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* Fran Spielman…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration is sounding the alarm about a pair of firefighters pension sweeteners poised for legislative approval that, mayoral aides warn, could saddle Chicago taxpayers with $3 billion in additional costs.
The companion bills are co-sponsored by Lightfoot’s legislative nemesis, state Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) and by Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, the progressive champion who will serve as deputy chief of staff to Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson.
They appear to be on a fast track to reach Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk during the spring session.
One of the bills would increase benefits for Chicago firefighters hired after Jan. 1, 2011, when Illinois created a two-tiered pension system that reduced benefits for newly-hired workers to chip away at the state’s mountain of pension debt.
The second bill would change the final average salary used in calculating a Chicago firefighters pension.
* HB2471 has been placed on the House calendar for a concurrence vote…
Want to help in the effort to ensure every kid in Illinois is able to access healthy school meals? Contact your legislator and ask they support HB2471 and include funding in the budget they'll pass later this month.https://t.co/SN6nQxtFR6 https://t.co/A5XhHBkBDk
— John Amdor (@JohnAmdor) May 6, 2023
* Sun-Times Editorial Board publishes an opposite take from the Tribune’s Editorial Board last month. Here’s the CS-T…
Because of Illinois’ unusual geology, many companies throughout the nation’s midsection might want to capture carbon dioxide emissions from their operations and ship the gas to Illinois for sequestration underground.
Before that happens, Illinois should put strong safeguards in place to protect residents, landowners, taxpayers, drinking water and the climate. […]
The Legislature is considering bills to regulate carbon capture, and stakeholders are in the process of negotiation. The Illinois House Energy & Environment Committee held a subject matter meeting on the topic May 1. Any final bill should ensure Illinois is regulating the technology responsibly.
Keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere is an important goal. But it needs to be done in a way that is safe for people and the environment.
* HB2 is on Second Reading in the House. Center Square…
A proposed bill moving through the Illinois legislature could legalize the creation of spaces for people to use illegal drugs under medical supervision in an effort to prevent overdoses.
House Bill 2 would allow the Illinois Department of Human Services to create overdose prevention sites, and would connect drug users with treatment programs.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, says fentanyl-laced drugs are killing Illinoisans on a daily basis.
Ford said funds from the opioid settlement with pharmaceutical companies could be used for the program.
* WCCU…
Pro-choice group, Planned Parenthood, is pushing for legislation to stop people in Illinois from advertising services from another organization near abortion providers. […]
Director of Advocacy, Rianne Hawkins, for Planned Parenthood gave an example of what happens when advocates from separate groups come near their building.
“Physically, redirecting patients from our health center to their facility,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins explained why she find this deceptive.
“They might advertise that they offer [a] full-range of care, then do not offer that full-range of care”, Hawkins added. […]
The bill has been passed in the Senate and is now the House for legislators to debate on it.
* Chicago Tribune…
Newly constructed homes in Illinois would be required to include the infrastructure needed for electric vehicle charging stations under a bill now on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk.
The “Electric Vehicle Charging Act,” passed by the state House Thursday on a party-line 69-38 vote after earlier approval by the Senate, requires that new single-family or small multifamily homes offer at least “one EV-capable parking space for each residential unit that has dedicated parking.” A large multifamily residential building must “have 100% of its total parking spaces EV-capable.” […]
“This is a bill that reflects our future, and future-proofs the future with electric vehicles in this state,” Democratic state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, who represents Chicago’s Lakeview community and was the chief sponsor of this bill, told the Tribune. “This sort of trickles down to my constituents.”
Republican state Rep. Travis Weaver took issue with that reasoning from Feigenholtz, noting that it was led in both chambers by lawmakers who represent parts of Chicago’s North Side and does not suit the interests of all Illinois residents.
“If less than 1% of cars on the road are EVs, and less than 0.1% of cars in my district are EVs, I just don’t see why we’re having people in downstate Illinois pay for this infrastructure,” said Weaver, who represents a swath of central Illinois.
* American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois…
With two weeks remaining in the 2023 Spring legislative session, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC Illinois) has launched a grassroots advocacy and digital campaign seeking support for legislative measures that would retain and recruit engineers in an effort to close the skills-gap shortage while protecting Rebuild Illinois.
The organization is seeking support to pass several pieces of legislation including tax credits that will prioritize the development of engineering talent for the workforce, promote engineering innovation, protect engineering companies and ensure Illinois’ road, transportation and physical infrastructure projects continue to be well-funded by the state and completed by the most qualified professionals in the industry. Additional information on the measures can be found at https://illinoisengineeringmatters.com/.
“Illinois needs a competitive edge to recruit and retain engineering talent and make the state the top destination for engineers,” said Kevin Artl, President and CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois. “That is why we are supporting legislation that provides tax credits to attract talent from out of state and encourage professionals to remain in-state to work on the state’s highest priority infrastructure projects.”
ACEC Illinois is calling for support for the passage of legislation such as the State Innovation Tax Credit (HB2423) (SB 2084) that creates a State of Illinois innovation tax credit that would be administered by the Department of Revenue, rather than the IRS, aiding in the state’s goal of attracting more research and development programs to Illinois. This legislation is sponsored by Rep. Marty Moylan and Senator Don DeWitte. ACEC-Illinois is also calling for passage of the Retain Illinois Students of Engineering (RISE) Tax Credit (HB 2425) (SB 2282) which aims to attract and retain engineers as the industry faces a shortage of educated talent. Sponsored by Rep. Marty Moylan and Senator Ram Villivalam, the legislation provides for a tax credit of 10% of the salary paid to recent graduates of Illinois’ engineering schools and 5% of the salary paid to recent graduates of engineering schools outside of Illinois.
