GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
Bill Action: Governor Pritzker has now signed all legislation passed during the 2022 spring legislative session. The Governor did not veto any legislation passed in 2022.
Budget Update: Fiscal Year 2022 ended on June 30 with a General Funds accounts payable balance of $1.8 billion and a GRF payment cycle of zero days. Comptroller Mendoza announced her office is caught up on all bills related to Medicaid, the State’s Group Health Insurance Program, K – 12 schools, higher education and other government operations and programs. Fiscal Year 2023 began on July 1
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Electric Vehicle Rebate: Illinois’ Electric Vehicle (EV) Rebate Program is now open. The program was created under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act which was approved in the fall of 2021. Individuals can now access and complete an application for a rebate here. Applications for the first funding round are being accepted starting July 1 and must be postmarked on or before September 30, 2022.
Monkey Pox Vaccine Headed to Illinois: The Illinois Department of Public Health announced that as part of a national strategy to address the ongoing outbreak of monkeypox virus, the State of Illinois is receiving an immediate allocation of vaccines from the national stockpile. IDPH will initially receive 1,291 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine while the Chicago Department of Public Health will be receiving a separate initial allocation of 3,200 doses. Federal authorities said the number of vaccine doses available is expected to increase substantially during the coming months. At the same time, the CDC is taking steps to increase testing capacity.
To date, the CDC is reporting 46 probable monkeypox virus cases in Illinois, with the vast majority in the City of Chicago and the remaining cases in Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake Counties. Nationally, the CDC is reporting 351 cases in 28 states and the District of Columbia.
Executive Order: Executive Order 2022-15 reissues and amends previous Executive Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic through July 24, 2022.
Illinois Supreme Court:
The Honorable Lisa Holder White was sworn into office on Thursday as the newest member of the Supreme Court of Illinois. She is the first Black woman to sit on the state’s high court.
As threats to the judicial branch increase, Chief Justice Anne Burke announced the creation of the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Security and Safety. The Committee is charged with providing the Court with developments and recommendations related to the judicial threat environment and protective operations, intelligence, and information. The committee will also coordinate with the Court’s judicial and law enforcement partners to monitor and review current and anticipated future judicial security needs and make appropriate recommendations to the Court.
The Committee will be chaired by Jim Cimarossa, the Marshal of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Appointed as members of the Committee are First District Appellate Court Justice Mathias W. Delort, Second District Appellate Court Justice George Bridges, Twelfth Circuit Court Judge Susan T. O’Leary, Cook County Circuit Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Twenty-Second Circuit Court Michael J. Chmiel, and the Hon. Mark A. VandeWiele (ret.).
Additional appointed members will include the Executive Director of the Attorney Registration and Discipline Commission (ARDC), a representative of the Illinois State Police, a representative of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, and a representative of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.
102nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
No word yet on when the General Assembly will convene in a special session to address reproductive health rights in Illinois. Leaders are still determining member availability and working out details of the proposals. The Governor, President Harmon, and Speaker Welch issued this joint statement: “As we build on Illinois’ nation-leading abortion protections and access, it is essential to bring lawmakers and advocates into the room to continue to work together. In the coming weeks, as the ripples of the decision to overturn Roe are felt throughout the nation, we expect to get an acute sense of our needs and how Illinois can play an even more vital role in standing up for reproductive freedom. We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to assess every possibility of what we can do and convene a special session in the coming months.”
Some legislators and advocates are calling for a special session to address gun violence following Monday’s mass shooting at an Independence Day Parade in Highland Park which left 7 dead and more than three dozen injured. Governor Pritzker expressed outrage and said his office will “review everything we know about this gunman in the context of our laws and determine what more we can do to continue our public safety work.”
Several elected officials – including Congressman Brad Schneider, Senator Julie Morrison and Representative Bob Morgan – were participating in the parade. All were uninjured.
Governor JB Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for Lake County to assist in recovery efforts following the mass shooting. A disaster proclamation grants the State of Illinois the ability to expedite the use of state resources, personnel, or equipment to help affected communities recover. In issuing the proclamation, the Governor said “There are no words for the kind of evil that turns a community celebration into a tragedy. As we mourn together, the State of Illinois will provide every available resource to Highland Park and surrounding communities in the days and weeks ahead as the community works to recover from this horrific tragedy.”