Local Government Law Bulletin
Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act – Amendments
Buried in an amendment to the Illinois State Weights and Measures Act and amongst changes to COVID-related affordable housing legislation, the Illinois state legislature has passed a bill amending the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act. The original...
New Whistleblower Protections Under the Amended Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act
On July 1, 2021, many of the provisions of the recently signed criminal justice reform bill “SAFE-T Act” will go into effect. Among these is a new whistleblower protection provision under the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act. The SAFE-T Act amends the Public...
Illinois Enters Bridge Phase of Reopening Plan
Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (“IDPH”) confirmed that Illinois has moved from Phase 4 to the Bridge Phase of the Restore Illinois reopening plan. The Bridge Phase allows for higher capacity limits and other increased business...
1st District Appellate Court Rules in Favor of Disclosure in FOIA Matter
Lucy Parsons Labs v. City of Chicago Mayor’s Office, 2021 IL App (1st) 192073, (“Lucy v. Chicago”) a recent case out of the 1st District Appellate Court (“Appellate Court”), contemplates Illinois’s Freedom of Information Act (the “Act”) and whether Section 7 of the...
Liquor Control Act Amended to Include Liquor Delivery and Curbside Pickup Effective January 1, 2022
On April 2, 2021, Governor Pritzker approved Public Act 101-0668, amending the Liquor Control Act of 1934 (the “Act”) to allow pickup and home delivery of alcoholic liquor in Illinois starting in 2022. The additions to the Act codify some of the Temporary...
Proposals Made to the Safe-T Act
On February 22, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill known as the “Safe-T Act”. The Safe-T Act affects a broad spectrum of policing activity, including body camera policies (summarized here). It was passed despite criticism from some...
Seventh Circuit Punts on Union’s Challenge to Represent Nonmember Employees
In 2018, the Supreme Court decided, in Janus v. AFSCME, that employees in bargaining units did not have to pay union fees if they did not belong to the union. The decision was based on an individual’s First Amendment right to not be compelled to pay money to or...
Safe-T Act Body Camera Requirements
On February 22, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill referred to as the “Safe-T Act,” part of which makes body cameras mandatory for all law enforcement agencies. Counties and municipalities with a population of: more than 500,000...
Video Gaming May Return as Early as June 26
The Illinois Gaming Board has issued protocols for the return of video gaming terminals. The protocols, issued June 9, 2020, indicate that the earliest video gaming operations may return is during Phase 4-Revitalization of the Restore Illinois Plan, which could be as...