Rep. Maurice West

Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Provides that the Board of Higher Education shall require all public institutions which have a Benefits Navigator to operate a Benefits Navigation Center. Provides that the Benefits Navigator may train and supervise students in case management, and may develop a peer-to-peer student navigator network to staff the Benefits Navigation Center. Sets forth requirements for the Benefits Navigation Centers, services to be provided by the Benefits Navigation Centers, costs, and data collection. Provides that the requirement to operate a Benefits Navigation Center are repealed August 1, 2028. Establishes the Student Navigator Advisory Board. Provides that the Advisory Board shall research, review, and recommend best practices to the individual benefits navigation centers. Provides for the membership and support of the Advisory Board. Provides that the Advisory Board shall host a statewide consortium of the Benefits Navigators. Provides that the Advisory Board shall issue a report after the Benefits Navigation Center requirements are repealed. Provides that the provisions establishing the Advisory Board are repealed on September 1, 2028. Effective August 1, 2023.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that the salary (exclusive of any other compensation or benefits) of a clerk or recorder who is elected or appointed after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall not be less than 80% of the salary set for the State's Attorney for the county in which the county clerk or recorder is elected or appointed. Provides that the State shall furnish 66 2/3% of the total annual salary to be paid to a clerk or recorder, and the county shall furnish 33 1/3% of the total annual salary. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Makes conforming changes, including removing outdated salary references.

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

Congratulates Alpine Academy of Rockford for its continued devotion to quality education on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.

Creates the Illinois Container Fee and Deposit Act. Provides for a deposit value of 10 cents to be paid by consumers on each beverage container sold in the State by a dealer for consumption. Provides that, upon the return to a dealer or person operating a redemption center, the dealer or redemption center shall pay the value of the deposit back to the consumer as a refund. Sets forth requirements for administration of the program. Provides certain exemptions to the program. Requires that the refund value be clearly indicated on all beverage containers sold in the State. Provides for the Environmental Protection Agency to certify redemption centers. Prohibits snap-top beverage containers. Provides that persons violating the Act shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. Prohibits the manufacture of certain beverage containers. Prohibits the disposal of beverage containers at sanitary landfills. Provides that deposits not passed on to the consumer through bottle redemption shall be distributed as follows: 75% to the Agency for environmental and conservation-related programs and 25% to each distributor in proportion to the number of beverage containers sold by each distributor in the State. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Illinois Container Fee and Deposit Fund. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that an employer with 250 or fewer full-time equivalent employees during the reporting period may claim a credit against the withholding payments for each qualified employee. Provides that a qualified employee is an employee who receives a raise from an employer, whose post-raise annual salary attributable to that employer is not less than $31,200, and who continues to be employed by the employer during the reporting period for which the credit is taken.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county's full-time public defender must be paid an annual salary that is at least 100% (rather than 90%) of the county State's attorney's annual compensation. Requires the State to pay 100% (rather than 66 2/3%) of the public defender's annual salary. Prohibits a public defender for a county of 30,000 or more inhabitants from engaging in the private practice of law if the public defender is receiving not less than 100% (rather than 90%) of the compensation of the State's attorney of that county. Effective July 1, 2023.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that the county board or board of county commissioners of each county shall appoint a medical examiner and the medical examiner may appoint a deputy medical examiner, who both shall be physicians licensed to practice within this State. Discontinues the office of the coroner in each county on December 1, 2024 replacing it with the appointed medical examiner. Allows a medical examiner to appoint investigators. Provides that 2 or more counties may enter into an agreement to allow the same persons to act as medical examiners, deputy medical examiners, and investigators. Allows a medical examiner to establish an elderly and vulnerable adult death review team. Makes other changes concerning removal of medical examiners and deputy medical examiners, bonds, death investigations, identification of bodies, expenses, records, organ donation and cremation of a body subject to investigation, autopsies, removal of property found near a body, and notification of a medical examiner. Limits concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Amends various other Acts and Codes making conforming changes. Effective December 1, 2024, except that specified provisions take effect immediately.

Amends the Department of Human Services Act. In provisions concerning the Teen Responsibility, Education, Achievement, Caring, and Hope (Teen REACH) Grant Program, provides that any technical assistance provided to a statewide provider of services under the Teen REACH Grant Program shall be delivered directly by the Department of Human Services and shall not be delegated or outsourced to a third-party organization.

Amends the Arsonist Registration Act, the Sex Offender Registration Act, and the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act. Provides that a person required to register under the Act may change her or his name if the change is due to marriage, religious beliefs, status as a victim of trafficking or gender-related identity as defined by the Illinois Human Rights Act. Requires the person to report the name change within 10 days to the law enforcement agency with whom they last registered. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides further requirements for when name changes may and may not be granted. Provides that a petition for this change shall be a statewide, standardized form approved by the Illinois Supreme Court and include a warning about when a name change may be charged as a felony. Provides when an objection to the name change may be filed. Deletes notice by publication language. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 735 ILCS 5/21-103 rep. Adds reference to: 735 ILCS 5/21-103 from Ch. 110, par. 21-103 Deletes a provision concerning objections relating to specificity, timing, filing, and form. Provides that a person who has been convicted of a felony offense in this State or any other state and whose sentence has not been terminated, completed, or discharged is not permitted to file a petition for a name change in the courts of this State unless that person is pardoned for the offense. Adds "name" to two section headings to reflect the duty to report a legal name change. Provides that certain objections shall be served upon the petitioner. Replaces a repeal of a provision concerning notice by publication with a change to the provision providing that the court may issue an order directing that the notice and publication requirement be waived for a change of name involving a person who files with the court a statement verified under oath that the person believes that publishing notice of the name change would be a hardship, including but not limited to, a negative impact on the person's health or safety. Provides that in a case where waiver of the notice and publication requirement is sought, the petition for waiver will be presumed granted and heard at the same hearing as the petition for name change. Provides that the court retains discretion to determine whether a hardship is shown and may order the petitioner to publish thereafter.