SENIORS
House Republicans champion legislation to help seniors. Illinois House Republicans continue to step up to protect and support the senior community through a series of legislative efforts aimed at enhancing the lives of seniors across the state. Representatives Ryan Spain, Jeff Keicher, Kevin Schmidt and other House Republican legislators have introduced and championed bills that address key issues affecting older adults, from healthcare and housing to financial stability and driver safety.
Rep. Ryan Spain has long been a vocal advocate for seniors. He has championed property tax relief, increasing access to transportation, safeguarding retirement benefits and protecting against exploitation.
“Our seniors have given so much to our communities, and it’s our duty to ensure they’re protected and supported,” said Rep. Spain. “We’re committed to passing legislation that makes a real difference in their lives, from healthcare to financial security.”
Rep. Jeff Keicher has taken a stand on a critical issue affecting older drivers in Illinois.
“Seniors deserve to live with the respect and dignity they’ve earned,” Rep. Keicher said. “Our focus is on ensuring they have the resources and support they need to enjoy their golden years without unnecessary burdens.”
Rep. Kevin Schmidt has sponsored and co-sponsored several key pieces of legislation aimed at improving the financial and healthcare security of Illinois seniors, by reducing property taxes, lowering the cost of groceries, protecting retirement income and fighting financial exploitation.
“Supporting our seniors isn’t just about policy—it’s about recognizing their invaluable contributions and making sure they can live comfortably and securely,” Rep Schmidt said. “We’re here to stand with them, advocating for their well-being every step of the way.”
Reps. Keicher, Spain & Schmidt have also shown strong support for protecting seniors’ financial stability by advocating for HR 24, a resolution that opposes any taxation on retirement income. This resolution aligns with his commitment to easing the financial burdens on seniors, allowing them to enjoy their retirement without additional tax pressures.
Together, House Republicans are championing legislation that directly addresses the needs of Illinois seniors. Their collective efforts reflect a shared commitment to protecting the rights, health, and financial well-being of older adults, ensuring that they receive the respect and care they deserve in their golden years.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
General Assembly makes a small, but potentially valuable, change to the job-threatening Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The BIPA law, enacted in 2008, purports to protect the privacy of an individual’s biometric information from misuse in Illinois. Biometrics are the biologically unique identifiers that differentiate each individual human being, including eye and fingerprint markings. Illinois Democrats have a long record of alliances with law firms that issue contingent lawsuits for big-money damages. Especially in years that followed 2008, the BIPA law was interpreted by the courts to grant ‘standing’ to file enormous lawsuits against any business firm in Illinois that had collected biometric information about its employees, such as using biometric locks or time clocks. The law, as originally passed, had unintended consequences. And while all agree it is extremely important to protect an individual’s biometric data, Republicans pushed for an approach that would achieve this goal while not stifling economic growth.
After some of these lawsuits began to move to trial and massive verdicts, the Illinois business community began to warn the General Assembly that BIPA was becoming a deadly threat to job creation and retention. House Republicans sponsored bills to reduce or eliminate the threats created by BIPA misuse. Many Democrats, faithful to their alliance with the trial bar, did not want to take action. Under pressure, the leadership of the House and Senate Democrats partially gave in. In the 2024 spring session, they allowed a bill to come to the floor of the House and Senate. As passed by both houses, SB 2979 allowed many of the job-threatening features of BIPA to remain untouched: trial lawyers will continue to be able to use BIPA to file big lawsuits. However, SB 2979 also says that if a firm collects biometric information two or more times from one individual without explicit permission – as, for example, if a security camera repeatedly takes a picture of an individual reporting to work, and the same picture is taken every day – then only one act of alleged damage has taken place. No plaintiff or law firm can claim that two or more pictures, or fingerprints, create two or more episodes of damage for which huge sums of money can be awarded.
Even after passage of SB 2979 and its enactment into law, the Biometric Information Privacy Act continues to be highly hostile to job creation and retention in Illinois. Employers and job creators do not face similar lawsuits in any of the other states that compete with Illinois for jobs. Firms that use facial recognition, fingerprint-scans, or any of the other identification methods pinpointed by BIPA continue to be potentially liable for lawsuits and damages. House Republicans would have preferred a much more equitable biometric privacy law that would have balanced the interests of business and labor. Two House Republican bills, HB 2335 (Keicher) and HB 5635 (Keicher) are good examples of what an equitable BIPA bill looks like. Many House Republicans voted against the 2024 law because it fell far short of true BIPA reform.
However, the 2024 law is better than nothing and marks a rare partial defeat for the trial bar in Illinois. The SB 2979 biometric law modification statute was signed into law in August 2024.
ENERGY
Proposed wind energy high-voltage line, which would pass through Central Illinois, faces uncertain future. The proposed “Grain Belt Express” transmission line would be an electricity trunk line similar to the lines already familiar to Illinoisans that radiate outward from nuclear, gas-fired, and coal-fired power plants. It has been mapped out to be 800 miles long, carrying electricity generated by windmills from the Kansas Great Plains to the eastern Midwest, terminating in Indiana. Its proposed route includes many miles of high-tension line in Central Illinois. As with other high-tension lines, the belt and towers would be built on private property throughout almost all its length.
Many Illinoisans do not want new high-tension “green energy” electricity lines built on or near their properties. Various stories and questions have been reported and asked about what these lines may do as they run and operate. Furthermore, an entirely separate question set has been asked about the financing package behind “Grain Belt Express,” and whether its developers have lined up the financing needed to construct the line. Under Illinois law, developers of a high-tension line that will cross private properties have to prove up their financing and provide detailed data about their customer base, prior to construction. Among other reasons, this is so that property owners are not potentially encumbered with an unfinished construction project on their properties.
The 5th District Illinois appellate court issued a unanimous decision last week in the case entitled “Concerned Citizens & Property Owners v. Illinois Commerce Commission,” stating that the proposed “Grain Belt Express” has not yet, as of August 2024, proved up its financing or future customer base at the level required to gain the right to build out over private Illinois properties. Unless this decision is reversed on appeal, this decision could halt further planning and construction of the line. Nothing in the appellate decision touched directly on the question of the consumer safety of high-tension lines, or the desirability of “green energy”; the decision concentrated on the financing elements of Illinois electricity construction law.
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) was one of the plaintiffs in the so-far successful “Grain Belt Express” lawsuit. The appellate decision was published on Friday, August 16.
Du Quoin State Fair
The annual Du Quoin State Fair kicked off with a ribbon cutting and Twilight Parade Friday, August 23. Learn about all the activities, events, and performers at this year’s fair!
The Du Quoin State Fair has announced their theme days for 2024.
“Theme days at the Du Quoin State Fair highlight everything this great fair has to offer,” Rep. David Friess said. “I’m especially thrilled about how they showcase the importance of agriculture. A big thank you to everyone at the Du Quoin State Fair for always bringing our community such exciting summer fun!”