Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Provides that "day care homes" means family homes which receive more than 3 and up to a maximum of 14 children (instead of 12) for less than 24 hours per day.
Amends the Election Code. Provides that beginning on January 1, 2025, a person convicted of a felony, or otherwise under sentence in a correctional institution, shall have his or her right to vote restored and shall be eligible to vote not later than 14 days following his or her conviction. Provides that a person who is serving a sentence in a correctional institution starting prior to January 1, 2025 shall have his or her right to vote restored not later than January 14, 2025. Provides that a person may not be denied the right to vote because of a past criminal conviction. Provides that each local election authority shall coordinate with the correctional institution, Illinois Department of Corrections, and other correctional agencies incarcerating eligible voters to facilitate voting by mail for those voters eligible to vote in that election jurisdiction who are incarcerated in the correctional institution. Provides that the Attorney General, any individual aggrieved by a violation of these provisions, any entity whose membership includes individuals aggrieved by a violation of these provisions, any entity whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of these provisions, or any entity that would expend resources in order to fulfill its mission as a result of a violation of these provisions may file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that the Act is intended to benefit and protect the rights of individual voters and to provide a remedy for infringing on the rights granted under this Act. Amends the Re-Entering Citizens Civics Education Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Reintegration and Civic Empowerment Act. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall conduct the civics peer education program each of the 3 sessions not less than twice a month at each correctional institution totaling not less than 6 sessions per month at each correctional institution. Provides that the civics peer education program and workshops must be made available to all committed persons regardless of the date they were first committed or the length of their sentence. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the Unified Code of Corrections to make conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2025.
Affirms the importance and targeted value of the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship in increasing diversity in the teacher workforce. Celebrates the support that the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship has offered to aspiring teachers to date and the scholarship's role in growing the diversity of teacher preparation in Illinois. Urges the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to continue to administer the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship in order to support aspiring teachers of color to enter the teaching profession. Urges the State of Illinois and its entities to continue to support efforts grounded in research and data that increase the diversity of the educator workforce in order to improve outcomes for all students in this State.
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Removes provisions specifically excluding academic programs for incarcerated students from the definitions of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". In provisions concerning the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program, removes the restriction that the applicant must not be incarcerated.
Creates the Municipal and Cooperative Electric Utility Planning and Transparency Act. Provides that, by November 1, 2024, and by November 1 every 3 years thereafter, all electric cooperatives with members in the State, municipal power agencies, and municipalities shall file with the Illinois Power Agency an integrated resource plan. Sets forth provisions concerning the plan. Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Authorizes the Illinois Power Agency to develop capacity procurement plans and conduct competitive procurement processes for the procurement of capacity needed to ensure environmentally sustainable long-term resource adequacy across the State at the lowest cost over time. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Changes the cumulative persisting annual savings goals for electric utilities that serve less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 retail customers for the years of 2024 through 2030. Provides that the cumulative persisting annual savings goals beyond the year 2030 shall increase by 0.9 (rather than 0.6) percentage points per year. Changes the requirements for submitting proposed plans and funding levels to meet savings goals for an electric utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers (rather than serving less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 retail customers). Provides that an electric utility that has a tariff approved within one year of the amendatory Act shall also offer at least one market-based, time-of-use rate for eligible retail customers that choose to take power and energy supply service from the utility. Sets forth provisions regarding the Illinois Commerce Commission's powers and duties related to residential time-of-use pricing. Provides that each capacity procurement event may include the procurement of capacity through a mix of contracts with different terms and different initial delivery dates. Sets forth the requirements of prepared capacity procurement plans. Requires each alternative retail electric supplier to make payment to an applicable electric utility for capacity, receive transfers of capacity credits, report capacity credits procured on its behalf to the applicable regional transmission organization, and submit the capacity credits to the applicable regional transmission organization under that regional transmission organization's rules and procedures. Makes other changes.
Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes changes to Tier 2 benefits, including changing the amount of the automatic annual increase to 3% of the originally granted retirement annuity or 3% of the retirement annuity then being paid for the General Assembly and Judges Articles, changing the limit on the amount of salary for annuity purposes to the Social Security wage base, changing the calculation of final average salary to the Tier 1 calculation for persons who are active members on or after January 1, 2025, and changing the retirement age. Establishes an accelerated pension benefit payment option for the General Assembly, Chicago Teachers, and Judges Articles of the Code. Provides that, with regard to persons subject to the Tier 2 provisions, a security employee of the Department of Human Services, a security employee of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, an investigator for the Department of the Lottery, or a State highway worker is entitled to an annuity calculated under the alternative retirement annuity provisions of the State Employee Article of the Code. Authorizes the conversion of service to eligible creditable service. Provides that the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act (Article 20 of the Code) is adopted and made a part of the Downstate Police, Downstate Firefighter, Chicago Police, and Chicago Firefighter Articles. Authorizes SLEP status under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund for a person who is a county correctional officer or probation officer and for a person who participates in IMRF and qualifies as a firefighter under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act. In the Downstate Firefighter Article, includes a de facto firefighter in the definition of "firefighter". Defines "de facto firefighter". Provides that the monthly pension of a firefighter who is receiving a disability pension shall be increased at the rate of 3% of the original monthly pension. Makes changes to the minimum retirement annuity payable to a firefighter with 20 or more years of creditable service, the minimum disability pension, and the minimum surviving spouse's pension. Makes other changes. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois Antitrust Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title of the Act.
Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Specifies that the notice in contested case hearings must include an enclosure that notifies the recipient of the ability to request interpretive assistance for the hearing and to receive language assistance in translating the contents of the notice. Provides that an administrative law judge has the duty to inquire and determine whether a self-represented litigant or witness in a hearing needs interpretive assistance to participate in or understand the hearing. Authorizes any self-represented litigant, witness, or indigent person to request, at any time during the course of a hearing, interpretive assistance needed to participate in or understand the hearing. Provides that, if interpretive assistance is requested by a self-represented litigant, a witness, or an indigent person or if interpretive assistance is determined to be necessary by the administrative law judge, the administrative agency must appoint a foreign language interpreter at no cost to the person in need of the assistance for use in a substantive hearing. Authorizes an administrative agency to provide interpretive assistance during a nonsubstantive hearing through use of an interpreter who is not a foreign language interpreter, provided the administrative law judge examines the interpreter for competency for the purposes of the nonsubstantive hearing. Requires all persons appointed to provide interpretive assistance in substantive and nonsubstantive hearings to make certain affirmations. Contains provisions concerning waiver of these language assistance provisions.
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Strengthening Mental Health and Substance Use Parity Act. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, or any third-party administrator administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer, shall cover all out-of-network medically necessary mental health and substance use benefits and services (inpatient and outpatient) as if they were in-network for purposes of cost sharing for the insured. Provides that the insured has the right to select the provider or facility of their choice and the modality, whether the care is provided via in-person visit or telehealth, for medically necessary care. Sets forth minimum reimbursement rates for certain behavioral health benefits. Sets forth provisions concerning responsibility for compliance with parity requirements; coverage and payment for multiple covered mental health and substance use services, mental health or substance use services provided under the supervision of a licensed mental health or substance treatment provider, and 60-minute individual psychotherapy; timely credentialing of mental health and substance use providers; Department of Insurance enforcement and rulemaking; civil penalties; and other matters. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to authorize emergency rulemaking. Effective immediately.
Maddy summaryThis bill makes a minor technical correction to the official short title of a section within the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. It does not create new laws, change existing policies, or directly affect any individuals or organizations. The change was approved by both the House and Senate and has been sent to the Governor for final approval.
