(SPRINGFIELD) The Illinois Senate has passed legislation with new regulations for funeral homes across the state. Senate Bill 2643 would require the death care industry in Illinois and state regulators, to implement a mandatory unique identification tagging system for all human remains. It also sets up a chain of custody system that tracks the human remains of a deceased person from death to final disposition, that is if the final disposition is within the State of Illinois. The bill now moves to the State House for consideration there.
(SPRINGFIELD) Despite Illinois having among the highest property taxes in the nation, state lawmakers are advancing measures that would allow for more property tax increases. It was late last week that the House Revenue & Finance Committee advanced bills that would allow for increases in property tax levies. While House Bill 1075 would allow villages and townships to increase theirs for museums, House Bill 4179 would allow for a voter referendum to increase taxes for private ambulance costs. As lawmakers are back in the State Capitol this week, these & other proposed bills now await consideration in the House.
(SPRINGFIELD) Governor J.B. Pritzker’s plan to consolidate the state’s early childhood programs into one new cabinet-level agency ran into tough questions late last week during a House Budget Committee hearing. The plan, which would consolidate a host of programs and services currently run by three different agencies to all under one roof, would cost a requested $13.1 million to start up. The proposed Department of Early Childhood received approval in both House and Senate Committees. House Bill 5451 and Senate Bill 1 are both now pending a vote in their respective chambers as the spring session resumes this week.
(CHICAGO) Illinois airports fared better than the national average for flight delays and cancellations. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s statistics show that 78.2% of all nationwide flights were on time last year. Chicago’s international airports, O’Hare and Midway, both ranked a little better than the national average in delayed flights for 2023. Rockford’s airport had an on time rate of 83.2%, Willard Airport in Champaign was at 81.7%.