Creates the Teacher Homebuyer Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Housing Development Authority to establish and administer a program to provide down payment assistance to public school teachers who teach in hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-staff positions for purchasing residences within the school district. Provides that the assistance shall be in the form of a deferred payment, low-interest subordinate mortgage loan with a term not longer than the term of the first mortgage loan, with interest accruing at a rate of up to 5% per annum. Provides that if the borrower has continuously been a teacher for the 5-year period immediately following the date of recordation of the loan deed of trust, then repayment of the loan shall be forgiven and considered a grant. Provides that repayment of the principal and accrued interest is due and payable upon the occurrence of certain events. Effective immediately.
Sponsored bills
Amends the Alternative Health Care Delivery Act. Provides that there shall be no more than 10 birth center alternative health care models in the demonstration program authorized under the Act. Sets forth requirements for the location of the centers and for services and standards of the centers. Requires the Department of Public Health to adopt rules for the operation and research protocols of birth centers. Makes other changes.
Amends the Secretary of State Act. Makes a technical change in a Section regarding the oath of office.
Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Adds members of a school board, the Chicago Board of Education, or the governing body of a private school as mandated reporters. Provides that any person who knowingly and willfully violates any mandated-reporter provision of the Act other than a second or subsequent violation of transmitting a false report is guilty of a Class 4 felony (instead of a Class A misdemeanor) for a first violation and a Class 3 (instead of Class 4) felony for a second or subsequent violation. Effective immediately.
Creates the Anti-Phishing Act. Makes it unlawful for a person, by means of a Web page, e-mail message, or otherwise through use of the Internet, to solicit, request, or take any action to induce another person to provide identifying information by representing oneself to be a business without the authority or approval of the business. Provides that a person who is engaged in the business of providing Internet access service to the public, owns a Web page, or owns a trademark and is adversely affected by a violation may bring an action to recover the greater of actual damages or $500,000. Provides that an individual who is adversely affected by a violation may bring an action against a person who has directly violated the Act to enjoin further violations of the Act and to recover the greater of 3 times the amount of actual damages or $5,000 per violation. Provides that the Attorney General or a State's Attorney may bring an action against a person who violates or is in violation of the Act to enjoin further violations and to recover a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation. Provides that a court may increase the recoverable damages to an amount up to 3 times the damages otherwise recoverable if the defendant has engaged in a pattern and practice of violating the Act and award costs of suit and attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff. Provides that these remedies do not preclude the seeking of remedies, including criminal remedies, under any other applicable provision of law. Provides that multiple violations resulting from any single action or conduct shall constitute one violation.
Amends the Vehicle Code. Provides that each school district in the State shall have in place, by January 1, 2008, a policy to ensure that the school bus driver is the last person leaving every school bus and that no passenger is left behind or remains on the vehicle at the end of a route, a work shift, or the work day. Establishes requirements for the policy. Effective immediately.
Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 and the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Provides that the court may include in the order of protection granting the petitioner the exclusive care, custody, or control of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by either the petitioner or the respondent or a minor child residing in the residence or household of either the petitioner or the respondent and ordering the respondent to stay away from the animal and forbidding the respondent from taking, transferring, encumbering, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
Amends the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. Provides that every hospital, fire station, emergency medical facility, and police station that is required to accept a relinquished newborn infant in accordance with the Act must post a sign in a conspicuous place on the exterior of the building housing the facility informing persons that a newborn infant may be relinquished at the facility in accordance with the Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to prescribe specifications for the signs and for their placement that will ensure statewide uniformity. Effective immediately.
Amends the Sex Offender Community Notification Law and the Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act. Provides that the local law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction shall disclose to libraries located within their jurisdictions the name, address, date of birth, place of employment, school attended, and offense or adjudication of all sex offenders and violent offenders against youth required to register in their jurisdictions under the Acts. Effective immediately.
Amends the Local Government Employees Benefits Continuation Act. Provides that the Act limits home rule powers for all home rule units (now, the limitation applies only to home rule units with populations of less than 1,000,000). Effective immediately.