Rep. Marcus Evans

Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Prison Education Fund. Provides that moneys in the Prison Education Fund shall be used by the Illinois Community College Board and Illinois Board of Higher Education to make grants to prison education programs that award associate degrees or bachelor's degrees to currently incarcerated students. Makes changes concerning the allocation of money from the Cannabis Regulation Fund. Provides that 0.5% of the moneys in the Cannabis Regulation Fund, after certain allocations have been made, shall be transferred from the Cannabis Regulation Fund to the Prison Education Fund.

Appropriates $780,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County for the administration and operation of Greencorps Chicago and Forest Preserve Experience programs within the Conservation Corps program. Effective July 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a House Resolution that formally congratulates the Retired Teachers Association of Chicago (RTAC) on its 100th anniversary. The resolution recognizes the organization's long history of protecting pensions and benefits for retired Chicago Public School educators. It highlights RTAC's achievements, such as securing representation on the pension fund and establishing aid programs for members with modest incomes. The bill is a commemorative measure and does not create new laws or policy changes.

Amends the Energy Community Reinvestment Act. In provisions concerning the Displaced Energy Worker Dependent Transition Scholarship, provides that a student may receive a scholarship under those provisions for a period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, including summer terms (currently, one calendar year of full-time enrollment, including summer terms). Provides that the displaced energy worker must have lost his or her employment while a resident of Illinois to be eligible for the scholarship program. Effective July 1, 2026.

Creates the Residential Automated Solar Permitting Platform Act. Provides that on or before July 1, 2026, municipalities with a population of more than 5,000 residents and all counties must adopt a residential automated solar permitting platform. Requires the public reporting of information about such a platform on the official website of the municipality and county. Provides that a person or entity aggrieved by a violation of the Act or any rule adopted under the Act may file a civil action in the county in which the alleged offense occurred or where any person who is party to the action resides, without regard to exhaustion of any alternative administrative remedies provided in the Act. Provides that a person or entity whose rights have been violated under the Act by a municipality or county is entitled to collect: (i) up to 50% of the total cost of the residential photovoltaic system installation for which the permit is requested; (ii) in the case of unlawful retaliation, all legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate; and (iii) attorney's fees and costs. Creates a statute of limitations for a civil action 3 years from the date that a person or entity requested a permit for a residential photovoltaic system.

Amends the Election Code. Provides that it is unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten, coerce, use violence or force, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, coerce, or use violence or force against: (1) an election worker in the performance or discharge of his or her election-related duties; or (2) an individual who is lawfully present at a polling place or a location where a canvass of votes is conducted. Provides that any person who violates the provision is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense committed within 3 years of a previous conviction for the same offense.

Creates the Illinois Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Prohibits preparing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale kratom products intended for ingestion if they meet certain specifications, with a civil penalty of $5,000 for a first violation, $10,000 for a second or subsequent violation, and a 2-year ban on distributing or selling a kratom product for a third violation. Requires labeling of retail packages containing kratom products, preparing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale kratom products intended for ingestion if they meet certain specifications. Prohibits selling kratom products to a person under 21 years of age, with a Class B or Class A misdemeanor for a knowing and willful violation. Prohibits manufacturing, delivering, holding, offering for sale, distributing, or selling a product that contains kratom and a controlled substance, with a Class 4 felony for knowing and willful violation. Prohibits manufacturing, delivering, holding, offering for sale, distributing, or selling a product that contains a synthetically derived compound of the plant Mitragyna speciosa, with a Class B misdemeanor for knowing and willful violation. Provides an affirmative defense for a retailer for reliance upon the representations of a manufacturer, processor, packer, or distributor of food represented to be a kratom product. Requires the Department of Revenue to adopt rules to implement and administer the Act. Limits home rule powers and functions. Defines terms. Repeals the Kratom Control Act. Effective January 1, 2027.

Amends the School Code. Requires students in the public schools in grades 6 through 12 to receive instruction in career and technical education, which may be satisfied by attending a field trip to a local career and technical education training center. Allows a school board to include the required instruction in the courses of study regularly taught in the public schools, provided that the instruction is given each year to all pupils in grades 6 through 12. Provides that each school board shall determine the minimum amount of instructional time required.

Amends the School Code. Provides that a school district, other than the Chicago school district, shall employ a sufficient number of school counselors to maintain a student-counselor ratio of 150 to 1 (rather than allowing the school district to employ a sufficient number of school counselors to maintain the national and State recommended student-counselor ratio of 250 to 1). Requires the Chicago Board of Education to employ a sufficient number of licensed school counselors to maintain a student-counselor ratio of 100 to 1 (rather than encouraging the board to employ a sufficient number of licensed school counselors to maintain a student/counselor ratio of 250 to 1).

Creates the Lead-Safe Water for Families Act. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall establish and administer a program to provide lead-reducing water filters at no cost to Medicaid-eligible households with children or expectant mothers. Requires outreach, application procedures, and rulemaking. Requires annual reporting to the General Assembly. Declares findings and states the purpose of the Act. Defines terms.