Illinois lawmakers return to the Capitol on Tuesday for the final days of their fall session facing an agenda that includes a new congressional map, tightening coronavirus testing, masking and vaccine mandate rules and a possible expansion of abortion rights.
The chief task of the scheduled three-day session is approving a map drawing 17 new U.S. House boundaries for the state to reflect population changes from the 2020 federal census. Illinois lost population for the first time in its history and is losing one of its congressional seats starting with next year’s midterm elections.
A revised map from Democrats will get its first legislative hearings Tuesday. The map, released Saturday, could increase the party’s advantage over Republicans in the U.S. House from the current 13-5 to 14-3. It also would create a potential second Latino district, reflecting the community’s growth in Illinois, that would stretch from Chicago westward into DuPage County.
The proposal puts two suburban Democrats into one district — first-term U.S. Rep. Marie Newman of La Grange against two-term U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove. It also sets up two potential Republican primary contests for incumbents. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon was put in a district with U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood. Further downstate, freshman U.S. Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland was drawn into a district with U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro.
The latest map could still be revised before it is placed before lawmakers for a final vote. Democrats control the Illinois House and Senate as well as the governor’s office, meaning they can approve a new map without any Republican input. That’s what happened last month with the adoption of new state legislative boundaries.
As is the case with the legislative maps, which face a federal court challenge, a lawsuit opposing the new congressional boundaries is likely.
In other potential action, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has made his handling of the pandemic a core issue in his reelection campaign, is pushing for lawmakers to tighten up an existing state law that some public workers have sought to use to skirt COVID-19 mandates.
The state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act was intended for health care workers to be able to avoid certain health care issues and services for moral or religious reasons. But some courts have ruled in favor of employees who cited the right of conscience exemption to avoid testing, masking or vaccine mandates. The Pritzker administration has said the law is being interpreted incorrectly.
Still to be decided is whether abortion-rights advocates in the Democratic majority have the votes to repeal a 1995 law that requires parents to be notified when a minor under 18 seeks an abortion.
The parental notification law is one of the last major restrictions on the procedure in a state that has codified a woman’s “fundamental right” to an abortion. The move to repeal it is in part a response to the tightening of abortion laws in states like Texas, which now essentially prohibits abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
Advocates to repeal the law say it poses a danger to minors who come from unsafe family situations. But abortion opponents note parental permission is required in Illinois for a minor to get a tattoo or body piercing or to get over-the-counter medication from a school nurse.
Another measure that could be considered is a change to a legislation that passed this spring and was subsequently signed into law by Pritzker that would put a fully elected school board in place in Chicago in January 2027.
Under a proposed amendment to the law, Chicago’s mayor would be able to make 10 appointments to the board and choose its president without having to seek City Council approval. Previously, the bill required her appointments to be approved by aldermen, which Lightfoot opposed.
The Pritzker administration also is seeking approval of a package of tax credits and incentives to encourage more manufacturing of electric vehicles and their components in the state, following in the wake of the interest in vehicles being produced by Rivian in the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal.
The proposed Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act, or the “REV” act, would provide for tax credits for large business development and allow businesses to claim some if not all of income tax withholdings attributable to new employees. It also would provide for construction job credits for building facilities, create a streamlined permitting process and establishes a state government procurement price preference for electric vehicles built in Illinois.
Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed from Springfield.
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