Few Issues Settled as Veto Session Nears
The House Chamber at the Illinois State Capitol.
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We spent much of Tuesday asking lawmakers and other stakeholders what they were hearing about major issues in the hopper for veto session, which begins next week. It appears the consensus is that few of the major pieces of legislation will be “soup” enough for a vote next week and will likely wait until lawmakers return at the end of the month. Here’s a short update on some high profile pieces of legislation:
Transit
I had heard some rumblings since the Regional Transportation Authority last week backed off its fiscal cliff projections that talks on transit legislation, specifically the funding aspect, had stalled. But a few conversations yesterday made me believe things were still progressing, but no deal has been made yet. I’m told the House is still a sticking point on a statewide funding source, like the “Amazon tax” or “pizza tax” the Senate passed in May. The House transit working group meets this morning, I’m told.
Energy
As long as Democrats get their votes in line, it certainly appears as if energy legislation is likely to move before the end of the month. Criticisms I have heard mostly center on the fact that little will be done to help consumers who have seen electricity prices double or triple this summer. Supporters say it would give consumers more access to rebates and incentives. It would also add a controversial battery storage provision. Of course, many Democrats are blaming data centers for electricity demand. Many Republicans are blaming CEJA and its reduction of coal and natural gas production for lower supply and higher cost.
Bears
While the Governor has remained pretty publicly skeptical of legislation helping the Chicago Bears move to suburban Arlington Heights, it raised more than a few eyebrows this weekend when the chair of the Pritzker-cheerleading, mostly state funded, economic development organization formerly known as “Intersect Illinois” came out in favor of the so-called “mega projects” bill. While legislation has been filed, I’m hearing there’s nowhere close to 60 Democratic votes for the bill in the House right now. Of course, we’ll know more after Dems caucus next week, but it sounds like a tough road to get this bill done this month.
