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Issue: # 11

February 23, 2009

ILA Executive Board Determines Positions on Key Bills

On Friday, 20 February, the ILA Executive Board reviewed seventeen key library bills and determined the association's position on these bills. ILA is currently tracking approximately forty bills that have an impact on libraries. Those bills with their full text, status, sponsors, hearing dates, etc. can be found on the ILA's Web site.

ILA Supports
House Bill (HB) 49, sponsor: Representative Dan Brady (R-88, Bloomington). Allows for disposal of withdrawn materials from Illinois academic libraries and the Illinois State Library. Dane Ward from Illinois State University has been instrumental on working on this issue.

House Bill (HB) 146, sponsor: Representative Marlow H. Colvin (D-33, Chicago) and Senate Bill (SB) 103, sponsor: Senator Donne E. Trotter (D-17, Chicago). These bills allow county boards to authorize an increase in county law library fees to support county law library operations instead of raising property taxes.

House Bill (HB) 211, sponsor: Representative Frank J. Mautino (D-76, Spring Valley). Provides a fair process to dissolve local libraries, which do not provide library service or meet specific criteria such as appropriate funds, electing library board members, or holding meetings.

House Bill (HB) 242, sponsor: Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-57, Des Plaines). Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that the debt service extension base must be increased each year by the percentage increase, for the previous calendar year, of the Consumer Price Index (CIP).

House Bill (HB) 671, sponsor: Roger L. Eddy (R-109, Hutsonville) and Senate Bill (HB) 1513, sponsor: Senator James F. Clayborne, Jr. (D-57, East St. Louis). Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that all contributions to a pension fund created under Article 3, Article 4, or Article 7 of the Illinois Pension Code are exempt from the definition of "aggregate extension." Provides that levies by fire protection districts for pension contributions and for tort liability, insurance, and risk-management programs are exempt from the definition of "aggregate extension."

House Bill (HB) 793, sponsor: Representative Dave Winters (R-68, Rockford). Amends the Open Meetings Act to permit a public body with jurisdiction over more than 4,500 square miles to allow board members to participate in meetings electronically. This allows multi-county library systems to more efficiently meet and conduct business.

House Bill (HB) 817, sponsor: Roger L. Eddy (R-109, Hutsonville). Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that "extension limitation" means (a) the lesser of 5 percent or the percentage increase in the Employment Cost Index or, upon referendum approval, the Consumer Price Index during the 12-month calendar year preceding the levy year or (b) the rate increase approved by the voters. Defines "Employment Cost Index" as the Employment Cost Index for total compensation for civilian and state and local government workers published by the United States Department of Labor. Sets forth referendum procedures to allow for the calculation of the extension limitation based upon the Consumer Price Index.

House Bill (HB) 2502, sponsor: Representative Arthur L. Turner (D-9, Chicago). Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that the extension limitation may not be less than 2 percent.

ILA Is Monitoring
Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsor: Larry K. Bomke (R-50, Springfield). Creates the Prohibition on University Employment Act. Prohibits a public university or a private university that receives State funds from employing a person who has committed an act of violence against the government of the United States of America or the State of Illinois.

House Bill (HB) 369, sponsor: Representative Robert W. Pritchard (R-70, Sycamore). Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that the exhibition to or depiction to a minor of harmful materials is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense. Provides that the exhibition to or depiction to a minor of a sexually explicit video game is a petty offense in which a $1,000 fine may be imposed.

House Bill (HB) 1311, sponsor: Representative Dennis M. Reboletti (R-46, Addison). Creates the Internet Service Provider Anti-Pornography Law as a new Article in the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall require that all Internet service providers that provide service to customers in the state shall comply with the law concerning the prevention of transmission of child pornography. Provides that the commission shall select a nationwide law enforcement agency to serve as a clearinghouse and compile a continuously updated list of files known to contain child pornography. Provides that the selected law enforcement agency shall inspect the files and makes a judgment that the files are illegal in their jurisdiction before adding them to the registry according to their hash value. Provides that the commission shall require that Internet service providers create and implement software that complies with specified provisions. Provides that an Internet service provider that makes a good-faith effort to comply with the law shall be immune from liability. Provides that the commission may adopt any rules necessary for administration of the law.

House Bill (HB) 2513, sponsor: Representative Robert W. Pritchard (R-70, Sycamore). Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that the exhibition to or depiction to a minor of harmful materials is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense.

ILA Is Opposing
Senate Bill (SB) 1294, sponsor: Senator Louis S. Viverito (D-11, Burbank). Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that it is a Class 4 felony for a child sex offender to knowingly be present at any portion or area of a public library facility designated by the library's governing board of library trustees or by the library commission for use primarily by children under the age of eighteen, as well as any program in the public library facility directed towards children under the age of eighteen.

Other Board Actions
·   approved the presentation of the Illinois Library Shovel-Ready Construction/Renovation Projects (www.ila.org/construction) to our elected officials;
·   reviewed association's financial statements, noting the depressing performance of the stock market and its impact on the association's long-term investments;
·   changed the term change "intern" to a one-year term appointment for ILA committees;
·   approved the expenditure of $1,500-2,000 for an iREAD Public Service Announcement; and
·   supported the ILA Marketing Committee's efforts to submit an LSTA grant application for a Go Green @ Your Illinois Library.

Upcoming Workshops
April 23, 2009
Illinois Library Day, Springfield

May 1, 2009
Reaching Forward Conference for Library Assistants, Rosemont

May 11-12, 2009
National Library Legislative Day, Washington, D.C.

May 20, 2009
Youth Services Spring Workshop, Lewis & Clark Library System, Edwardsville

May 28, 2009
Youth Services Spring Workshop, Fountaindale Public Library District

The next Public Policy Committee meeting will be Monday, March 2, 2009 at noon via VTEL videoconferencing at the Illinois regional library systems and the Illinois State Library.

Obama Special Event License Plate Unveiled at the Auto Show

ILA Executive Board member Emily R. Guss, ILA Executive Director Robert P. Doyle, ILA Executive Board member Betsy Adamowski, ILA Executive Board member H Dayle K. Zelenka, and Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show.

The special event license plates, which read "Illinois Salutes President Barack Obama," are unique commemorative plates to be displayed on Illinois vehicles for sixty days, beginning February 17 and ending April 17, 2009. The plates are available for purchase at www.ila.org/obama for $50 a pair. After April 17, the Obama license plate will be available for purchase to everyone nationwide to add to their Obama collections.

In the News

Sincerely,

Robert P. Doyle
Illinois Library Association

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