April 11, 2014

Friday, April 11 is the deadline for bills to be considered on third reading in their house of origin. Following a two week recess, the process starts over in the second chamber. The General Assembly is set to adjourn May 31. 

Significant action took place this week - most notable was enactment of Chamber-supported municipal pension reform. 

SB 1922 (Sen. Raoul; Rep. Madigan) - The Illinois General Assembly approved Mayor Emanuel’s municipal pension reform proposal requiring city workers to contribute more to their retirement benefits and reducing their cost-of-living adjustments. The bill is on its way to the Governor's desk for approval. The Chamber is a long-time advocate for substantive state and local government pension reform and sent a letter urging Gov. Quinn to sign the bill. 

HB 6218 (Durkin) - The bill amends the Workers' Compensation Act establishing a new causation standard. In addition to defining the terms "accident" and "injury," the bill provides that "injury" includes the aggravation of a pre-existing condition by an accident arising out of and in the course of the employment, but only for so long as the aggravation of the pre-existing condition continues to be the major contributing cause of the disability. The bill is pending in the House Labor & Commerce Committee.

A full recap of action taken by the General Assembly in the first "half" of the spring session will be sent next week.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce testified at a joint hearing of the Illinois House Revenue & Finance and State Government Administration Committees regarding Illinois business tax incentive policies.

Jim Kane, principal at  Kane & Co. and Chairman of the Chamber’s Taxation Forum, shared his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of Illinois’ tax structure and provided a comparative analysis of state incentive programs in New York, New Jersey, California and Wisconsin. 

“The success of any state incentive program should be measured on the intended purpose of the program; the creation of new jobs in Illinois,” said Kane. “A comprehensive economic development strategy should focus on the types of industries and jobs we as a state seek to attract and the state’s incentive programs should be designed to reflect those goals.”

The Chicagoland Chamber will continue to participate in this important process to position the Chicago region as the best place to start, expand and operate a business in the country.

Click here to view Kane’s full testimony. 

Chamber members are welcome to attend a meeting featuring Rep. John Bradley, Chairman of the Revenue & Finance Committee, and Rep. David Harris, Minority Spokesperson, to discuss the challenges facing the state as it prepares to pass its fiscal year 2015 budget.

Please RSVP as this meeting is quickly filling up. Click here to register for the meeting.

Time and Date:
Friday, April 25, 2014
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Location:
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
20 S. Wacker Dr.
Upper Level Lobby, Executive Conference Center 

Time and Date:
Monday, May 12, 2014
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Location:
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
410 N. Michigan Ave. Ste. 900

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Logistics & Mobility Forum invites you to join us for a unique training opportunity hosted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Supply Chain Security Workshop. 

Time and Date:
Thursday, May 29, 2014
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Location:
Palmer House Hilton
17 E. Monroe 

Click here to learn more and register for the workshop.

If you have any questions, please contact Katie Hamilton, Manager of Committees & Programs at khamilton@ChicagolandChamber.org or at (312) 494-6734.