Sen. Seth Lewis

Maddy summarySB 261 reenacts and makes permanent Illinois' Invest in Kids Act, which provides tax credits to Illinois taxpayers who contribute to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). The bill directly affects Illinois taxpayers who make qualified contributions to SGOs, allowing them to claim a tax credit equal to their contribution. These contributions fund scholarships for eligible students from households with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (rising to 400% after receiving a scholarship), who attend qualified non-public schools in Illinois. The legislation amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to make these tax credit provisions permanent, replacing a temporary program set to expire in 2025.

Creates the Design Professional Self-Certification Act. Provides that the Executive Director of the Capital Development Board shall establish a self-certification program through which a qualified design professional within a participating municipality shall be permitted to: (1) take responsibility for a project's compliance with the baseline building code; and (2) self-certify that a permit application, plans, and specifications comply with the baseline building code. Requires the Executive Director to establish requirements for design professionals to qualify for the self-certification program. Sets forth program requirements; oversight; and recordkeeping. Effective January 1, 2026.

Appropriates $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Transportation for its FY26 ordinary and contingent expenses. Effective July 1, 2025.

Maddy summarySB 1714 is a procedural bill that makes a minor technical correction to the Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act. It updates the short title citation in Section 1 of the law to fix an outdated formatting error (changing "the the" to "the"). This change affects how the law is referenced in legal documents but does not alter any health programs, funding, or patient protections. The bill has no substantive policy impact and only addresses the act's formal citation. (Procedural bill; summary limited to 2 sentences as required.)

Maddy summaryThis resolution (SR 12) declares February 1-8, 2025, as "Court Reporting and Captioning Week" in Illinois. It honors court reporters and captioners for their roles in preserving legal records, providing real-time translation (CART) for accessibility, and supporting justice proceedings. The resolution recognizes their work in safeguarding confidential information, enabling accurate legal documentation, and assisting deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals and non-native English speakers. As a symbolic gesture, it does not create new laws or alter existing policies.

Maddy summarySB 1601 is a technical amendment to the Illinois Income Tax Act that corrects a minor formatting error in the statute's short title citation. It changes Section 101 to properly cite the act as "Illinois Income Tax Act" (removing an extra "and" and ensuring consistent punctuation). This bill does not change any tax rates, policies, or taxpayer obligations - it only updates the official reference language in the law. No specific individuals or groups are directly affected, as it is purely a procedural correction to the statute's wording. The bill has no substantive policy impact and is solely administrative.

Maddy summarySB 1495 is a procedural bill that corrects the phrasing of the short title for the Illinois Highway Code. It amends Section 1-101 to properly state that "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Illinois Highway Code," fixing a minor drafting error in the existing law. The bill does not change any transportation policies, regulations, or funding. It directly affects how the Highway Code is formally referenced in legal documents but has no impact on public policy or services. This is a technical correction with no substantive policy changes.

Creates the Local Government Chairperson Term Limit Review Act. Provides that, no later than December 31, 2025, and no less than every 2 years thereafter, a governmental unit that is governed by an elected governing body that has not enacted term limits for the board's chairperson by ordinance or resolution shall consider and decide, by verbal or written vote, ordinance, resolution, or referendum of the electors of the governmental unit, whether to impose term limits for the chairperson of the governing body. Defines "governmental unit" as a unit of local government or school district. Provides that, if a governmental unit has a term limit policy for the chairperson of its governing body, before a person may be elected chairperson, the governmental unit's clerk or secretary shall determine which members of the governing body are eligible to serve as chairperson of the governing body based upon the term limit policy. Provides that the clerk or secretary shall submit an eligibility report to the governing body listing those members who are eligible and ineligible before the meeting at which the chairperson is to be elected. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Effective immediately.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that violation of an order of protection is a Class 4 felony if the defendant has any prior conviction violation of a civil no contact order, violation of a stalking no contact order, or any prior conviction under the law of another jurisdiction for an offense that could be charged in the State as violation of a civil no contact order or violation of a stalking no contact order. Provides that violation of a civil no contact order is a Class 4 felony if the defendant has any prior conviction for violation of an order of protection, violation of a civil no contact order, or violation of a stalking no contact order, or any prior conviction under the law of another jurisdiction for an offense that could be charged in the State as a violation of an order of protection, violation of a civil no contact order, or violation of a stalking no contact order. Provides that violation of a stalking no contact order is a Class 4 felony if the defendant has any prior conviction under the Code for a violation of an order of protection, violation of a stalking no contact order, or violation of a civil no contact order, or any prior conviction under the law of another jurisdiction for an offense that could be charged in the State as a violation of an order of protection, violation of a civil no contact order, or violation of a stalking no contact order.

Maddy summarySB 236 amends Illinois' identity theft statute (720 ILCS 5/16-30) by replacing all references to "individuals" with "persons" throughout the law. This is a purely technical language update with no changes to the statute's scope, penalties, or definitions of identity theft offenses. The bill does not affect who is protected under the law or alter any existing provisions regarding criminal penalties or defenses. It directly affects the official text of the Criminal Code but has no practical impact on how identity theft is prosecuted or defined.