Amends the Public Building Egress Act. Provides that stairwell enclosures in buildings greater than 4 stories shall comply with one of the following requirements: (1) no stairwell enclosure door shall be locked at any time; or (2) stairwell enclosure doors that are locked shall be equipped with an electronic lock release system that is activated upon loss of power. Provides that stairwell enclosure doors at the main egress level of the building shall remain unlocked from the stairwell enclosure side at all times. Provides that building owners who lock stairwell enclosure doors shall comply with specific requirements during the time necessary to install a lock release system and two-way communication system. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers.
Sponsored bills
Amends the Clerks of Courts Act. Raises the maximum document fee to $15 (from $5).
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Makes changes concerning veteran grants with regard to who qualifies for assistance, the type of assistance, notification to the postsecondary institution, and administration of the program. Makes changes concerning the Illinois National Guard grant program with regard to who is eligible for a grant and what the grant covers. Effective July 1, 2005.
Amends the Clerks of Courts Act. Raises the court automation fee maximum to $15 (from $5).
Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Deletes a provision allowing legally possessed firearms to be returned to a person that completes a sentence for a conviction on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.
Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that property tax refunds must be paid to the taxpayer at the annual rate of the lesser of (i) 5% or (ii) the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers during the 12-month calendar year preceding the levy year for which the refund was made, as published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (now, the interest rate is 5% per year). Effective January 1, 2006.
Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a summons for discovery issued by the clerk of the circuit court shall be served on each person or entity named as a respondent in discovery. Provides that no extension of the 6 month period for making a respondent into a defendant shall be permitted unless the plaintiff can show a failure or refusal on the part of the respondent to comply with timely filed discovery or for good cause shown. Adds a Summons for Discovery Form.
Amends the Illinois Clean Indoor Air Act. Provides that a home rule unit of local government or any municipality in this State may regulate smoking in public places. Provides that this regulation must be no less restrictive than the regulation in the Act. Changes the home rule limitation from an absolute preemption to a limitation on the concurrent exercise of home rule power. Maintains the exemption from home rule requirements for home rule units that passed ordinances regulating smoking before October 1, 1989. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers.
Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, upon enactment of a federal transportation bill with a dedicated fund available to states for safe routes for schools, the Department of Transportation shall, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the Department of State Police, establish and administer a Safe Routes to School Construction Program for the construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic-calming projects, with construction grants being made available to local governmental agencies. Effective immediately.
Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Provides that, subject to appropriations for that purpose, the Department shall fund 2 service officer positions for each veterans service organization that maintains an office in the Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO) in Chicago. Provides that a service officer whose position is funded under these provisions shall be an employee of the veterans service organization with which the service officer is placed, and the service officer shall be under the direct control of that veterans service organization. Provides that such a service officer must be certified by the federal government in the manner in which the head service officer of each office is certified. Provides that to be eligible to receive any moneys for the funding of a service officer position under these provisions, a veterans service organization must have maintained a state headquarters in this State for at least 10 years before July 1, 2005. Provides that a veterans service organization that is being funded with State or county moneys under any other provision of law on the effective date of this amendatory Act may not receive any moneys for the funding of a service officer position under these provisions.