The General Assembly reconvened this week for a one day session to handle some time sensitive issues and address the need to renew the House rule that permits remote voting in light of the impact of the pandemic. While the Senate’s rules allow for remote legislating under emergency conditions, the House rules around remote voting have been time limited and the rule was allowed to expire at the end of 2021. Given the current surge of COVID-19, the leadership of the House and Senate both took steps to try to mitigate the risks associated with gathering in person and prioritized items that were time sensitive. The first order of business was renewing the House rule allowing members who are unable to participate in person to vote remotely. Given that we already had several members who either had stayed in Chicago because of COVID diagnoses while others found out about their status through the Shield testing process and were quarantined in Springfield, it was critical to establish a quorum so that we could renew the rule. The House and Senate were scheduled to convene at noon, but uncertainty about the number of Democrats available led to the Senate Republicans leaving the building in order to prevent a quorum from convening and delayed all of our action for several hours while waiting for members, including apparently infected members, to assemble. Reportedly, a few Senate Democrats answered the roll call from the parking lot where they could remain separated from other members.
Once we were all assembled, we renewed the remote rule so that our members who were in quarantine could participate. Once that was taken care of, our agenda seemed reasonable enough, but even with that limited agenda we were in session late into Wednesday night. When all was said and done, we passed a trailer bill to the Black Caucus Criminal Justice Reform Pillar that addressed some implementation challenges, passed a clean up bill to clarify some of the changes to the law moving our primary to June this year so that the petition process can proceed, and passed the first update to the judicial subcircuit maps since they were first created 30 years ago. While most of the changes to the judicial subcircuits aren’t in effect for this election cycle, new subcircuits in Lake and Madison counties will be in effect this cycle. Changes to the remaining subcircuits in the state will take effect in the 2024 cycle. For Cook County, that means that we will go from 15 to 20 subcircuits, with vacancies being assigned to all of the subcircuits in advance of the next election cycle.
When we adjourned near 10pm Wednesday, we also cancelled the scheduled session days for next week, but also posted several committee hearings so that our chamber could continue our work while we avoid in person sessions during this surge. This actually is not expected to delay our work in any way as this stage of session relies heavily on committee action, which has been functioning remotely since the beginning of the pandemic. House members have begun introducing their bills for this session and the introduction deadline is approaching on January 28th. Speaker Welch has announced that the schedule will continue to be evaluated week by week until it’s safer for us to gather in person, but I feel confident that we will be able to move our agenda forward and be prepared to complete our work when we can reconvene. If you’re interested in following the committee schedule, meetings and bill assignments are posted here.
Upcoming newsletters will continue to update on the session schedule and process as well as feature both the bills we’re introducing as well as interesting bills being presented by colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
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Reflections on January 6th |
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When I awoke on Thursday to a handful of statements on this first anniversary of the insurrection at our nation’s Capitol from colleagues in the local, state, and federal government, I was honestly a bit torn. I was hesitant to make a statement, initially thinking that this was best left to those who experienced it directly. In many ways, I’m glad I didn’t and instead took the time to take in those statements and absorb some of the incredible media coverage of that shocking day.
So instead of the standard statement, I thought I’d share some from others that I found particularly interesting and share some thoughts on this day. To watch our US Senator Durbin’s speech please click here and to view others click here. I will never forget getting texts from friends on the Hill describing the ways they were sheltering, with terrifying details about what was happening around them. Seeing images of our members of Congress crouching in the House gallery, the iconic image of Eugene Goodman holding the line against the invading mob while steering them away from their target, and capitol police fighting bravely at choke points will not be just a jarring memory but a heroic sacrifice.
Listening to the coverage as I made my way back from Springfield, I was contemplating what role the rest of us play in ensuring that the events of that day are both never forgotten and never repeated. To me, that means defending democracy, but that can and must take many forms. I was fascinated listening to a piece in which teachers were interviewed about the ways they addressed students’ questions in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection but also how they’ve worked to create a thoughtful curriculum to ensure that people who were too young to understand that the events of that day were a fundamental threat to our nation can absorb the importance of this day. Hearing the interviews with our Congressional delegation about how they felt about the importance of their return to the floor to complete their work after the insurrection was brought under control gave me a lot to think about in terms of the importance of state legislatures in protecting our rights as voters. I’m grateful to live and work in a state that has taken so many steps to ensure that our rights are protected, but there’s always more we can do.
