SPRINGFIELD, IL – APRIL 9:
The Illinois State Capitol building stands among empty streets in Springfield, Illinois on April 9, 2020.
(Photo by Daniel Acker for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
With the Illinois General Assembly concluding their spring session after Friday, several pieces of legislation have moved closer to becoming law in recent days as legislators make final pushes before the end of the session.
From a potential south suburban airport to free meals for Illinois students, here's the latest look at where several bills stand as lawmakers prepare to leave Springfield.
Establishing a South Suburban Airport in Peotone
In what has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in Illinois politics over the past 40 years, the Illinois General Assembly showed strong support for a third airport in the Chicago area that would serve both commercial and cargo planes.
The new legislation, sponsored by State Sens. Napoleon Harris III, Michael E. Hastings and Patrick Joyce in the Senate, passed by a 33-20 vote on Wednesday after passing the House of Representatives in late March.
The bill’s language requires the Department of Transportation to enter into public-private agreements and to establish a prequalification process for vendors to participate in the development, financing, construction, management and operation of the new airport.
This process must be offered within the next six months, according to the bill.
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“The South Suburban Airport will promote development and investment in the state of Illinois, and serve as a critical transportation hub in the region,” according to the bill’s language.
The proposed airport site is just north of Peotone, and would be centered around Bult Field, a privately-owned airport that IDOT purchased in 2014. More land was also purchased around the airport with the idea of further development.
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Critics of the airport have argued that other airports in Rockford and Gary already handle enough cargo to render it unnecessary.
Other environmental groups also argue that the airport could have a devastating impact on the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, with a wide variety of native prairie grasses housed in its 20,000 acres. The site also is the home of a reintroduced herd of bison.
“Despite widespread resistance, the idea won’t seem to die,” the Environmental Law and Policy Center says of the airport. “Politicians assumed O’Hare and Midway would be unable to expand, so they proposed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a third airport in eastern Will County, just north of the small town of Peotone, on land largely devoted to agriculture.”
Other critics have cited the potential for negative impacts on agriculture and on traffic congestion in the area, with millions of dollars required to connect the airport to Interstate 57, the nearest large-scale thoroughfare.
Still, other political leaders argue that the airport would create jobs in disadvantaged communities, and that it would help to ease congestion issues at Chicago’s airports.
While the bill now heads to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, there is no guarantee that the legislation will be signed into law.
According to WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky, Pritzker has previously expressed hesitation on the project, saying he would wait until cargo companies indicated they would use the airport before pushing for the funding to complete the project.
“What you don’t want is, if you build it, they will come,” he said. “Just building the thing and hoping that people will show up to essentially pay for the airport having been built.”
Allowing Business to Create All-Gender Multi-Occupancy Bathrooms
An amendment to an existing bill would allow businesses to create all-gender multi-occupancy bathrooms, one of several Democratic-led measures that has faced stiff opposition from the chamber's Republican minority.
According to a report from The Daily Herald, House Bill 1286 would change current state law, which says that while single-occupancy bathrooms are automatically designated for all genders, multi-occupancy bathrooms must be designated as male or female.
HB1286 would modify that, and allow businesses the opportunity to create multi-occupant bathrooms open to all genders. While the measure had already passed the Illinois House earlier this year, state Senators on Thursday debated adding an amendment, which among other things would require such bathrooms to have "floor-to-ceiling" stalls with workable locks, and toilets instead of urinals.
The amended version of the bill ultimately cleared the senate Thursday 35 to 20. It now heads back to the Illinois House.
Free School Meals For All Illinois Students
Legislation that would make school meals free for all students in Illinois has passed both the House and the Senate, paving the way for the bill's likely passage.
The "Healthy School Meals For All" legislation would provide state funding to Illinois schools to improve their offerings of healthy meals, while maximizing use of an existing federal program.
Advocates say the expansion of free meals for all students both combats hunger and helps reduce the stigma students often face when qualifying for free or reduced lunch programs.
Minnesota, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico and California have all passed similar legislation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure free school meals for all students.
According to legislators, the bill is expected to cost $115 million in its first year, with estimated annual costs of $194 million in future years, depending on how many schools opt-in.
The bill now heads to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's desk.
Legislation to Facilitate New Bears Stadium in Arlington Heights
While several bills moved their way through the Illinois General Assembly ahead of the spring session's conclusion, work to facilitate a new stadium for the Chicago Bears in Arlington Heights will remain on the sidelines.
Lawmakers say that the proposals, which included a ticket surcharge and a freeze on property tax assessments on the stadium site, will continue to be the subject of negotiations, and that they are committed to building consensus around the massive project in Arlington Heights.
“It would allow us time over the summer to create consensus with our members, the Chicago Bears, local officials and labor leaders,” State Rep. Martin Moylan, who was one of the sponsors of the legislation, said. “We owe it to ourselves to get this right.”
The team issued a brief statement this week, saying that they agreed with the decision and that they will continue to negotiate with lawmakers at the state level.
House Bill 0610 would allow for a $3 tax to be levied on each ticket sold to events at the new stadium.
Those funds would help to retire bonds used to renovate Soldier Field in 2002, and portions of the proceeds would also go to communities around the new stadium for infrastructure costs, according to officials.
The executive committee in the House debated the bill Wednesday, but there’s been no word on any further debates in coming weeks when the chamber reconvenes.
The subject of property taxes has been a controversial one, as the team has been seeking to lower the assessed value of the site as they work to begin demolition. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office assessed the property’s value at $197 million, just under the amount the Bears paid for the site.
That valuation would amount to a $16.2 million tax bill per year on the property, with the Bears balking at the cost. They are currently in negotiations with area school districts and the assessor’s office seeking a lower tax bill.
Suburbs are also concerned that the proposed stadium would cause traffic headaches and strains on existing infrastructure, and argue that the team has not fully fleshed plans to address those worries.
The Bears' lease with Soldier Field runs through 2033, though the lease can be terminated earlier as long as the team pays a penalty.
Firearms Industry May Face More Legal Risk Under Bill Pritzker Signaled He Will Sign
The firearms industry, including gun sellers, could be sued for alleged violations of Illinois law including marketing to young people under legislation Illinois state senators approved Thursday.
The House previously approved the bill and it now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, also a Democrat, who said that he will sign it. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, spearheaded the proposal.
“Gun violence is a public health epidemic, and those who encourage unlawful use of a firearm or target sales of firearms to minors worsen the scourge of gun violence in our communities," Pritzker said in a statement. “This legislation finally protects Illinoisans from predatory actions by the firearms industry.”
Republican lawmakers objected to the proposal during Thursday’s Senate vote, saying it was too broad and would lead to court challenges.
The federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, approved in 2005, broadly exempts gun makers from being sued for injuries caused by criminal misuse of their products. But it provides exceptions, including an allegation that the manufacturer or seller violated state or federal law on the sale or marketing of firearms.
Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park, said the proposal makes clear that the industry must comply with Illinois law, including a prohibition on marketing guns to anyone under 18. Before Thursday's vote, Harmon referenced advertising campaigns for a “JR-15” rifle that dubbed the weapon “smaller, safer and lighter."
The bill's eventual signing comes as legal challenges to the state's assault weapons ban continue.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court indicated that they would not keep the law from being in effect while challenges to the legislation continue in court.
