Sen. Dale Fowler

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution honors the life of Charles D. "Chuck" Ingram, a retired educator and coach from Harrisburg who passed away on May 7, 2026. The document formally expresses the Illinois Senate's condolences to his family and requests that a copy of the resolution be presented to them as a gesture of sympathy. It details Ingram's extensive career in teaching industrial arts and coaching sports, noting his significant contributions to Harrisburg High School and local communities. The text also highlights his community service, including his roles in the church and local government, as well as his personal achievements and family history.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that, for persons dying on or after January 1, 2027, if a valid election has been made under the Internal Revenue Code allowing a person to take into account a federal deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for the purposes of calculating the person's federal estate tax, then the person's Illinois exclusion amount shall include the Illinois deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for the deceased spouse with respect to whom the federal election was made. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the $15 tax imposed on the privilege of using any motor vehicle acquired by gift, transfer, or purchase also applies to stepparents, grandparents, stepgrandparents, stepsiblings, stepchildren, and stepgrandchildren.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that, for persons dying on or after January 1, 2027, the State tax credit shall be calculated as though the decedent's federal taxable estate did not include the decedent's business interest in a manufacturing business located in this State. Defines "manufacturing business". Effective immediately.

Amends the Child Labor Law of 2024. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits a minor's parent or legal guardian from employing the minor outside of school hours at a business in which the minor's parent or legal guardian has at least 51% ownership and that employs no more than 50 employees.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution honors the life of George V. Sheffer, a resident of Carbondale who passed away on April 25, 2026. The bill formally records the Senate's condolences and directs that a copy of the resolution be given to his family. It highlights his community service, military service, and business achievements but does not create any new laws or change state policies.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that when a defendant has previously been granted pretrial release for a felony or Class A misdemeanor and has been placed on electronic monitoring as a condition of release, that pretrial release shall be revoked upon a finding of probable cause that the defendant has committed a felony that is alleged to have occurred during the defendant's pretrial release after a hearing on the court's own motion or upon the filing of a verified petition by the State. Provides that pretrial detention shall continue pending resolution of the defendant's charges. Provides that the language that states at each subsequent appearance of the defendant before the court, the judge must find that continued detention is necessary to reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant for later hearings or to prevent the defendant from being charged with a subsequent felony or Class A misdemeanor does not apply to a defendant whose pretrial release has been revoked pursuant to the new provision.

Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning a school board's suspension or expulsion of pupils, provides that a student who is determined to have initiated sexual activity with another individual without that individual's consent, a sexual assault, or an attempted sexual assault at a school, a school-sponsored activity or event, or an activity or event that bears a reasonable relationship to school shall be expelled for a period of not less than one year. Provides that (i) a student initiates sexual activity with another individual without that individual's consent if the student uses force or a threat of force to make the other individual perform a nonconsensual sexual act; (ii) a student initiates a sexual assault if the student commits an act of sexual penetration and uses force or a threat of force; and (iii) a student initiates an attempted sexual assault if, with the intent to commit a sexual assault, the student commits an act that constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of a sexual assault. Allows the expulsion requirement to be modified by the superintendent of the school district and the superintendent's determination to be modified by the school board on a case-by-case basis. Provides that the expulsion shall be construed in a manner consistent with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and a student who is subject to expulsion may be eligible for a transfer to an alternative school program. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois and the Illinois Police Training Act. Provides that State police officers and local police officers shall receive training in homicide investigations in which the victims were suspected of being subject to domestic abuse. Amends the Counties Code. Provides that every coroner, whenever, as soon as he or she knows or is informed that the dead body of any person is found, or lying within his or her county, whose death is suspected of being a death, if the circumstances surrounding the death is known or suspected as due to suicide and affords a reasonable basis to suspect that the death was caused by or related to the domestic violence of another, in consultation with a board-certified forensic pathologist certified by the American Board of Pathology, shall go to the place where the dead body is and take charge of the same and shall make a preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the death. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Adds the Investigation of Homicides of Decedents with Identifiable History of Being Victimized by Domestic Violence Article to the Code. Provides that prior to making any findings as to the manner and cause of death of a deceased individual with an identifiable history of being victimized by domestic violence, and with the presence of 3 or more specified factors, law enforcement investigators shall interview family members, such as parents, siblings, or other close friends or relatives of the decedent with relevant information regarding that history of domestic violence. Lists those factors that law enforcement investigators must consider in those investigations. Provides that sworn law enforcement personnel investigating a death if it has been determined that the decedent has an identifiable history of being victimized by domestic violence shall be current in their training related to domestic violence incidents, including training required pursuant to the Illinois State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois or the Illinois Police Training Act. Defines terms. Amends the Autopsy Act to make conforming changes.

Appropriates $20,000,000 to the University of Illinois for the purpose of increasing the extension service trust fund allocation for the University of Illinois Extension program. Effective July 1, 2026.