The Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners passed a substitute ordinance amending the County Ethics Ordinance on December 16.

The substitute ordinance updates many sections of the ethics code and includes provisions acknowledging registration for lobbying in Cook County will only be filed with the state beginning on January 1, 2022.

The definition of official is amended include any individual elected or appointed to a county office, regardless of whether the individual official is compensated.

Contribution limits are increased for persons doing business with the county from $750 to $1,500 in a calendar year to any local, state, or federal political committee established in support of a candidate for county office or an elected county official.

Officials, employees, and board or commission appointees are prohibited from accepting employment for a period of 364 calendar days following their term of office or employment from any person if the official, employee, or appointee participated personally and substantially in the decision to award a contract with a value of more than $15,000.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation prohibiting dark money contributions to judicial candidates.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 536 prohibits a political committee established to support a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any out-of-state person and from any entity that does not disclose the identity of all donors to the entity.

The bill also prohibits any entity that does not disclose the identity of all donors from financing a distribution or broadcast of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, his or her campaign committee, or designated agents.

The bill also increases the threshold for which contributions to a conduit must be itemized from $500 to $1,000.

The Illinois House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 539 with the amendatory veto issued by Gov. JB Pritzker.

The bill passed along party lines in a vote taken September 9, after it was rejected in an earlier vote last week.

The bill, which now goes back to Pritzker for his signature, expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If signed, the bill will be effective January 1, 2022. 

The Illinois House of Representatives has returned to Springfield for a special session starting at noon today to consider urgent energy legislation and vote on the amendatory veto of Senate Bill 539 issued by Gov. JB Pritzker in August.

The Senate adopted the change on August 31, but the House rejected the change with a vote taken late in the evening after some members had left the session.

The bill expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If the Amendatory Veto is accepted the bill will be effective January 1, 2022. 

Illinois State House lawmakers killed an ethics omnibus bill by rejecting the Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 539 issued by Gov. JB Pritzker last week.

The requested amendment was a minor change to the bill to keep the current process regarding ethics investigations.

The Senate adopted the change, but the House, which had passed the bill by a vote of 113 to 5, rejected the change by a vote of 59 to 35.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker issued an amendatory veto of Senate Bill 539 lawmakers requested to maintain the current process regarding ethics investigations.

Pritzker pledged to certify the bill once the amendatory veto passes the Legislature.

The bill expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If signed, the bill will be effective January 1, 2022.

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon issued a joint proclamation calling on the Legislature to convene on August 31 for a one-day special session to make changes in the new state legislative district map after official 2020 population numbers were released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The House and Senate approved the state legislative map on May 28 with only Democratic votes, and Gov. JB Pritzker signed the map into law on June 4.

Republicans have filed a lawsuit in federal court to invalidate the map and give the redistricting commission remapping authority, claiming if a valid redistricting plan with the full force and effect of law was not completed by June 30, the Illinois Constitution shifts the responsibility for drafting a plan from the General Assembly to a redistricting commission.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation changing the vendor disclosure due date.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 581 requires the Vendor Payment Program financial backer disclosure to be filed on August 1 of each year for the previous fiscal year.

The former deadline was July 1.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation creating an elected school board for Chicago Public Schools and increasing the size of the board.

The first election will be held in November 2024 to elect 10 board members, with 11 members including the board president to be appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who currently appoints all of the existing board’s seven members.

Chicago voters will elect the full slate of 21 board members beginning in 2026.

House Bill 2908 also includes language to prevent individuals with conflicts of interest from serving on the board and will be effective June 1, 2022.

Illinois Lawmakers worked past the legislative session deadline to pass an ethics reform package and major election changes.

The ethics reforms include expanding state registration requirements under the Lobbyist Registration Act to include lobbying local officials in municipalities with a population under 500,000 and lobbying certain deputy state officials.

Senate Bill 539 also expands revolving door restrictions and prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions and on the day before and after the session.

The election changes in Senate Bill 825 include moving the 2022 primary election from March 15 to June 28.

The Legislature stands adjourned until the call of the speaker of the House and the Senate president.

The Illinois Senate passed an ethics omnibus bill early this morning.

The bill expands registration requirements under the Lobbyist Registration Act to include lobbying local officials and certain deputy state officials.

Senate Bill 539 also prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions and on the day before and after the session.

It is currently only prohibited in Sangamon County.

Expanded revolving door restrictions include a one-year waiting period for anyone who participated personally and substantially in the award or fiscal administration of state contracts and a six-month waiting period for members of the General Assembly and officers of the executive branch.

The bill also requires any consultant hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report if they communicate with an official. If signed by the governor, this bill will be effective January 1, 2022.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan selected Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar to fill his seat as representative for the 22nd House District after his first choice, Edward Guerra Kodatt, resigned due to allegations of questionable conduct.

Madigan resigned as chairman of the state Democratic Party on Monday but remains Democratic committeeman for the 13th Ward.

Rep. Guerrero-Cuellar will serve as representative for the 22nd House District for the remainder of Madigan’s term.

The Chicago Board of Ethics is further extending the deadline for completion of annual mandatory ethics training by registered lobbyists for the 2019-2020 training period to May 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The training is completed online using a link available on the Board of Ethics website.

If a lobbyist terminates registration prior to the May 1 training deadline, training is not required, provided all reporting requirements have also been satisfied, including the final activity report.

The Illinois House elected Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch as speaker of the House.

This took place shortly after the swearing-in of newly elected General Assembly members, to start the 2021 regular session.

Welch succeeds Rep. Michael Madigan, the longest-serving statehouse speaker in U.S. history, and becomes the first Black person to hold the position.

Three women who were running for the position withdrew before the vote after Welch entered the race following an announcement by Madigan he was suspending his own campaign.