Rep. Kam Buckner

Urges the President of the United States to authorize the DHS Secretary to establish a program to evaluate parole and work authorization on a case-by-case basis for long-term immigrant workers who are undocumented and residing in Illinois to address this State's critical need for labor and to secure the family life for tens of thousands of mixed status families in Illinois. Urges the Governor to work with federal partners to urge, by all possible means, the establishment of such a parole and work authorization program for the long-term immigrant population who are undocumented and residing in Illinois.

Maddy summaryThis resolution congratulates Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman for earning her Ph.D. at the age of 17. It highlights her academic achievements, including receiving earlier degrees by age 14 and her research on mental health stigma. The document also notes her work running a leadership institute that encourages underserved youth to pursue STEAM careers. A copy of the resolution will be presented to Dr. Tillman as a symbol of respect.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a memorial resolution honoring the life of Rickye Denise "Rikki" Jones, a Chicago educator, activist, and political leader who passed away in April 2024. The document formally expresses the Illinois House of Representatives' condolences to her family and friends while acknowledging her significant contributions to community service, education, and civil rights advocacy. It highlights her decades of leadership with the Cook County Democratic Women and her support for numerous political campaigns, including those for President Obama and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The resolution concludes by directing that a copy be presented to the Jones family as a gesture of sympathy.

Encourages the utilization of small, diverse, and veteran-owned firms, as M/WBE and DBE programs have demonstrated success in promoting economic opportunity, equity and access. Supports federal DBE standards and programs to ensure the success of the Illinois Department of Transportation's DBE Program. Urges Congress to take action to protect the USDOT DBE program and M/WBE and DBE programs overall.

Recognizes the need to reunite communities split by the creation of the interstate highway system. Recognizes the importance of expressway lids as a partial solution to that problem. Urges the State of Illinois to utilize federal resources, in partnership with state agencies and local entities, to begin reconnecting these communities with, among other things, expressway lids.

Urges the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to continue taking appropriate action to facilitate equitable access to adolescent and adult vaccinations, including establishing appropriate programs and initiatives to raise public awareness on the importance of adolescent and adult vaccinations. Urges the IDPH to continue working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in-state healthcare providers, and patients to implement an effective and actionable state immunization strategy that includes adult immunizations. Urges the IDPH to continue increasing community resilience to communicable and other emerging disease threats. Urges the IDPH to continue determining goals on which to center the immunization plan. Urges the IDPH to continue exploring federal funding opportunities and partnerships to support vaccine awareness and access programs aligned with the goals established in the state immunization strategy.

Creates the Black Farmer Restoration Program Act. Creates the Black Farmer Restoration Program within the Department of Agriculture to support current Black farmers and to encourage the growth of Black farmers into the field of agriculture. Creates the Black Farmer Restoration Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides that the Fund shall consist of gifts, grants, donations, and appropriations which must be made to support the Program. Provides that expenditures from the Fund must be used exclusively to pay costs, fees, and expenses necessary to administer the Program. Establishes requirements and limitations for the Program. Establishes the Farm Conservation Corps to provide training in an on-field environment for socially disadvantaged residents. Provides that the Director shall make publicly available annual reports describing data on the recipients of the Department programs, including assistance from farm subsidy programs, and the amounts of the assistance, delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the recipients. Defines terms. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates a deduction for an amount equal to the amount included in the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income that is attributable to student loan repayment assistance received by the taxpayer during the taxable year from a qualified community foundation if the taxpayer is a qualified worker. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2027, a person or entity shall not manufacture, sell, deliver, distribute, hold, or offer for sale a food product for human consumption that contains brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye 3. Provides that a person or entity that violates the prohibition shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a first violation and not to exceed $10,000 for each subsequent violation. Makes a conforming change.

Amends the Court of Claims Act. Deletes language regarding the amount a court shall award to a person for time unjustly served in prison when the person imprisoned received a pardon on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he or she was imprisoned or he or she received a certificate of innocence. Provides instead that the court shall award $50,000 per year during which the person was wrongfully imprisoned and shall prorate that amount for a fraction of a year that the person was wrongfully imprisoned, including the number of years the person was awaiting trial. Provides that the court shall award attorney's fees in an amount not to exceed 25% of the award granted. Provides that the changes made by the amendatory Act apply to all claims pending or filed on or after the effective date. Effective immediately.