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* WSIL TV…
Illinois House Republicans presented their 2020 legislative agenda Tuesday. Their main areas of focus are property tax relief, legislative redistricting and ethics reform.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin says “these are interesting times” as Democrats have worked with Republicans on a balanced budget and pro-business laws. He says work on property taxes and fair maps should continue with bipartisan efforts. […]
Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) says Democrats should work with their colleagues across the aisle to hold themselves accountable.
“Let’s move these pieces of legislation - revolving door prohibition, no lobbyist legislators, and expanding the statement of economic interest to the level of judges,” Wehrli said. “These are things that we all agree upon, bipartisan support. Let’s get them done.”
Illinois lawmakers want to allow for abused cats and dogs to have legal representation in court.
Proposed legislation filed by State Rep. Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee, would have the Illinois Department of Natural Resources create a county-by-county database of legal professionals, from lawyers to paralegals to experts on animal abuse, willing to step in on a dog or cat’s behalf when a person is facing punishment for neglecting or abusing them.
“You have abusers of animals that effectively get off with little to no punishment,” Skillicorn said. “No one’s really looking out for animals that could be physically abused.”
The bill is limited to dogs and cats. The motion to appoint a special legal aid for the animal may be made by any party in the court.
[Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield], along with state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, introduced legislation to create a compact among states so that member states won’t offer tax breaks to companies in exchange for corporate investment.
“If we’re going to claim that small businesses are the engine of our economy, we need to give them the level playing field to succeed,” Villivalam said.
So far, seven other states have introduced similar legislation. New York Assemblyman Ron T. Kim introduced legislation in that state in October 2019. In Florida, state Sen. Anna Eskamani filed the “Interstate Compact Agreement to Phase Out Corporate Giveaways” Act last month. Republican State Rep. Bill Plett of New Hampshire filed House Bill 1132, which was scheduled to be heard in committee Tuesday. Senate Bill 121 was filed in West Virginia earlier this month, with Iowa and Maryland following suit. […]
Kansas and Missouri enacted a truce via executive orders that they would not offer each other’s businesses tax incentives to get them to cross the border.
The Illinois bill is structured in a way that would not mean Illinois would be alone in ending the use of incentives to attract businesses, Morgan said. It would only take effect when both states have enacted the legislation. It wouldn’t end the practice of giving out incentives for businesses already in Illinois either.
More from Capitol News Illinois…
Senate Bill 2502 and House Bill 4138 would enter Illinois into the Phase Out Corporate Giveaways Interstate Compact. That would involve an agreement not to use tax incentives or grants to lure a specific company away from any other compact member for the purposes of relocating a corporate headquarters, manufacturing facility, office space or other retail development.
That prohibition, however, would not apply to tax incentives that are available generally to all businesses such as workforce development grants. It also would not apply to company-specific incentives offered by local governments or incentives offered to companies already located in Illinois.
The bills also call for establishing a national board that would make recommendations about how to phase out other kinds of corporate incentives.
Although the initiative is being sponsored by two Democrats, it also has the backing of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, which was founded in 2004 by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 10:37 am
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How about TIF reform?
Some towns are severely abusing the intent of TIF.
I thought Grant Wherli gave a whole speech about ‘converting all of Naperville into a TIF’ as a stunt to show why reform was needed.
Did he forget about that? Because it’s becoming a larger and larger issue, that is directly related to local property taxes.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 11:10 am
“Your Honor, please advise opposing counsel to have his client stop licking my face.”
I fully support SB2502/HB4138. We shouldn’t be poaching Wisconsin/Indiana jobs and they shouldn’t be poaching them from us. We should be finding ways where we all win even if it means (gasp) compromise.
Comment by Skeptic Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 11:20 am
If legislators want to stop the offering of tax breaks, they should appear before GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) in Norwalk, Connecticut, politely ask them to drop their obsession with defined benefit pensions and OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits), and ask them to instead devise accounting and financial reporting standards requiring the usage rate and cost of certain tax breaks be listed in the CAFR, tax breaks the size of FoxConn should be separately mentioned, and for local governments all TIF reporting should be part of the CAFR process.
Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 11:38 am
“Your honor, the state accuses Farmer Ted of leaving his Great Pyrenees, Koda, out in the cold with the sheep, at risk of constant attack by coyotes.”
“Before the defense responds, I am going to appoint Koda an LGD GAL.”
“Your honor, I am not familiar with those abbreviations…”
Counselor, Koda needs a Livestock Guard Dog Guardian Ad Litum. Someone who guards the guardians.”
Comment by Shark Sandwich Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 11:38 am
What does a defined benefit pension have to do with tax breaks?
Comment by Skeptic Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 11:57 am
Is The Lorax ready to take on more clients?
Comment by BobCL Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 11:58 am
Skeptic
If GASB were to require detailed reporting on tax breaks in CAFRs, the exposure to sunlight would end most of them. This would require GASB to develop accounting and financial reporting standards, a lengthy process. Instead GASB staff seems to spend all their time working on additional reporting standards for defined benefit pensions and OPEB. Among local governments (who about 10 years ago tried to get GASB defunded), all the accounting and financial reporting standards GASB issued were labeled “no value added” … .
Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 12:07 pm
132 children were murdered while in DCFS’s plain sight and giving dogs their day in court is the focus of Illinois lawmakers. Every time I think Illinois has hit rock bottom, this government proves me wrong.
Comment by Sure thing Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 12:39 pm
Imagine being Durkin - “We are focused on property tax relief, legislative redistricting, ethics reform…” [Skillicorn screeches in] “…and cat and dog lawyers.”
Comment by lakeside Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 12:52 pm
Sure thing, as much as we pay legislators for a part-time job, they can try to do multiple things at once.
I’d just like to know what exactly the representatives will do for the cats/dogs.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 1:10 pm
==132 children were murdered while in DCFS’s plain sight.==
That didn’t happen.
Comment by 17% Solution Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 4:05 pm
Allow dogs and cats to have legal representation in court…
smh
Comment by H-W Wednesday, Jan 29, 20 @ 7:38 pm
Sure thing, I’m not sure I get your argument making a connection between lawyers for cats and dog and children being murdered. How are these connected? Maybe you can explain.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 7:07 am