Deadlines approaching on key Illinois legislation

The Quad Cities Chamber has been actively promoting legislation in Illinois related to housing and development, and has engaged our local legislators on additional business-related topics including a number of workplace regulations that change the employer-employee relationship. Deadlines on legislation are quickly approaching and now is our opportunity to ensure a positive outcome this session.

Priority Legislation 

The Chamber has worked with Senator Mike Halpin to introduce three bills this year. We are working diligently to get these bills a hearing this year before the committee deadline, and have helped to secure additional co-sponsors to move the legislation forward.

• SB2880 – Increasing the State Historic Preservation Credit from $25 million to $75 million 
• SB2922 – Creating a new “Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit” to incentivize new housing starts 
• SB3607 – Enhancements to the Brownfield program creating a 10%, or up to $1 million credit, and creating a new 5%, or up to $1 million Grayfield credit, for empty office buildings and shopping centers

Take action to support these economic development bills in our Advocacy Action Center.  

Workplace Regulation 

The Chamber has also weighed in on workplace regulations that could negatively impact our Illinois members by creating a more complex relationship between employers and employees. These bills would add red tape and move certain control over an employee’s time and wages from the employer to the State. These include the following proposals: 

• HB5345/SB3776 – Increasing the Tipped Wage 
• SB3650 – Day & Temporary Labor Agencies 
• HB4825 – Warehouse Worker Protection Act 
• SB2939/HB4602 – One Day of Rest in Seven Days 
• SB2649 – Employee Freedom of Speech 
• SB3208 – Wage Payment Pay Stubs 
• HB4740 – Air Quality Standards in Certain Manufacturing Settings 

Take action on changes to the tipped wage legislation.

Taxes and Budget 

The Chamber also continues to monitor proposals for funding state government while reducing revenues for municipalities. Governor Pritzker has proposed extending the “Net Operating Loss Deduction Cap” into 2027. The cap was set to expire at the end of this year and if extended would place Illinois in lonely waters. The only other state with a NOL cap is New Hampshire, and their cap is $10 million. The policy would result in an effective tax increase of $526 million on the backs of businesses. This makes Illinois less and less competitive for businesses to locate and grow. Furthermore, the Governor’s budget has proposed eliminating the grocery tax – something with nominal impacts on Illinoisans' personal budgets, but has a huge impact on local government budgets. The 1% tax would cut between $500,000 - $1,000,000 out of local budgets across Rock Island County, leaving local property taxes and fees to make up the difference. 

The Chamber will continue to support the business community and regional success in Springfield, and we encourage those interested in joining our work to sign up for Action Alerts.

To see all bills the Chamber is watching, check out our bill tracker.