Sangamon Sun

Legislation changing “offender” to “justice-impacted individual” in some state statutes and providing free state IDs to individuals being released from Illinois jails became law during the week, highlighting the misplaced priorities of Illinois Democrats when it comes to combatting crime.

Senator Bennett says these new laws, along with previous measures like the SAFE-T Act, demonstrate how misplaced Illinois Democrats’ priorities are when it comes to keeping Illinois families safe. In recent years, crime has surged as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and his allies in the legislature have pushed dangerous “catch and release” policies. As of July 2024, major crimes in Chicago have increased by nearly 60% compared to 2019 and 18% since 2022. During the Fourth of July weekend alone, more than 100 people were shot in Chicago.

Senator Bennett says the legislation signed this week will do nothing to reduce crime in Illinois and prioritize the rights of criminals over everyday citizens.

Senate Bill 2803 expands an existing pilot program across Illinois, which offers free state IDs to individuals being released from state prisons, to also include individuals being released from federal prisons and county jails.

Also recently signed into law was House Bill 4409, a controversial proposal that generated negative headlines and significant public pushback because it changes references to certain “offenders” in state statutes by requiring them to be called “justice-impacted individuals.” House Bill 4409 was signed into law on August 2, while Senate Bill 2803 received the Governor’s stamp of approval on August 6.

Significant changes to the state’s controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) took effect during the week. The law was originally proposed to protect Illinois residents’ biometric data but created substantial unintended consequences, including multi-billion-dollar damage awards for situations that were never intended to be targets of the act.

Legislation was recently signed into law that amends the controversial BIPA statute, designed to reform digital privacy regulations and clarify the collection and use of biometric data in the state. This reform follows a suggestion from the Illinois Supreme Court in spring 2023 to address oversights in the original BIPA legislation.

While proponents argue that the new law intends to balance protecting individual privacy rights with reducing legal and financial burdens on businesses, Sen. Bennett contends that the new law doesn’t do enough to address shortcomings within BIPA. Sen. Bennett noted that rather than putting a Band-Aid on the issue, lawmakers should work together to reform BIPA comprehensively.

Senate Bill 2979 was signed into law on August 2.

The 2024 edition of the Illinois State Fair officially opened on August 8 with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by the annual Twilight Parade. One longstanding tradition is constructing and unveiling a butter cow sculpture made of roughly 500 pounds of unsalted butter on display in the Dairy Building.

The daily schedule for the Fair includes Agriculture Day on Friday, Kids Day on Saturday, Veterans and Gold Star Families Day, Senior & Scout Day, "Twosday," Governor’s Day, Republican Day, First Responder & Healthcare Heroes Day, wrapping up with Park District Conservation Day followed by Family Day during closing weekend.

Grandstand concerts throughout include Keith Urban, Motley Crue, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Jordan Davis, Lil Wayne, Jonas Brothers, Miranda Lambert, and Shaboozey. There will also be USAC and ARCA racing at Grandstand during final weekend events. For more information visit https://statefair.illinois.gov/.