103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois General Assembly remains adjourned until the Fall Veto Session.
Speaker Welch appointed Representative Natalie Manley as Deputy Majority Leader. Representative Camille Lilly was appointed Assistant Majority Leader – filling the spot vacated by Representative Manley.
GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
New Laws: Governor Pritzker signed over 90 bills into law last week. Read more about the new laws here and here.
Gubernatorial Appointments: Governor Pritzker appointed the following:
· Monica LeGrand will continue to serve as a Member of the Health Facilities and Services Review Board.
· Doug Scott will serve as the Chair of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
· Kevin Irvine will serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.
· Jennifer Van Wie will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
· Charles Knell will continue to serve as a Member of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.
EPA Household Sharps Grants: The Illinois Environmental Protection announced a new funding opportunity to provide grants to units of local government to conduct household sharps collections for residents. Through the grant program, Illinois EPA will reimburse grantees that operate a sharps collection station as defined in Section 3.458 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act for collection and disposal costs they incur. A Notice of Funding Opportunity has been posted to the Illinois EPA website.
Eligible expenses include costs to obtain collection containers for use by individual residents, collection receptacles to store sharps at the sharps collection station, mobilization fees assessed by a permitted Potentially Infectious Medical Waste (PIMW) transporter to pick-up collected sharps, and disposal fees for the collected sharps. Each unit of local government is eligible for the actual costs of sharps collection and disposal, up to $35,000. All required forms and information are here.
Applicants must be pre-qualified through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal. Applications will be accepted June 13, 2023 through 5:00 PM (CST) on July 28, 2023.
Energy Transition Navigators: This week, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity launched a $6 million Energy Transition Navigators Program as part of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The program will establish a network of community-based providers across the state offering community education, outreach, and recruitment services to encourage priority populations to participate in CEJA clean energy workforce and contractor development programs. The Energy Transition Navigators will be selected through a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity process. Read more here.
Illinois Gaming Board Takes Action: At its June Board meeting, the Illinois Gaming Board ruled the Chicago casino license applicant Bally’s Chicago Operating Company, LLC is preliminarily suitable – allowing Bally’s to continue preparing its site for gaming and hiring the employees necessary to operate a casino. The Board also awarded casino and sports wagering licenses to the American Place Casino in Waukegan, approved 12-month extensions for temporary casino operations in Waukegan and Rockford, and renewed the license of Bally’s Quad Cities Casino and Hotel for another 4-year term. Read the full list of Board action here.
OTHER NEWS:
Opioid Settlement: Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a bipartisan set of settlements worth $17.3 billion because of agreements with drug makers Teva and Allergan, and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens. Following successful state sign-on and subdivision sign-on periods, the companies committed to the deals and will start releasing funds to states later this summer. Illinois will receive approximately $518 million over 15 years.
The settlements will also require Teva’s opioid business to abide by stringent prohibitions that will prevent all opioid marketing and ensure systems are in place to prevent drug misuse. Additionally, Allergan is required to stop selling opioids for the next 10 years. CVS and Walgreens have agreed to monitor, report and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions, which will help ensure a crisis like the opioid addiction epidemic does not happen again. The Attorney General noted an agreement with Walmart is anticipated in the coming weeks.
Election Update: Candidates continue to emerge for the 2024 election.
Republican Regan Deering will run for the 88th House District which is currently represented by Republican Representative Dan Caulkins who is not seeking reelection.
Former Republican State Representative Dan Brady, who ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State in 2022, is mulling a rung for either the 88th House District (see above) or the 17th Congressional District which is represented by freshman Congressman Eric Sorenson.
Congressman Danny Davis announced he is seeking reelection to the 7th Congressional District.
Congressman Mike Bost announced he is seeking reelection to the 12th Congressional District. Bost faces a potential primary challenge from former State Senator Darren Bailey who ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2022.