Members of the Lake County Board’s Legislative Committee passed its legislative advocacy agenda for 2023, clearing its path to a vote before the full board on Tuesday.
The agenda is highlighted by Lake County’s support for legislation that bans the sale or possession of assault rifles, mandates firearm safe storage, “reforms the FOID card process” and requires training related to the sale or possession of firearms, a matter that sharply divided board members after a gunman opened fire on attendees at the annual Highland Park Fourth of July parade this summer.
Other items added to 2023’s legislative advocacy agenda relate to supporting legislation that would require NRG to pay for remediation of two coal ash ponds at the site of the shutdown NRG Waukegan Generating Station coal burning power plant and other remediation at the site, rather than the city of Waukegan, and support for veteran-related federal and state legislation geared to connect vets with more resources.
The lone dissenting vote for the agenda came from District 5 member Kevin Hunter, the sole Republican present since District 19 representative Catherine Sbarra was absent.
“I think there is just a ton of good work that has been put into this,” Hunter said. “There’s a lot of stuff that is very good in here, but there is just one section that I absolutely can’t agree with. So I’m going to end up not supporting this, but I just want to let you know that I think the majority of it is absolutely spot on and good for most people.”
Committee members were also briefed by lobbyists Mike Grady and Derek Blaida on the upcoming veto session in the Illinois General Assembly.
“Gentlemen, the suspense is killing us,” Chair John Wasik said. “What might they consider in the veto session?”
The veto session is currently scheduled for Nov. 15, and is set to conclude on Dec. 1.
Blaida said that since Gov. J.B. Pritzker has not vetoed any legislation this year and because legislators want to return for a lame duck session in early January before the 103rd Illinois General Assembly is seated, the veto session might not take that entire time span.
“We assume a very small, surgical, deadline-oriented agenda for the veto session,” Blaida told committee members. “Things that, frankly, cannot wait, whether because of appeal dates or other pressures ancillary to the schedule of the November session. Those items will likely be acted upon if leadership decides to do so.”
That likely involves possible amendments to the SAFE-T Act, which goes into effect Jan. 1 and eliminates cash bail in Illinois, among other changes related to the legal system.
Grady explained that legislators would likely opt to consider more controversial matters in the lame duck session when changes can be passed with a simple majority rather than a supermajority.
He said other legislation dealing with reproductive health care or gun control measures are the “type of issues that are very difficult to get a supermajority on.” He said working groups are meeting about a potential trailer bill to the SAFE-T Act, but said, “This is a train that is being driven by a lot of different conductors right now.”
Lake County Veterans Assistance Commission Superintendent Andrew Tangen briefed the committee on an updated version of bill H.R. 4601, the Commitment to Veterans Support and Outreach Act, which passed through a House of Representatives committee earlier this year and which Tangen said would primarily focus on helping veterans, “navigate the cumbersome bureaucracy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs” to help vets access health and wellness services in the hopes of preventing more veteran suicides.
He said that if the bill were to pass, local entities who assist veterans will be able to apply for $50 million in competitive grants to create, expand or support programs to help veterans.
“This is a national public health crisis and requires a national approach that meets veterans where they’re located,” Tangen said.
Committee members thanked Tangen for his advocacy and expressed support for the Commitment to Veterans Support and Outreach Act, as well as an Illinois General Assembly trailer bill related to Veterans Assistance Commissions, which Tangen asked the committee to add to its advocacy agenda.
Tangen expects the Commitment to Veterans Support and Outreach Act to be reintroduced for a vote before Congress adjourns for the year, or in 2023, he said.
The Legislative Committee also added support for the removal of the State of Illinois’ Superintendent of Public Works Licensure Mandate, an item Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart wished to be added to the county’s advocacy program.
“I did speak with Senator (Adriane) Johnson,” Hart said. “She fully intends to continue to fight for this bill. Won’t get into all the details, but there is support.”
Angelo Kyle, a Democrat who represents District 14, said he recently spoke with State Rep. Rita Mayfield, who is also going to support the bill.
The committee also approved an addition to its advocacy agenda supporting legislation to enable the county to have more influence over zoning requirements relating to the environment.
One possible impact of legislation expanding the county’s ability to influence zoning is that it could allow counties to incorporate provisions that include “greater protection against bird strikes, that would mitigate bird strikes, reduce bird mortality,” according to Lake County Planning, Building and Development Director Eric Waggoner.
“So what we would like to do with the language in the zoning enabling statute is to amend the purposes to which zoning can be used to provide for these sorts of local environmental benefits,” Waggoner explained. “One of the key areas that we’ve been focusing on in our sort of zoning text amendment process is incorporating sustainability into zoning and certain things we can do with that.”