Data from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the ACEC Research Institute show the engineering workforce in Illinois is already at full employment with shortages of engineers and land surveyors projected in the near future. ACEC Illinois believes the passage of these bills will give Illinois a competitive edge against every other state in the nation when it comes to recruiting and retaining engineering talent. It will help grow Illinois’ engineering industry sector, help deliver key projects on time and on budget, help resolve engineering workforce shortages; be a huge boost to the economy and improve the state’s bottom line.
posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:07 pm
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As a lay person with no where near any scientific background on storing carbon dioxide under ground I am against it at least for now.
It just sounds like something that we will regret at some time. I know I have no basis to say this but DDT was once considered a great thing. Let other states experiment first for awhile
Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:27 pm
So state sponsored opium dens and more unconstitutional restrictions on free speech. Can you tell Democrats are in charge?
Comment by Captain Obvious Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:31 pm
Storing carbon dioxide gas underground is no different than storing natural gas underground.
Nicor has a storage field between Peru and Mendota.
Comment by Huh? Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:32 pm
==and more unconstitutional restrictions on free speech. Can you tell Democrats are in charge?==
lol. Florida is calling. Not a lot of Democrats in charge in fascist land.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:34 pm
Captain Obvious… do you actually read anything that is posted or just get triggered by words like “prevent” and “care”?
Comment by Squirrel Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:42 pm
We all love Amdor, but it seems like he is trying to circumvent paying Capt. Fax’s very reasonable ad rates.
Comment by Annonin' Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:49 pm
My dog ate my ad budget.
Comment by John Amdor Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:56 pm
CO2 is basically an inert gas and this is literally CO2 that would have been in the atmoshpere that instead will be trapped within geologically stable sandstone.
40% of corn produced in Illinois is used for ethanol. If ethanol plants arent’t able to sequester the CO2 that they produce, there will be no ethanol market and the price of corn will collapse (worse than the 1980s).
Comment by Chicagonk Monday, May 8, 23 @ 1:59 pm
Don’t believe a word about engineering “shortages”. Engineering firms like to break out the “shortage” language when there are less than 3 applicants for every opening. An item of much greater concern should be with IDOT, which has lost a “grey tsunami” of talent from the Early Retirement Initiative of 2002, the gutting of the Blagojevich-Quinn-Ruiner years, and the graying of the baby boomers. IDOT’s main challenge are pay scales which go much farther Downstate than in the Chicago area. We need to “best and brightest” working for the State, and, for the first time this century, have the resources to accomplish it.
Comment by Ares Monday, May 8, 23 @ 2:05 pm
If treating firefighters hired after 2011 differently re their pensions is wrong then how is Tier Two okay?
Comment by Big Dipper Monday, May 8, 23 @ 2:09 pm
Regarding EV Charging Act:
I haven’t poured over the details of the Act, but something like this has been needed for at least multi-unit dwellings. Most common place for charging is usually at “home” overnight. So to keep moving the needle on adoption, the ability to charge when one lives in an apartment or condo is crucial. I understand the complexity goes up for building design (increased electric panel capacity, increased level of service from utility, etc.) but it’s far easier to deal with prior to construction rather than retrofit afterwards.
Comment by From DaZoo Monday, May 8, 23 @ 2:11 pm
It used to be that IDOT was the engineering nursery. Fresh grads would work for IDOT until they received their PE license before jumping to a consultant.
Now IDOT can hardly get anyone because of the poor pay scales. If someone decides to interview and accept a position, IDOT will pay the bottom of the bracket. So there is no incentive to work for IDOT.
Comment by Huh? Monday, May 8, 23 @ 2:27 pm
Hmmm, IDOT has a healthy pay scale and free health insurance. They also had a lot more lifers than leavers. Now with probably 60% of the staff they are regulated to checking rather than designing. Young engineers don’t want to do that. Until they get the ability to do their own designs the fresh grads are going private. Also, there are probably 10 openings per application in the private sector right now. Grads interview firms not the other way around.
Comment by Say What? Monday, May 8, 23 @ 3:05 pm
===IDOT has a healthy pay scale and free health insurance===
Only if you’re looking at the long game and towards retirement benefits. Health insurance for active employees offered by the State* is not free and is now on-par with (or more expensive than) other bigger employers. (*Note: Teamsters currently offers a no-premium health insurance alternative to covered IDOT employees. One of the rare positive outcomes under the Rauner administration). And the pay scale is below average as compared to private companies. It’s only during prolonged recessions (when private companies have cutbacks) that IDOT’s pay scale is competitive. Couple that with the difference in performance and promotion raises, especially during strong financial years, and you’ll see why so many would rather work for private over IDOT.
Comment by From DaZoo Monday, May 8, 23 @ 4:33 pm
“If less than 1% of cars on the road are EVs, and less than 0.1% of cars in my district are EVs, I just don’t see why we’re having people in downstate Illinois pay for this infrastructure,” said Weaver, who represents a swath of central Illinois.
Rich coming from somewhere whose state roads are paid by folks who don’t drive on them. Honestly I’m this close to just deciding fine we can get our goods from Wisconsin. Let the lovely area around Peoria become more natural.
Comment by cermak_rd Monday, May 8, 23 @ 4:40 pm
Kevin Artl has done an impressive job at ACEC - giving them a voice and making them relevant and visible to the public at large. He deserves some credit for a job well done…
Comment by Lincoln Lad Monday, May 8, 23 @ 6:44 pm