(SPRINGFIELD) Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed 59 more bills into law late last week, including 23 from the House and 36 from the Senate. One of the most anticipated measures that is now law is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Effective immediately, Senate Bill 2979 expands the definition of written release to include electronic signatures & would make multiple violations of the BIPA a single violation if committed against one individual. Another newly signed law that takes effect immediately is House Bill 4874 that prohibits pharmacists from refusing to fill a valid opioid prescription solely because it’s not prescribed electronically. There were several bills signed that will take effect January 1st, 2025 – House Bill 3763 allows employees to request from employers contracts, policies, press releases, handbooks, discrimination reports, or any similar documents about the said employee – House Bill 4409 changes the word “offenders” in court proceedings to “justice-impacted” individuals – House Bill 307 expands the opportunities for Illinois high school student athletes to receive compensation in Illinois – and Senate Bill 2872 allows school districts to provide time for relaxation activities for students during the school day.
(JOLIET) A Joliet plant that had been heralded as one of the largest commercial Electric Vehicle manufacturing facilities in the nation is announcing layoffs. Lion Electric says that disappointing sales is leading to the company laying off nearly one-third of its workers. It is not known how many of the 300 job cuts will be in Joliet, where electric school buses are made. The Canadian-based company’s only U.S. factory celebrated its official opening a year ago with Governor J.B. Pritzker promising some 1,400 jobs coming to the Joliet plant.
(SPRINGFIELD) The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing an emergency fuel waiver to help alleviate gasoline shortages in Illinois & three other states following the shutdown of a Joliet refinery. Exxon Mobil shut down its refinery last month after a power outage when tornadoes swept through the northwestern Illinois area, and while power has long since been restored, it takes several weeks to restart the facility and to get it back up and running at full capacity, which is the production of about 9 million gallons of gas per day.