I’m committed to ensuring that we make it easier for our neighbors to vote, not harder. In addition, I feel strongly that we can do so much more to ensure that access to the ballot and the ability to engage in the political process is truly available to everyone. Finally, learning that the people who support this attack on our nation are now encouraging their followers to “take back the country village by village” through a concerted effort to elect their supporters to local offices such as school boards, I am more committed than ever to my belief in encouraging young people to take leadership roles in their communities. I have often met with VOTE 16, a group that advocates for local governments to lower the voting age for local elections to 16 based on the premise that local elections are the most impactful to young peoples’ lives and that habits formed earlier (voting) are more easily maintained. This is but one example of policy approaches we can and should contemplate as we think about the legacy of January 6th.
I loved some of the suggestions I heard yesterday that this should be a day when we engage in acts of service. But I wondered what kind of acts those would be. Do we simply do something kind for someone? Is this a day to take on an act of reconciliation and try to connect with someone we’ve disagreed with? Should actions be specifically in defense of democracy? It’s a complicated question, with different answers for everyone examining it. For me, at least this year, I am thankful to have been able to take the time to reflect and absorb the impact of these horrific actions and center my thoughts on protecting voting rights and access to our political process.
What do you think Illinois should do to protect or further democracy? Please fill out poll below:
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The City of Chicago now requires patrons of certain indoor spaces to be vaccinated against COVID-19. We are in the midst of a major COVID surge with many of our hospitals facing capacity shortages.
Boosters have recently been shown to offer significant protection against the Omicron variant. Please continue protecting yourself and limiting the spread as much as possible.
Get vaccinated. Get a booster. Get tested. Wear a mask indoors.
As many of you have seen or experienced the "pop-up" testing sites that have been riddled with issues of poor protocols, delayed results, etc. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) unfortunately does not have oversight over these facilities. However, IDPH does regulate labs that partner with these sites to perform the tests. The labs are required to meet Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) standards. Each pop-up facility should have a CLIA number so please ask for that number if you do use those facilities.
Please call the CLIA hotline at 1-800-252-4343 to report any bad practices and conditions
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To find a vaccine clinic within the City of Chicago click here.
For questions or info regarding COVID-19 testing click here.
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COVID-19 Count as of Friday, January 7th:
Statewide Totals: 2,382,437 confirmed cases, 28,361 deaths and 45,992,122 tests performed
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
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The Restore, Reinvest, & Renew Grant Program Re-Opened |
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Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton recently
announced $45 million in Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program funding to support community organizations that serve neighborhoods most impacted by economic disinvestment, violence, and the war on drugs. Organizations interested in applying for funding can review the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) by clicking here.
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IDES Stops Issuing Unemployment Benefits on Debit Cards |
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Starting December 27, 2021, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will stop sending payments via KeyBank debit cards to unemployment insurance claimants. Claimants who don’t select direct deposit as their payment method will receive their benefits by paper check. All claimants are encouraged to select direct deposit as their payment method. Direct deposit is free, easy, fast, and can be updated at any time. For more information, visit ides.illinois.gov/payment.
Paper checks take longer to arrive, can sometimes be lost or stolen, and typically require a fee to be cashed. Would you like to receive your unemployment insurance payment more quickly, securely and for free? Consider opening a Bank On certified account in order to receive direct deposit. Bank On certified accounts are safe, affordable & convenient. They allow you to receive your money faster, have NO overdraft fees, and low minimum balance requirements. There are over 30 certified, no overdraft Bank On account options in Illinois. To view the list of all the Bank On partners and each bank product’s specific details, visit the Bank On Illinois site at https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/about/bank-on/. If you live in Chicago, you can visit Bank On Chicago’s site at https://bankonchicago.com/accounts/. Please make sure to review the account name and ask for the specific product by name when opening your account. Some account products can even be opened online.
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Driver's License and ID Extension Extended |
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Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that expiration dates for driver’s licenses and ID cards have been extended an additional three months – from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2022. This extension does not apply to commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) and CDL learner’s permits. White noted this will be the final extension. |
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Sincerely,
Kelly Cassidy
State Representative, 14th District
Office of State Representative Kelly Cassidy
5533 N Broadway
Chicago IL 60640
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773-784-2002(phone)
773-784-2060(fax)
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