Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough

Proclaims the month of November 2010 as Lung Cancer Awareness Month in the State of Illinois.

Creates the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact. Provides that the purposes of the Compact include the promotion and protection of the interests of consumers of individual and group annuity, life insurance, disability income, and long-term care insurance products. Creates the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission to develop uniform standards for insurance products covered under the Compact, establish a central clearing house to receive and provide prompt review of insurance products covered under the Compact, provide appropriate regulatory approval, and improve coordination of regulatory resources and expertise between state insurance departments. Effective immediately.

Congratulates the students, faculty, and administration of Proviso East High School in Maywood on the occasion of the school's 100th anniversary.

Congratulates Wisconsin State Representative Annette Polly Williams on her retirement.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that 2 or more acts or transactions in violation of certain provisions of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act may be joined in a single count of an indictment, information, or complaint. Amends the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Subject to appropriation, provides that the Department of Labor shall establish an administrative procedure to adjudicate claims or specific categories of claims. Establishes procedures for an employee who has not been paid the wage the employee is entitled by the Act to recover by filing a claim with the Department or in a civil action, but not both.

Amends the School Construction Law. In provisions concerning early childhood construction grants, provides that a public school district or other eligible entity must provide local matching funds in an amount equal to 10% of the grant (rather than the amount of the grant). Provides that the Capital Development Board may adopt rules that include requirements that new or improved facilities be used for early childhood and other related programs for a period of at least 10 years. Effective July 1, 2010.

Amends the Older Adult Services Act. In provisions concerning the development of a plan to restructure the State's service delivery system for older adults, provides that the Department on Aging and the Departments of Public Health and Healthcare and Family Services shall develop the plan no later than September 30, 2010. Provides that the plan shall protect the rights of all older Illinoisans to services based on their health circumstances and functioning level, regardless of whether they receive their care in their homes, in a community setting, or in a residential facility. Provides that financing for older adult services shall take into account individual preference but shall not jeopardize the health, safety, or level of care of nursing home residents. Effective immediately.

Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that it is a Class 1 felony for an employee of a penal institution, without authority of any person designated or authorized to grant such authority, to bring into or to attempt to bring into the penal institution, or to possess in the penal institution a tool to defeat security mechanisms or a cutting tool. Provides that it is a Class X felony with a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years for a person who is an employee of a penal institution to knowingly and without authority of any person designated or authorized to grant such authority to deliver or possess with intent to deliver electronic contraband in the penal institution. Effective immediately.

Creates the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act. Requires thermostat manufacturers to establish an out-of-service mercury thermostat collection program that meets certain requirements. Requires thermostat manufacturers to submit certain reports on their collection programs to the Agency. Sets goals for the collection of out-of-service mercury thermostats. Provides that if those goals are not met, then the manufacturers must revise their collection programs as necessary to achieve the applicable goal. Requires contractors, service technicians, thermostat wholesalers, thermostat manufacturers, and thermostat retailers to handle and manage out-of-service mercury thermostats in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of the universal waste regulations adopted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board. On and after January 1, 2011, prohibits (i) thermostat wholesalers from selling, offering to sell, distributing, or offering to distribute thermostats unless certain requirements are met and (ii) contractors from removing, replacing, or otherwise taking mercury thermostats out of service unless the contractors deliver those thermostats to a collection site. On and after January 1, 2011, prohibits thermostat manufacturers that are in violation of the Act from selling, offering to sell, distributing, or offering to distribute thermostats in the State. Requires the Agency to post certain information on its website and to report certain information to the General Assembly. Provides for prosecution by the Attorney General or the State's Attorney of the county in which a violation occurs. Requires the Agency to make certain recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by January 1, 2012. Effective immediately.

Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that it is an affirmative defense to a forcible entry action if the demand for possession is based on: the status of the tenant, lessee, or household member as a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual violence; an incident of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual violence against a tenant, lessee, or household member; or criminal activity engaged in by a member of a tenant's or lessee's household or any guest or other person under the tenant's, lessee's, or household member's control directly relating to domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual violence and against the tenant, lessee, or household member. Provides that the existence of the affirmative defense does not prevent a landlord from seeking possession solely against a tenant, household member, or lessee who perpetrated the violence. Effective immediately.