The Illinois Senate was in session last week for organizational purposes and this week the Illinois House was in session for the same reason. A new General Assembly requires committee chairs and members to be selected or re-selected, as well as reviewing and perhaps tweaking legislative rules. As reported earlier regarding leadership positions, the House and Senate Republicans have made major changes. In addition, more bills were introduced this week and thousands more will be introduced until February 17.

Committee assignments were completed in the House and Senate. The only legislative action taken in the House was on a legislative rule change. The focus was on organizational responsibilities, introducing legislation and posting legislative hearings for next week. To no one’s surprise, newly introduced legislation with a negative impact on property owners includes:

Both chambers will be in session for full committee action and committees will hold hearings on newly introduced legislation. As of this writing, Illinois REALTORS® has no major bills before any committees, but your Governmental Affairs Team is continuing to make our way through the many bill introductions, preparing for future hearings and meeting with legislators.