Following sentencing of former House Speaker Mike Madigan’s chief of staff, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced a series of ethics reforms to strengthen enforcement and require more transparency and disclosure regarding the financial dealings of lobbyists.

House Bill 4591 requires lobbyists to report compensation received from clients and gives the secretary of state more authority to investigate violations of the Lobbyist Registration Act.

The bill also would allow the secretary of state to investigate anyone who is lobbying but has not registered as a lobbyist.

The office could revoke, suspend, or bar a person from lobbying for up to one year if failing to file reports or pay a fine.

Lobbyists will be required to keep records for three years, up from two, or face possible revocation of their license.

Lawmakers concluded the fall veto session on November 9, after passing Senate Bill 76 lifting Illinois’ moratorium on nuclear power plant construction in 2026.

Neither chamber voted on legislation extending the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program.

It allows people to donate to private school scholarship programs and receive a 75 percent tax credit.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 3903, prohibiting vendors that offer or provide equipment or services for automated traffic law enforcement, automated speed enforcement, or automated railroad grade crossing enforcement systems to municipalities or counties from making campaign contributions to any political committee established to promote the candidacy of a candidate or public official.

Effective immediately, the bill also prohibits political action committees created by the vendor and vendor-affiliated persons from making campaign contributions.

Vendor-affiliated person is defined as any person with an ownership interest or distributive share in excess of 7.5% in a vendor, any executive employees of the vendor and any spouse, minor child, or other immediate family member living in the residence of any of them.

The bill also prohibits members of the General Assembly and officers or employees of a municipality or county from accepting employment or receiving compensation or fees for services from a vendor that provides automated traffic law enforcement system equipment or services or automated speed enforcement system equipment or services to municipalities or counties.

Former members, officers and employees must wait two years before accepting employment from such a vendor.

The Illinois Legislature adjourned Saturday, May 27 until their scheduled veto session beginning October 24.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 2079, which allows a township officer to hold a position on the board of a not-for-profit corporation interested in a contract, work, or business of the township if the township officer is appointed by the governing body to represent township interests.

The township officer may actively vote on matters involving either the board or the township if the membership on the not-for-profit board is not a paid position.

If the township officer is not appointed by the governing body, the officer may continue to serve but must abstain from voting on a proposition before the township governing body directly involving the not-for-profit corporation.

If Gov. Pritzker signs the bill, it will become effective January 1, 2024.

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas loaned $100,100 to his campaign after advancing to the April 4 runoff election against Brandon Johnson.

The two candidates may now receive unlimited contributions because contribution limits do not apply in any city race where the self-funding or independent expenditure threshold of $100,000 is exceeded.

The city’s pay-to-play limits on campaign contributions remain in place.

Companies and people doing business with the city or its sister agencies are limited to contributing $1,500 to any one candidate per year.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will not have a second term and none of the nine candidates in the race for mayor secured over 50% of the vote.

The runoff election between candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas is scheduled for April 4.

Lightfoot is the first incumbent to lose a reelection bid in 40 years.

The State Board of Elections published the new contribution limits summary sheet, which increases limits on January 1 of every odd-numbered year to reflect increases in inflation.

The amount corporations and labor organizations may contribute in each election cycle increased from $12,000 to $13,700 to any candidate committee; from $24,000 to $27,400 to any political party or legislative caucus committee; and from $24,000 to $27,400 to any PAC.

The amount an individual may contribute in each election cycle increased from $6,000 to $6,900 to any candidate committee; from $12,000 to $13,700 to any political party or legislative caucus committee; and from $12,000 to $13,700 to any PAC.

The amount PACs are limited to contributing to any candidate committee, political party committee, legislative caucus committee, or PAC each election cycle increased from $59,900 to $68,500.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a preliminary injunction enjoining recently enacted restrictions on campaign contributions to judicial candidates.

The order by Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. enjoins Illinois from prohibiting judicial candidate political committees from accepting contributions from any out-of-state-person and from imposing limits on the amount a single person can contribute.

The ruling is effective for the 2022 judicial elections.

A former Illinois attorney who lives in Texas and two PACs have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago challenging the recently passed restrictions on political contributions on judicial candidates.

The lawsuit argues that the prohibitions on a candidate political committee established to support or oppose a candidate seeking nomination to the Supreme Court, Appellate Court, or Circuit Court from accepting contributions from any entity that does not disclose the identity of those who make contributions to the entity, and from accepting contributions from any out-of-state person violate free-speech rights established in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision, which opened the door to unlimited political contributions.

Filed by the conservative Liberty Justice Center on behalf of John Matthew Chancey, Fair Courts America and Restoration PAC three months before an election for two state Supreme Court races, the lawsuit asks the federal court to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the restrictions and to overturn them as unconstitutional.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed Amendment to House Bill 716, requiring judicial candidate committees to report all persons who have contributed in excess of $500 to the committee if received from any committee, association or group not required to disclose its contributors.

Any political committee that receives such a contribution and fails to report this information must forward the contribution amount immediately to the State Treasurer.

The bill also prohibits self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees established to support or oppose a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any single person, other than the candidate or the candidate’s immediate family, in a cumulative amount exceeding $500,000 in any election cycle.

The bill is effective immediately and applies to judicial elections this year.

Illinois lawmakers adjourned sine die early Saturday morning after passing a bill limiting contributions to judicial self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees.

Amendment to House Bill 716 prohibits self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees established to support or oppose a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any single person, other than the candidate or the candidate’s immediate family, in a cumulative amount exceeding $500,000 in any election cycle.

Supporters of the bill argue this does not conflict with federal law established in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission because the state’s interest in preserving public confidence in the integrity of its judiciary extends beyond its interest in preventing the appearance of corruption in non-judicial elections.

If Governor Pritzker signs the bill, it will become effective immediately and would apply to judicial elections this year.

The DuPage County Board passed an ordinance to repeal the county’s lobbying ordinance.

Ordinance FI-O-0014-22 repeals Chapter 2, Article IX, Section 2-600 of the DuPage County Code in recognition of Illinois Public Act 102-0664.

The act requires state registration under the Lobbyist Registration Act by persons lobbying local officials in counties, townships, and municipalities.

The act preempts and supersedes all existing laws and ordinances inconsistent with the act, except in Chicago.

The Illinois General Assembly has canceled in-person work for a second week due to COVID-19 concerns.

Of the nine scheduled session days, eight have now been pushed to remote.

Committee meetings can still be viewed by the public on the Legislature’s website.

The Illinois Legislature canceled two of the three days scheduled this week and may cancel the session for next week due to a spike in daily average of COVID-19 cases.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced the House and Senate will not meet January 4 or January 6 and will convene only on Wednesday for organizational purposes and to empower committees to meet and vote remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.