THE ILLINOIZE: June session special edition...Where do we go from here on the energy bill?...Do FOID changes make anyone safer?...Welch on Lightfoot

June 17, 2021

Good morning.

The House was back in Springfield yesterday, and while the Chicago media is likely to focus solely on the elected school board bill (you can read stories about it here, here, here, and here), there are lingering questions about the failure to advance an energy bill and the House approval of a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) bill that opponents say won’t really cut crime in the state at all.

As always, send me your questions and comments at patrick@theillinoize.com.

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Let’s get to it.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ENERGY?

As you likely know by now, the legislature came and went from Springfield this week without reaching a deal on a long-discussed energy bill.

Unions, backed by Senate President Don Harmon are at odds with green energy supporting progressives, backed by Governor JB Pritzker on what to do with downstate coal plants. Progressives want to close the coal plants, like the Prairie State Energy Campus in Marissa in southern Illinois, by 2035. Unions, of course, don’t want to lose the jobs.

That has sort of left House Democrats and Speaker Chris Welch looking like the Swiss President in between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin yesterday.

Welch, for his part, kept his powder dry yesterday on the Pritzker/Harmon feud, and deferred many of the details to his members that have been negotiating the deal.

Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said she would potentially support the House taking the lead on the energy bill, but also said everyone needs to take a breath before coming back to the table.

“I think that’s a possibility. The House is ready to move. I think that we’ve come a long way on the energy bill. We have agreement on, probably, 80-90% of it, and I think there’s a path to success here,” Gabel said. “I think there’s a way to solve some of these problems. I think we might wanna take a little breather for a little while and calm down and let everybody think about it for a little bit and then get back to it.”

Though, we learned yesterday some lawmakers, unions, and the Sierra Club were continuing discussions Wednesday.

Gabel played down threats from Exelon to close nuclear plants because no agreement has been reached.

“I’m not feeling a lot of pressure from them and some of their allies right now in getting this done right away,” said Gabel.

But Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris), who represents two of the nuclear plants lined up for potential closure says Exelon is expected to file paperwork with the federal government to begin the process of closing the Byron nuclear station as early as today.

“They certainly don’t have all summer to get this figured out,” Rezin said.

Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago), who chairs the House Energy Committee, says Exelon is one of multiple components of the legislation.

“Exelon is an important piece of the conversation. It has to be,” Williams said. But, the reality is, we all agree that climate needs to be addressed, we all agree that equitable jobs in the most underserved communities must be handled in this bill, and, also that utility accountability measures are a part of the final package. How we get there is more challenging. It’s a very comprehensive and complex issue.”

Welch wouldn’t say if the House would take up the legislation if it continues to stall in the Senate.

FOID BILL PASSES

The House is likely (more on that in a moment) sending a less restrictive version of a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card fix to the Governor’s desk.

The legislation passed 75-40 yesterday, clearing the 71-vote threshold for approval in an overtime session.

The bill attempts to cut down on delays on renewals and approvals by the Illinois State Police. It also gives police more power to take away firearms from people who have had their FOID cards revoked.

It also calls for voluntary fingerprinting to obtain a FOID card. A House version that was never called in the Senate would have made fingerprinting mandatory.

The Illinois State Rifle Association didn’t oppose the measure, but many Republicans said a provision to add fees and filings for the private sale of a firearm were convoluted and wouldn’t do anything to decrease crime.

House Speaker Chris Welch said he believes it is a step to curbing gun violence.

“We have gun violence all over the state. We have gun violence all over the country. I think gun violence should be treated like an epidemic just like the global pandemic. It’s real, it’s a problem,” Welch said. “We recognize that we need to continue to address these issues. Can there be more done? I think so.”

In case you’re wondering…

Four House Democrats opposed the bill: Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island), Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur), Rep. Dave Vella (D-Rockford), and Rep. Lance Yednock (R-Ottawa). All are considered targets in their downstate districts.

Nine House Republicans voted for the bill: Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich), Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Rep. Seth Lewis (R-Bloomingdale), Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont), Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva), Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego), and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs).

LIGHTFOOT

I won’t go through the details of the Chicago Public School Board bill, though I will mention Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago), the bill sponsor, put a “Motion to Reconsider,” known in Springfield parlance as “a brick,” preventing the bill from moving to the Governor’s desk.

House Speaker Chris Welch said Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team have asked for more time to work on the bill.

“We’re gonna hold it for a couple of weeks,” Welch said. “[We] want the Mayor to come to the table and talk to [us] and work on this.”

But, much will be made on Lightfoot’s perceived “poor” relationship with the legislature. Welch called that a “false narrative.”

“I don’t want to continue to feed the false narrative that the Mayor has a bad relationship with the legislature. I don’t have a bad relationship with the Mayor. I communicate with her all the time,” he said. “The Mayor did have some victories down here during this legislative session. We love Chicago. Chicago is the economic engine of this state and it’s important that we work with the mayor of the City of Chicago and we did that. She had several victories this session.”

So, there’s that.

BEFORE WE GO…

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