Sen. Mattie Hunter

Creates the Right to Garden Act. Provides that the State or a unit of local government may not regulate gardens or the use of season extension techniques and devices on residential property. Provides that the Act does not preclude the State or a unit of local government from adopting statutes or regulations pertaining to: restrictions on water use during drought conditions; existing or future adoption of property set-backs; maximum lot coverage; utility safety; fertilizer use; control of invasive species; a substance regulated under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, the Industrial Hemp Act, or the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act; or any other regulation that does not have the effect of prohibiting gardens. Defines the terms "garden", "residential property", and "season extension techniques and devices". Limits home rule powers. Effective immediately.

Amends the Eviction Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Defines terms. Provides that a complaint for an eviction action shall include specified information. Provides that upon entry of an eviction order, the court shall make specified findings. Provides that a court file shall not be sealed if it pertains to an eviction in which: (1) the tenancy is commercial, or (2) the property that the plaintiff seeks possession of is a condominium unit and no tenants or occupants are named as defendants. Provides that the court may order that a court file in an eviction action be sealed if the interests of justice outweigh the interests of the public, taking specified factors in account. Provides that the court file shall be sealed: (1) in a foreclosure-related eviction action; (2) in a not-for-cause eviction; (3) if the parties to the eviction action so agree; and (4) in any action not resulting in an eviction order entered in favor of the plaintiff. Provides that any tenant or occupant named as a defendant in an eviction action may file a motion or petition to seal the court file. Provides the manner in which court files shall be sealed. Provides that the clerk of the circuit court shall automatically seal all eviction court files no later than 3 years after the plaintiff's initial filing with the court. Provides that if a person knows or has reasonable cause to know that information is derived from a sealed court file, he or she shall not disseminate the information. Provides, with exceptions, that a consumer reporting agency shall not disclose, or use in a consumer report, information regarding an eviction action in which there is no final disposition entered or the court file is sealed, and that any violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides for damages in the amount of $2,000 for each violation, or twice the actual and consequential damages sustained, whichever is greater, and the costs of the action. Makes conforming changes in the Mortgage Foreclosure Article of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that the owner of a certificate of purchase must file with the county clerk the names and addresses of the owners of the property and those persons entitled to service of notice at their last known addresses. Provides that the clerk shall mail notice within 30 days from the date of the filing of addresses with the clerk.

Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that the Act may be referred to as the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act. Provides that "race", as used in the Employment and Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education Articles, includes traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that a taxpayer who may claim a qualifying student as a dependent is allowed a credit of up to $2,000 for qualified tuition and fee expenses paid by the taxpayer. Provides that the term qualifying student means a person who (i) is a resident of the State, (ii) is under the age of 24 at the close of the school year for which a credit is sought, and (iii) during the school year for which a credit is sought, is a full-time student enrolled in a program at a qualifying college or university.

Amends the Chicago Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that administrator means a member who (i) is employed in a position that requires him or her to hold a professional educator license with an administrative endorsement issued by the State Board of Education (instead of a Type 75 Certificate issued by the State Teacher Certification Board), (ii) is not on the Chicago teachers' or the Chicago charter school teachers' salary schedule, or (iii) is paid on an administrative payroll.

Amends the Re-Entering Citizens Civics Education Act. Expands the program to persons committed to a Department of Juvenile Justice facility. Provides that the workshop held at the Department of Juvenile Justice shall consist of 270 minutes of instruction. Provides that the civil education program in the Department of Juvenile Justice shall be taught by 2 co-facilitators. Provides that one of the co-facilitators shall be a member of an established nonpartisan civil organization and the other a committed person at the Department of Juvenile Justice who is specifically trained in voting rights education and who has been trained by an established nonpartisan civil organization. Effective January 1, 2021.

Amends the Illinois Lottery Law. Requires the Department of the Lottery, beginning on July 1, 2020, to offer a special instant scratch-off game for child abuse prevention. Requires the net revenue from that game to be deposited into the Child Abuse Prevention Fund. Effective immediately.

Creates the Recovery and Mental Health Tax Credit Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer a recovery tax credit program to provide tax incentives to qualified employers who employ eligible individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness in part-time and full-time positions within Illinois. Creates the Advisory Council on Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorder Impacts on Employment Opportunities within Minority Communities. Sets forth the membership of the Council. Provides that the Council shall advise the Department of Human Services regarding employment of persons with mental illnesses and substance use disorders in minority communities. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to make conforming changes.

Amends the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a unit of local government or local public health authority shall not require a license, permit, or fee for the sale of lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverage by an individual under 18 years of age from a stand on private property with permission of the owner of the private property or in a public park. Provides that an individual selling lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverage under the provisions and the owner of private property upon which the lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverage is sold do not owe a duty of care to persons buying lemonade or nonalcoholic beverages, and are not liable for any injury incurred by such persons except for willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence. Provides that a unit of local government or local public health authority may require an individual selling lemonade or nonalcoholic beverage under the amendatory provisions to provide notice of his or her lack of a duty of care and liability. Effective immediately.