Appropriates $2,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Transportation for the Statewide Railway Program for salaries and other expenses related to adding the professional staff in the rail division of the Office of Intermodal Project Implementation. Effective July 1, 2024.
Declares April 2024 as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month in the State of Illinois to help increase public awareness of the need to support individuals with autism and the family members, medical professionals, and human services professionals who help care for individuals with autism.
Amends the Telephone Solicitations Act. Provides that a person, business, or organization may not spoof a caller's information or otherwise misrepresent the origin of a telemarketing call unless the person, business, or organization has the right to use the name and phone number displayed. Requires telephone solicitations placed in a manner other than by a live operator to immediately disclose their identity and the purpose of the call and prompt the recipient of the call to consent to the solicitation. Defines terms.
Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board shall require each school to notify students and the students' parents or guardians twice each year on how to access any mental health services offered in school or in the community where the school is located.
Recognizes the cultural and historical significance of the Lunar New Year to Asian American communities. Expresses the deepest respect for Asian Americans and people throughout Illinois and the world who celebrate the Lunar New Year, and wishes those who celebrate a happy and prosperous new year.
Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Increases the amount transferred from the General Revenue Fund to the Local Government Distributive Fund. Effective immediately.
Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, and a violation shall be punished as otherwise provided by law and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that nothing in the Act shall limit the right of any person to challenge the legality of alleged interference with the public right to access or use navigable waters in any appropriate civil or criminal litigation.
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the conditions by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Provides that a meeting may be held without the physical presence of a quorum of the members if, among other requirements, the chief elected or appointed official of the public body determines that an in-person meeting would pose a risk to the health or safety of members of the public body or the public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or video conference is in the best interests of the public body or the public and public notice of that meeting states the reason or reasons for such determination. Provides that such a determination by the chief elected or appointed official of the public body shall be required for any subsidiary body of the public body to conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video conference. Specifies further requirements concerning notice and public comment. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately.
Amends the Life Care Facilities Act. Provides that a resident of a facility may, upon 60 days' written notice of the intent to vacate, cancel a life care contract for any reason. Provides that, upon vacating the unit, a resident or the resident's estate cancelling a life care contract shall provide written notice to the owner or manager of the facility that the unit is vacated. Provides that the unit may be restored to the unit's original condition upon the resident vacating. Provides that in the case of a life care contract that provides for a refundable entrance fee, the facility shall assign the vacated unit a sequential refund number among all the available units with refundable entrance fees once the unit is restored but not later than 60 days following receipt of the notice that the unit is vacated after the date that all the conditions for issue a sequential refund number, as provided in the life care contract, are fulfilled.
Amends the Childhood Hunger Relief Act. Provides that for all schools operating a school breakfast program, the State Board of Education shall collect information about whether the school is operating a breakfast after the bell program and, if so, what breakfast after the bell model the school operates, including breakfast in the classroom, second chance breakfast, and grab and go breakfast. Provides that the State Board of Education shall make this data publicly available annually. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall award grants of up to $7,000 per school site on a competitive basis to eligible schools, school districts, or entities approved by the State Board of Education for nonrecurring expenses incurred in initiating a school breakfast after the bell program. Sets forth what the grants may be used for and who gets preference for a grant.
