Legislator Ratings

Donovan Griffith, VP of Government Affairs

Every year, the Illinois General Assembly votes on thousands of bills and amendments, many of which have an impact on the manufacturing sector.

With no statewide races on the ballot in Illinois this year, and very few hotly contested races in the General Assembly, much of the nation’s attention will be focused on elections for President and control of the U.S. Senate and Congress.

It is critical that employers and their employees understand how their lawmakers voted on key issues. The IMA’s Legislative Report Card showcases where lawmakers stand relative to support of Illinois’ manufacturing economy and highlight those that vote against job creators. We often hear political rhetoric from legislators that claim to support jobs and investment but then their actions do not reflect those intentions.

Does your legislator support Illinois’ manufacturing sector and the half million women and men working on factory floors? Did your legislator vote in favor of higher energy costs? Did they support incentives for electric vehicles and semiconductors? Do they oppose costly regulations or support manufacturing innovation? Did they help find solutions for workforce challenges?

This Legislative Report Card will let you know whether your local lawmakers supported the manufacturing sector, and business community, on critically important issues related to tax policy, environmental regulations, workers’ compensation, labor law, transportation, and more.

IMA’s 2023-2024 Legislative Ratings

We hope that you will share this information with your colleagues, employees, family, and friends so that they can support pro-manufacturing, pro-growth candidates for office who understand that actions have consequences. It is important that Illinoisans elect pro-manufacturing lawmakers from both political parties who support free enterprise and economic growth.

The results at the ballot box will have a profound impact on your business. Every manufacturer in the United States faces the same challenges and opportunities across the country and the world. However, state policies can severely curtail or entice economic development across the nation and we continue to see Illinois lagging neighboring states in manufacturing job growth. Illinois has many advantages, but the difference is often state laws and regulations that demonize employers.

The IMA appreciates those lawmakers that have a strong record of support for the manufacturing sector. We look forward to re-electing those officials and increasing the manufacturing majority in the Illinois General Assembly.

Illinois Manufacturers' Association State House Ratings

* left office

** Joined chamber mid-term

*** Changed chambers mid-term

HB 219 (Hoffman-D/Harmon-D) – Punitive Damages

Adds punitive damages to wrongful death cases.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 1608 (Mayfield-D) – CCR Removal Near Lake Michigan

Provides that when CCR (coal ash) generating facilities close in the state, those facilities located within a certain distance of Lake Michigan must close by completely removing all CCR on site.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 2132 (Evans-D/Peters-D) – Rust Belt to Green Belt

Creates the Illinois Rust Belt to Green Belt Pilot Program Act to allow for a new utility-scale offshore wind project.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 2161 (Guzzardi-D/Toro-D) with SFA#2 – Family Responsibility

Provides that it is the public policy of the State to prevent discrimination based on family responsibilities in employment.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 2473 (Yednock-D/Rezin-R) with SFA#3 – Mod Nuclear Construction

Repeals the moratorium on small nuclear reactors, or “small modular reactors” that have a capacity of 300 electrical megawatts or less.

• IMA Position: Support

HB 2520 (Harper-D) – Environmental Justice

Provides for new oppressive regulations on Illinois manufacturers seeking certain air permits in environmental justice areas.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 2547 (Olickal-D/Villanueva-D) – Warehouse Quotas

Sets warehouse worker standards and would have required employers who use quota systems to provide employees quotas upfront and determine how the quotas can be managed.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 2862 (Gonzalez-D/Peters-D) – Day and Temporary Laborers / Equal Pay for Equal Work
Provides that a day or temporary laborer who is assigned to work at a third party client for more than 90 calendar days shall be paid not less than the rate of pay and equivalent benefits as the lowest paid directly hired employee of the third party client with the same level of seniority at the company and performing the same or substantially similar work. Provides that upon request, a third party client to which a day or temporary laborer has been assigned for more than 90 calendar days shall be obligated to timely provide the day and temporary labor service agency with all necessary information related to job duties, pay, and benefits of directly hired employees.

• IMA Position: Opposed

HB 2874 (Avelar-D) – Paper and Packaging EPR

Creates the Packaging and Paper Products Stewardship Act. Established a regulatory system in the state where producers (i.e. manufacturers) are financially and managerially responsible for the end life of paper products and product packaging.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 3129 (Beth Canty-D/Harmon-D)

Requires any employer with 15 or more employees to provide the pay scale and benefits for a position in any job posting.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 3288 (Ness-D) – Regional Manufacturing Support

Creates a technical assistance and support division within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to support regional manufacturing partnerships. The proposal defines “regional manufacturing partnerships” to mean partnerships between high schools, community colleges, universities and employers all around workforce efforts.

