|
Vol. 6, Issue: 2| January 8, 2013
|
|
The Illinois Legislature Adjourned Today Ending the 97th Illinois General Assembly
| The 98th General Assembly will be sworn in tomorrow and will serve for the next two years. In the final hours of the session, the Illinois House of Representatives considered a surprising new proposal from Governor Quinn to reform state pension systems. While approved by a House committee, the legislation was never voted on by the full House.
The proposal would have created a Commission charged with getting the state system to full funding by 2045. The Commission would issue its first report by April 30, 2013, and provide for whatever statutory changes they think necessary to achieve the goal of full funding. Unless the Illinois General Assembly acted to reject the Commission's report, all of the proposed statutory changes would become law. While creative, this proposal was widely criticized as an unconstitutional delegation of the Legislature's and Governor's powers. It appeared to contradict the Constitution's clear requirements for the process of how a bill becomes a law.
The end of this lame duck session left many legislative issues unresolved. The next General Assembly will have to continue work on pension reform, as well as gaming expansion, possible legalization of medical marijuana, marriage equality, regulation of firearms and concealed carry, and of course the on-going budget crisis. ILA will continue to update you on all issues affecting our members.
|
Tammy Duckworth Visits the ILA Office on Tuesday, January 8
| Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth was sworn in Thursday, January 3 in Washington, D.C., as the new representative for the eighth Congressional District. The eighth district covers parts of Cook, DuPage, and Kane counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Lombard, Roselle, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Villa Park, and Wood Dale are included.
The meeting occurred at the invitation of ILA, and Duckworth was pleased to spend time talking and learning about the value of libraries in Illinois. If you haven't met with your Congressional member or your elected officials in the Illinois General Assembly, start thinking about a good time to do so early in 2013. Contact their district office to find out when they expect to be back in their district and use this as a way to start building a relationship before important bills come up.
Upcoming advocacy events: 23rd Annual Presidents' Day Legislative Breakfast for the library community in northern Chicago metropolitan area and the 2013 National Library Legislative Day for the entire state.
|
| Trustee Forum Workshops Coming Up
Register Today
|  The 2013 Trustee Workshops will be held on Saturday, February 2, in Oak Brook and Saturday, March 23, in Springfield.
This year's morning sessions will focus on personnel and planning issues. Lynn Elam, ILA Immediate Past President & Administrative Librarian, Algonquin Area Public Library District, will discuss Succession and Replacement Planning. Kelly A. Hayden, Director, Employment Law Services/General Counsel, Management Association of Illinois, will explain the mechanics of Library Director Contracts. The afternoon will include a legislative update from Kip Kolkmeier, ILA Legislative Consultant, and a Q&A with Library Attorney Phil Lenzini. For complete information and to register, please click here. |
"Paws to Read" iREAD Resource Guide Ideas
| Please click here and send us your pet and animal themed program ideas for the 2014 iREAD Resource Guide.
Activities, crafts, games, reading lists, etc. are needed for children, teens, and adults. More information is available in the link above, or e-mail us at: ideas@ireadprogram.org. Submissions are due February 28, 2013.
|
Call for Members to Join YASF Award Committee
| Illinois Library Association's Young Adult Service Forum (YASF) is looking for additional people to serve on the YASF Award Committee and is particularly seeking members from Illinois Heartland and Chicago Public Library systems to provide geographic diversity. The committee will be responsible for reviewing nominations and selecting the winner of the Young Adult Librarian of the Year for 2013. Committee members should be ILA members and familiar with Teen and Young Adult Services.
This is a new award honoring an outstanding local contribution in library services to young adults by creating and implementing library programs and services that promote a love of literature and/or instill positive feelings about libraries. Please click here for a full description of the award.
The committee will meet once in mid-February and once in late May; meeting participation can be done remotely. mClick here to contact Kelly Durov via e-mail or call 847-825-4527 if you are interested.
|
|
In the News
|
Library-related stories appearing in local news media are reflected in this section of the ILA E-Newsletter. The intent is to alert and inform the Illinois library community about issues and events that are considered significant by the general media.
Despite Discount, Sugar Grove Library Board Election Uncontested To read this story, please click here.
Joliet Library Director Retires After 24 Years at the Helm
To read this story, please click here.
Take Your Library To Work
To read this story, please click here.
Students' Study Habits Prompt Changes at The Ames Library
If your library has a newspaper story with link, send it to us at doyle@ila.org for possible inclusion in the next ILA E-Newsletter. Thanks.
|
|
Sincerely,
Robert P. Doyle
Illinois Library Association |
If you use spam filters to protect your in-box, please take a moment right now to add doyle@ila.org and Illinois Library Association to your e-mail address book, spam software whitelist, or mail system whitelist. Adding the address will help ensure that you receive the ILA E-Newsletter and that your e-mail software displays HTML and images properly. Disclaimer: Links to non-ILA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. The Illinois Library Association does not necessarily endorse the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ILA does not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.
|
|
|
|
|
|
