QC Chamber attends Illinois Chamber of Commerce Day on the Hill

The Quad Cities Chamber attended the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Day on the Hill last week and discussed key issues with Illinois legislators. Chamber staff also met with the new CEO of the Illinois Chamber, Lou Sandoval and heard from legislative leaders from both Chambers of the General Assembly and both parties. 

During the conference, legislative leaders discussed multiple issues including the proposal for the elimination of the tip credit for tipped employees, budget talks and economic development incentives for the state. 

Specifically, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Chris Welch reiterated and reinforced Rep. Lisa Hernandez’s commitment to hold the tipped wage bill until a second reading, noting that the bill needs work. Illinois House Republican Leader, Tony McCombie urged Chambers of Commerce to keep up the pressure on the issue. 

On the topic of budget, Senate Republican Leader John Curran noted the negative impact of the Governor’s proposal to extend the Net Operating Loss (NOL) Cap for multiple years. This proposal is being used to fill a budget shortfall created in part by the commitment to fund services for migrants in Chicago and would result in an effective tax increase of more than $500 million on Illinois businesses. Illinois is, and will continue to be, one of only two states in the country with a NOL cap if the Governor’s proposal is included in the final budget. 

At the conclusion of the conference, Chambers from across the state went to the Capitol building for a lobby day. For the Quad Cities, that included touching base with Rep.Gregg Johnson and Sen. Mike Halpin to reiterate the Chamber’s opposition to the proposed tipped wage legislation and to promote action on the two bills the Chamber is promoting:  

• 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

Chamber members with Illinois business or home addresses can take action on the tipped wage.

Take action to support new development incentives for housing and commercial development.

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.