Rep. Mary Beth Canty

Mourns the death of Oscar Lawton Wilkerson Jr. of Markham.

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that the Governor shall annually designate, by official proclamation, the third Friday in March as Robotics Day to encourage students and school districts to engage in robotics-based activities and to engage students with the study of mathematics and science.

Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that a municipality may commence an action in the circuit court against another municipality to recover sales tax revenues generated by a business in the plaintiff municipality but mistakenly paid to the defendant municipality. Provides that the action must be commenced no later than 20 years after a payment is mistakenly paid to a municipality. Provides that a municipality may recover both the municipality's share of the moneys from the Local Government Tax Fund and the municipality's own local sales taxes that were mistakenly paid. Provides that actions of the Department of Revenue to offset amounts erroneously disbursed within the 6 months preceding the time a misallocation is discovered is not the exclusive remedy of a municipality and does not limit the rights of a municipality to pursue an action against another municipality. Provides that the changes made by the amendatory Act are declarative of existing law and shall be applied retroactively when substantively applicable, including all pending and previously pending actions without regard to when the cause of action accrued. Further amends the Illinois Municipal Code and amends the State Finance Act making conforming changes.

Amends the Election Code. Authorizes election authorities to conduct risk-limiting audits before and after the certification of election results. Provides that the determination to conduct a risk-limiting audit, the scope of an audit, and the uses of the results of an audit are entirely within the discretion of the election authority. Requires the State Board of Elections to adopt rules for the creation of a certification process for certifying that the procedure to be used by an election authority comports with the specified requirements. Provides for waiver of the certification process. Defines "risk-limiting audit". Effective immediately.

Creates the Right to Speak Your Truth Act. Prohibits a person accused of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, sexual assault, and sexual harassment from using a defamation action to silence, or retaliate against, the accusing person, staff, or third party reporting the forms of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. Provides that defamation claims, where an accuser is publicly named by a person, staff, or third person reporting alleged sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, sexual assault, or sexual harassment, shall be reserved for cases where cited documentation and evidence can establish within the initial court filing one or more of the following: (1) the claimed act in the reported accusation was a factual impossibility for the accused to have perpetrated; (2) the accuser has been impeached in a courtroom proceeding regarding the same alleged facts as in the present reported accusation; (3) the accuser has publicly made contrary statements involving relevant, material facts regarding the present reported incident; or (4) the accuser has publicly stated that the present reported incident did not occur.

Amends the School Code. Lowers the compulsory school age from 6 to 5 years of age beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. Requires all school districts to establish kindergarten for the instruction of children who are 5 years of age or older. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Agriculture shall award grants to special access food providers in the State.

Amends the School Board Article of the School Code. Provides that a school district that elects to implement College and Career Pathway Endorsements by July 1, 2025 is encouraged to provide job coaching to students enrolled in Career and Technical Education programs. Provides that duties of the job coaches may include teaching skills, such as resume preparation, career counseling and exploration, and acting as a liaison to the business community. Effective July 1, 2025.

Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. Provides that a mathematics course that includes geometry content may be offered as an integrated, applied, interdisciplinary, or career and technical education course that prepares a student for a career readiness path. Effective June 30, 2024.

Honors and thanks State Representative Frances Ann Hurley for her years of dedicated service. Wishes her the best on her future success.