Lame Duck Legislative Recap, Feminine Hygiene Products Donation Drive, PPP Loan Applications Reopen

Lame Duck Legislative Recap

Before the swearing in of the 102nd General Assembly the House of Representatives met for lame duck session over the course of several days and passed major legislation including three of the four pillars of the Black Caucus's legislative agenda aimed at addressing the causes and impacts of decades of systemic racism. These historic omnibus bills took incredibly large steps in advancing equity, dismantling systemic racism, and sweeping criminal justice reform. The pillars were: criminal justice/police reform, education, economic opportunity, and health care. The package on health care failed to pass before session ended and will be a priority as we begin the 102nd General Assembly. Below are a few highlights from some of the major reforms passed.

Criminal justice reform

HB 3653: Passed both chambers and is awaiting the Governor's signature. This omnibus criminal justice bill contains provisions that focus on police accountability, increase detainee and victims’ rights, and reforms the judicial system by ending the use of cash bail in Illinois.

Allows a court, when considering a sentence for an offense with a mandatory minimum sentence in prison, to instead sentence the offender to probation, conditional discharge, or a lesser term under certain circumstances
Ends the use of cash bail
Institutes certification and decertification system statewide for police officers
Requires the use of body cameras for all police officers by 2025
Increased protections for whistleblowers
Prevents destruction of law enforcement misconduct records
Connects substance abuse treatment programs with first responder duties.
Increases and improves de-escalation and mental health training for law enforcement.
Creates two police misconduct databases for public viewing and transparency.
Requires police to develop a plan to protect children during search warrant raids.
Empowers the attorney general to investigate deaths occurring in police custody.
Addresses officer wellness and mental health awareness and screenings.
Bans use of chokeholds and other extreme measures.
Establishes statewide use of force standards by 2022.

Education reform

HB 2170: this bill passed both chambers and is currently awaiting the Governor's signature. This bill is targeted at reversing centuries of systemic racism in education from birth to career.

Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to make recommendations on how to create a diagnostic system that would allow Medicaid to pay for some Early Intervention services.
Expresses support for the recommendations of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding.
Requires two years of laboratory science and a foreign language (or sign language) to graduate high school, starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
Adds a one-year course with an intensive computer literacy focus to the required high school curriculum.
Requires schools to automatically enroll students in the next level of advanced coursework if they meet or exceed state standards in that subject matter – including Advanced Placement courses.
Creates an inclusive American history curriculum to reform the Black history curriculum and curricula for teaching about other minority groups.
Creates a Whole Child Task Force to address trauma in children and create an equitable, inclusive, safe, and supportive environment for all children.
Creates English and math placement requirements at community colleges.
Changes the matching requirement for AIM High scholarships. Allows schools with more than 49% Pell Grant recipients averaged over three years to pay a 20% match, while schools with less must pay a 60% match.
Supports the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s efforts to identify more race conscious and equitable ways to fund higher education.

Economic Opportunity

SB 1480: has passed both chambers and is currently waiting for the Governor's signature. This bill is another one of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus initiatives aimed at addressing economic inequalities including for those who were previously incarcerated.

Makes it a civil rights violation for any employer, agency, or labor organization to hire, segregate, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, privileges or conditions of employment against an individual based on a “conviction record”
Creates the "equal pay certification" through the Illinois Department of Labor
Allows the IDOL to fine or revoke the business's "equal pay certification" if they are out of compliance
Provides whistleblower protections against retaliation for any employee that discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or public body when in violation of this law

SB 1608: this bill passed both chambers and is currently awaiting the Governor's signature. This bill is aimed at increasing contracting opportunities between minorities, women, and person's with disabilities vendors and the state.

Creates a scoring methodology for competitive sealed bids under the Procurement Code to allow agencies to award bonus points in evaluating bids on the basis of the bidder’s commitment to use diverse and veteran-owned businesses
Requires state employees with purchasing power to take diversity training
Prohibits renewing contracts if the vendor has failed to demonstrate good faith in meeting diversity goals
Requires agencies and universities to include in their plans targeted ways they plan on increasing the diversity of vendors, with a particular focus on the most underrepresented in contract awards to Business Enterprise Council
Prohibits renewal of contracts when the vendor has failed to demonstrate a good faith effort towards meeting the diversity goals in the utilization plan, or has not been otherwise excused from compliance under the Business Enterprise Program Act

Mitigation Tier Status Change and Vaccine Rollout

Last week Governor Pritzker announced that Chicago, suburban Cook County as well as the northern and western suburbs would be moving out of mitigation strategies and into phase 4 of his reopening plan. We want to thank everyone who has done their part to keep our communities safe by staying home and social distancing.

The city and the state have officially entered phase 1B of vaccine distribution, where frontline essential workers including seniors 65 and older will be able to receive a vaccine. While we know the roll out has been slow we are hopeful that the administration will be able to increase production and distribution. Most individuals will be notified via their employers and primary care providers if they fall into one into the qualifying phases. For those that are not employed or do not have primary care providers, are encouraged to contact local federal qualified healthcare centers (FQHC) and local pharmacies including Walgreens and Jewel Osco pharmacies.

To view the Illinois Department of Public Health's vaccine distribution data click here.

To visit the Chicago's page on COVID-19 vaccines click here.

To sign up for vaccine appointments for Suburban Cook County click here.

COVID-19 Count as of Wednesday, February 3rd:

Statewide Totals : 1,134,231 confirmed cases, 19,375 deaths and 16,258,348 tested 1,094,135 vaccine doses administered

If you have questions related to COVID-19 you can contact the Illinois Department of Public Health:

Hotline: 800-889-3931

Email: dph.sick@illinois.gov

City of Chicago's Department of Public Health:

Hotline: 312-746-4835

Email: coronavirus@chicago.gov

Heartland Alliance Donation Drive:

Hygiene Products Needed

In our community the Vital Bridges Food Program provides year round weekly grocery centers with nutritious produce, group nutrition counseling and personal hygiene products at no cost. We’ve recently learning that the need for feminine hygiene products has been hard to meet and are asking our neighbors to help fill in the gap.

Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Loans

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and the U.S. Small Business Administration are once again teaming up to present webinars for small businesses and lenders on the next round of PPP from the federal government. Our webinar for lenders will be Tuesday, February 9 at 10 am. Our webinar for small business owners will be Wednesday, February 10 at 1 pm.

Lender sign up: https://ppplenderupdatefeb9.eventbrite.com

Small business sign up: https://pppupdatefeb10.eventbrite.com

Business Assistance Webinars Offered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Security

To assist businesses with the Paycheck Protection Program, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is offering a plethora of webinars that you can find listed for nearly every day until February 25, 2021. In addition to COVID-19 resources, topics to be discussed include government contracting, businesses management, and exporting. A full list including the webinars shown below can be found by clicking HERE.

State's Attorney Foxx Tips to Prevent Fraud

New Health Benefit Coverage For Immigrant Seniors

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) is pleased to relay that the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

(HFS) has created a new medical eligibility category for non-citizens age 65 and older who do not meet immigration status for Medicaid coverage. It also reminds providers of existing coverage of emergency medical services for persons not meeting immigration status. Medical benefits similar to those offered under the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities program (formerly Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled) are now offered to non-citizens age 65 and over who do not meet immigration status for Medicaid. This State-funded special program is called Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors. Illinois residents can apply for these medical programs in one of the following ways:

1) online at www.ABE.Illinois.gov

2) by contacting a Community Service

Agency (help is available in 59 languages)

3) by calling 800-843-6154

4) by mailing in a Paper Application.