish the opening, but the third party neglects to include the pay scale and benefits, the employer is still liable. Many companies have good reason for keeping that information confidential, and it may be entirely unknown at the time of posting, being dependent on how much the employer likes the applicant.

Converting deserts to oases – at taxpayer expense. Don’t have a decent grocery store near your home? SB 0850 directs the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity to establish the “Grocery Initiative” to study “food deserts” in Illinois and give grants to grocery stores in those areas. This bill is a nice illustration of the statist mentality prevailing in the General Assembly. Illinois, being mostly rural or empty, is covered with deserts of all kinds – areas lacking a nearby pharmacy, dentist, car mechanic, public transit, healthcare specialists and countless other goods and services. Is it now the taxpayers’ obligation to assure that these are conveniently in reach for everybody?

Trial lawyers say “Thank you, God”: punitive damages in wrongful death cases. With Illinois already perennially called a judicial hellhole, HB0219, the state will allow victims’ families or descendants to recover punitive damages in wrongful death lawsuits. Conveniently, the government exempted itself – state and local governments would not face the liability.

Cultural Competency training for medical professionals.  Under HB 2450, training for woke sensitivity will be required in any continuing education undergone by medical professionals in the state. The bill defines “cultural competency” as a set of integrated attitudes, knowledge, and skills that enables a health care professional or organization to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities.

Civil liability for doxing. We explained earlier here why HB 2954 is an awful, unconstitutional piece of legislation that should have been opposed by Democrats and Republicans alike. It will punish legitimate advocacy and stifle constitutionally protected speech.

Airlineless Airport in Peotone.  HB 2531 revives the decades-long saga of a third Chicago-area airport in its south suburbs, on which the state has already spent over $100 million. The bill will establish a prequalification process for vendors to participate in the development, financing, construction, management and operation of the new airport. Just one problem: No airline has ever said it would use the airport.

Unknown cost of unfunded kindergarten mandate means unknown property tax increase. House Bill 2396 will require school districts around the state to provide full-day kindergarten by the 2027-2028 school year. Nice idea, provided the schools don’t extend their political indoctrination down to that level. But the bigger problem is the legislature didn’t bother to tell taxpayers or anybody else how much that will cost local school districts. Why bother when they can just impose another unfunded mandate? The Illinois Principal’s Association opposed the bill because of those unknown, unfunded costs.

Another mandate on schools – to enforce antiracism and anti-harassment. SB 0090 will make school districts liable for a civil rights violation if they “fail to take appropriate corrective action to stop harassment” or fail to comply with reporting requirements imposed by the bill. Along with the onerous reporting requirements, the bill lays out lengthy details on required anti-harassment and anti-racism training. The state will be required to produce a model training program.

More benefits and rights for noncitizens, including service as police.  HB 3751 will allow noncitizens with a valid work permit under federal law to serve as police officers in the state. HB 3882 will allow noncitizens to get a driver’s license that may be used as official identification. The new budget, not otherwise discussed in this column, also dedicates $550 million to pay for health services for noncitizens aged 42 or older, though, as we wrote earlier, the true cost is unknown because nobody really knows how many migrants will enter the nation and find their way to Illinois.

Gender Neutral Bathrooms. Our Equitable Restrooms Act apparently wasn’t equitable enough, so HB 1286 will amend it to require gender neutrality.

Woke ESG investing for pensions, despite widespread backlash against it. We wrote in March criticizing SB 2152 which is to strip pension trustees of control over how to vote shareholder matters and vest the power in the state treasurer, who would then be subject to Illinois’ “sustainable investing” law. The bill was since amended to allow for that change in voting control only upon approval of three-fifths of the pension board. However, the bill still requires the pension itself to submit regular reports about whether its investing conforms to the Sustainable Investing Act. That act is basically about ESG (environment, social, governance), derogatorily called woke capitalism. Meanwhile, the backlash against the ESG investing trend is growing, as reported widely, because of poor returns and interference with managers’ duty to maximize returns.

It’s “pregnant person” now, not “pregnant woman.”  HB 1596 will require replacement of all gender language in the state’s child welfare and juvenile court rules. It will also require employees of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services to record and address parents and children by their preferred pronouns.

With those accomplishments, pay raise earned for lawmakers. They hiked their base pay by nearly $5,000 – to $89,675 a year. That’s on top of a 17 percent raise they gave themselves just six months ago. Illinois lawmakers now have the 4th-highest pay in the country, as we wrote here.

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But here’s a good one (and there may be other good bills among the 560 on Pritzker’s desk): SB 0076 will amend the total ban on nuclear power plant construction, allowing projects to be considered based on safety, need and economic viability.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.