VILLA PARK – Over the next five years, businesses will gradually cease to pay the archaic franchise tax under legislation championed by State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park).

“As a state it is our duty to adopt policies that encourage economic growth and development,” Cullerton said. “The elimination of this convoluted tax will encourage business owners to expand and grow in our communities.”

Created in 1872, the corporate franchise tax is a tax on “paid in capital” for the privilege of doing business in Illinois. Last year, 346,000 companies paid about $172 million in taxes. After Illinois’ franchise tax is eliminated, only seven states in the nation will still impose a similar tax.

“Taxing businesses sends the wrong message,” Cullerton said. “Business owners should not be penalized for doing businesses in Illinois.”

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed a measure last month doubling the benefits for families of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty, an initiative supported by State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon).

“With the cost of funerals rising, this legislation aims to lift one burden off grieving families’ shoulders,” Crowe said. “These public servants made the ultimate sacrifice and should be honored for doing so.”

House Bill 2028 increases the burial benefit for a firefighter or law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty from $10,000 to $20,000. The increased benefit applies to those individuals killed in the line of duty after June 30, 2018.

OAKBROOK TERRACE - For more than a generation, young people have been discouraged from seeking blue collar jobs in favor of pursuing college degrees. State Senator Suzy Glowiak (D-Western Springs) passed a measure to help encourage more job seekers to pursue occupations that ensure safety and modernize Illinois’ infrastructure.

Glowiak championed the Blue Collar Jobs Act, which offers tax incentives to companies making significant capital improvements in Illinois based on the withholding tax paid to construction workers. The program went into effect on July 1, 2019.

"The Blue Collar Jobs Act will lift up middle class families while expanding Illinois' businesses," Glowiak said. "The key to growing our state's economy is creating new jobs, expanding economic opportunities and promoting a business climate that encourages companies to stay, expand and grow in our communities.”

LAKE BLUFF - A long-planned upgrade to the interchange at Illinois Route 176 and U.S. Route 41 in Lake Bluff is closer to completion after State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) announced today that $61 million for the project has been secured in the recently signed Rebuild Illinois capital construction plan.

"For years, commuters on this highly traveled stretch of roadway have faced delays and safety hazards," Morrison said. "Working with local officials, it was clear this project would greatly enhance travel safety in the area and I am proud to have fought for its inclusion in the Rebuild Illinois program."

Included in the more than $40 billion infrastructure plan investing in roads, bridges and mass transit is $61 million for a complete overhaul of the Lake Bluff interchange. The project will improve safety for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians and support future growth at the gateway to Lake Bluff through access and drainage improvements.

CHAMPAIGN – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) joined Governor JB Pritzker at the University of Illinois’ Urbana campus today to talk about the urgently needed improvements to facilities the governor recently signed into law.

Dubbed “Rebuild Illinois,” the capital construction plan invests $2.9 billion to support Illinois’ nine universities and 50 community colleges, in addition to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

“A lack of investment and a two-year budget impasse were devastating to our public university and community college system in Illinois,” Bennett said, who sits on the Senate Higher Education Committee. “I’m glad to see that Gov. Pritzker is committed to making the University of Illinois and our state leaders in higher education.”

VILLA PARK— Schools across the 23rd State Senate District are set to receive record-level funding from the bipartisan budget passed by the Illinois State Senate.

State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) fought to ensure schools across Illinois received state funding as promised by the mandated education funding outlined in the new evidence-based funding formula.

“The most important investment we make as a state is in our children,” Cullerton said. “We upheld our commitment to our schools with a new funding formula that will ensure children have the opportunity to receive a superior education regardless of where they live.”

The budget allocates more than $544 million in dedicated funding to early childhood education to give Illinois kids a strong foundation before they enter kindergarten.

“Studies continue to emphasize the fact that the time and money we allocate in educating students at an early age pays dividends in the future,” Cullerton said.

Thirty-four new laws have taken effect so far in 2019 on a variety of issues, including the state's Fiscal 2020 budget and the Rebuild Illinois capital construction plan. Here are some new laws you may need to know about. Some of them were passed in the 100th General Assembly with 2019 effective dates, others were passed this year in the 101st General Assembly.

We will update this list as more laws are signed by the governor and take effect. You’ll be able to find it by clicking on the “New Laws” graphic in the right column of our website’s front page.

Here is a complete list of new laws

OAKBROOK TERRACE - A new state task force will focus on giving students the tools to make financially sound decisions thanks to State Senator Suzy Glowiak-Hilton.

Glowiak-Hilton supported House Bill 1581 which creates the College Student Credit Card Marketing and Debt Task Force, an eight-member task force that will seek to reduce the amount of credit card debt students face after graduating from higher education institutions in Illinois. It was signed into law on Friday.

“Higher education opens the doors of opportunity for young people,” Glowiak-Hilton said. “It is vital that as a state we institute policies that allow students to graduate with loads of opportunity, not mountains of debt. They should not be preyed on by credit card companies.”

Opening credit cards can be a life-altering choice for students. While there are legitimate reasons a student may need a credit card, there are many downsides, Glowiak-Hilton said.