First Reading

              September 2011
ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH UNIT
R
epresentative
Sara Feigenholtz
Legislative Research Unit
Co-chairs
Volume 25, No. 1
Senator
L
arry Bomke
Appropriations & State Budget...................................2
B
usiness & Economic Development..........................4
Civil Law....................................................................8
Criminal Law............................................................10
E
ducation..................................................................14
E
nvironment & Conservation...................................16
Health & Safety.........................................................18
L
ocal Government....................................................22
P
rofessions & Occupations.......................................23
R
evenue.....................................................................24
Social Services..........................................................25
State Government & Pensions..................................28
T
ransportation...........................................................30
Abstracts of reports required to be
filed with General Assembly.................................33
B
ills with Governor’s Action....................................34
Inside this Issue
Major Bills Passed by the Illinois General Assembly
T
his issue of First Reading summarizes bills as they passed both houses of the General Assembly, and reports the Governor’s actions on them. A total of 640 bills passed both houses in the spring 2011 session. This issue summarizes 288 bills of general interest, classified into 13 categories.
M
ajor bills that passed both houses seek to improve teacher evaluation, discipline, and dismissal; make sig­nificant reforms in workers’ compensation; increase sanctions for violent or sex crimes, especially by medical personnel; and add protections against identity theft.
O
ther bills will increase fees on nuclear power plant own­ers to help improve monitoring of their plants; promote the building and operation of “clean energy” plants; trim some state benefit programs and offer Health Savings Ac­counts to state employees to save state funds; and create a commission to study and recommend ways to consolidate local governments. Legislators also voted to commemo­rate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War between 2011 and 2015.
P
age 34 of this issue gives Public Act numbers for laws resulting from bills summarized here. Information on all bills of the 2011 session is available at the Illinois Gen­eral Assembly’s Website:
www.ilga.gov