Sen. Sue Rezin

Amends the Freedom of Information Act to provide that in the case of sexual assault or sexual abuse by a school district employee or volunteer, nothing in the Act prohibits a school district from disclosing the disciplinary records of that person. Amends the School Code to require a school board to report all credible cases of sexual assault or sexual abuse by a licensed educator to the State Board of Education, to establish a hearing procedure for student victims, and to ensure that a licensed educator under investigation by the State Superintendent of Education is reassigned to non-classroom duty. Provides that, beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the State Board of Education must monitor all fingerprint-based criminal history records checks and any other database checks conducted by a school district or regional superintendent for applicants for employment with a school district. Makes changes concerning educator licensure and allegations of physical or sexual abuse. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 to create the criminal offense of sexual conduct or sexual relations with a student by an authority figure. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 to require an arresting enforcement agency to share its reports pertaining to the arrest of a licensed educator with the superintendent of any school district that employs the educator (or, in the case of the arrest of a superintendent, with the school board of any school district that employs the superintendent). Amends the Personnel Record Review Act to provide that the Act does not prohibit a school district from divulging internal investigative findings and discipline to another school district. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides a tax credit to each taxpayer who owns qualified real property located in a county in Illinois that was declared a State disaster area by the Governor due to tornadoes or flooding in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, or 2018. Effective immediately.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person commits unlawful use of an animal (currently, this provision only covers elephants) in a traveling animal act when he or she knowingly allows for the participation of an animal in a traveling animal act. Unlawful use of an animal in a traveling animal act is a Class A misdemeanor. Defines "animal". Effective July 1, 2019.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a school bus may be equipped with an extended stop signal or second stop signal apparatus on the driver's side of the school bus that: (1) extends no more than 7 feet from the school bus, (2) can break away from the original stop signal without affecting the operation of the original stop signal, and (3) includes a second octagonal sign that conforms to the same requirements as the original stop signal. Effective January 1, 2020.

Designates Route 113 from Carbon Hill Road to Virginia Street in Coal City as the "Dennis M. Neary Memorial Highway".

Designates the West Baltimore Street Bridge over the Kankakee River just west of North Water Street in Wilmington as the "Cpl. Lester H. Leopold Memorial Bridge".

Designates the West Baltimore Street Bridge over Forked Creek in Wilmington as the "Sgt. Dan G. Feezell Memorial Bridge".

Amends the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act. Redefines "recorded message" to mean any artificial or recorded communication that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing without live voice interaction (rather than any taped communication soliciting the sale of goods or services without live voice interaction). Prohibits an autodialer from providing inaccurate caller ID information in violation of a specified federal law and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission. Provides that it is a violation of the Act to play a recorded message (rather than a prerecorded message) placed by an autodialer without (i) the prior express written consent of the called party or (ii) the prior express written consent of the called party if the call is a call that delivers a health care message made by, or on behalf of, a covered entity or its business associate as those terms are defined in a specified provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Defines "telemarketing" and "prior written consent".

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.