• IMA Position: Support

HB 3590 (Weaver-R/Anderson-R) – Student Career Development Liability Insurance Adv Comm

Creates the Student Career Development Liability Insurance Advisory Committee that will issue a report containing recommendations for providing liability insurance to public high school students, public high school teachers and community college faculty who participate in career development experiences as employees of a local employer.

• IMA Position: Support

HB 3595 (Mah-D/Villanueva-D) – Power Plant Demolition

Expands the requirements a thermal power plant must take prior to the demolition of the plant.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 3641 (Burke-D/Cunningham-D) – Delayed implementation of “Equal Pay for Equal Work”

Delayed the implementation of the “Equal Pay for Equal Work” section of the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act until April 1, 2024.

• IMA Position: Support

HB 4093 (Williams, A.-D) – Health Data Privacy

Creates the Protect Health Data Privacy Act which aimed to protect health data by requiring regulated entities to disclose and maintain a health data privacy policy that clearly and conspicuously discloses specified information. Among several provisions, the bill provides that it would be unlawful for regulated entities or any person to sell or offer to sell health data concerning a consumer without first obtaining valid authorization from the consumer and the seller and purchaser of health data must retain a copy of all valid authorizations.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 4196 (Moylan-D/Villivalam-D) – EV Fleet Incentives

Establishes a competitive grant program within the Illinois EPA to incentivize companies and school districts in Illinois to transition their medium and heavy-duty fleet vehicles and school buses to electric.

• IMA Position: Support

HB 4627 (Moeller-D) – PFAS Registry

Authorizes the Illinois EPA to participate in a safe chemical clearinghouse and directs manufacturers of PFAS or products or product components containing intentionally added PFAS to register those products with the clearinghouse.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 4629 (Morgan-D/Aquino-D) – Junk Fees

Amends the Illinois Consumer Fraud & Deceptive Business Practices Act in an effort to prevent processing and transaction fees and to ensure advertised prices reflect the total cost of a purchase.

• IMA Position: Oppose

HB 4636 (Hoffman-D/Belt-D) – Petroleum Refinery Property Taxes

Provides that property that is used for a petroleum refinery may be the subject of a real property tax assessment settlement agreement among the taxpayer and taxing districts in which the property is situated.

• IMA Position: Support

HB 5005 (Vella-D/Stadelman-D) with SFA#2 – Omnibus Business Incentive Package

Creates or expands incentives for quantum computing, research and development (R&D), Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) Program, Reimagining Energy and Vehicles (REV Illinois), Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Program, and the Blue Collar Jobs Acy (BCLA).

• IMA Position: Support

Illinois Manufacturers' Association State Senate Ratings

* left office

** Joined chamber mid-term

*** Changed chambers mid-term

SB 58 (Fine-D/Gong-Gershowitz-D) with HFA#2 – Polystyrene Ban

Requires that after January 1, 2025, State agencies and departments may not procure disposable food service containers that are composed wholly or in part from polystyrene foam for use at a State agency or department.

• IMA Position: Oppose

SB 76 (Rezin-R/Yednock-D) with SFA#2 – Mod Nuclear Construction

Lifts the moratorium on construction of new nuclear power plants and allows continued growth and investments in micro nuclear plants that are small and portable and can help cities and employers meet their energy needs.

• IMA Position: Support

SB 771 (Ellman-D) with SFA#1 – Wetland Protections

Creates the Wetlands Protection Act and attempts to restore protections for wetlands that were formerly protected by the Clean Water Act by moving them into state law under the authority of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

• IMA Position: Oppose

SB 1289 (Williams, A.-D/Fine-D) with HFA#3 – Carbon Capture & Storage

Establishes a regulatory framework to smartly and safely advance carbon capture and

storage in Illinois, which will help the state meet clean energy goals while promoting economic

development and creating new jobs.

• IMA Position: Support

SB 1555 (Koehler-D) – Paper and Packaging EPR

Creates the Packaging and Paper Products Stewardship Act. Established a regulatory system in the state where producers (i.e. manufacturers) are financially and managerially responsible for the end life of paper products and product packaging.

• IMA Position: Oppose

SB 1996 (Cunningham-D/Hoffman-D) with SFA#6 – Workers’ Compensation Agreement

Provides for a short-term, one-year increase in revenue to the IWCC to cover any potential shortfall, increased transfer authority of $2 million in the event a funding issue arises, and changes sought by the Department of Insurance regarding fraudulent certificates.

• IMA Position: Support

SB 2234 (Belt-D/Tarver-D) – Captive Finance

Creates the Consumer Protections for Small Business Act and requires commercial financing and disclosures to include the finance charge, annual percentage rate, total repayment amount, and other charges.

• IMA Position: Oppose

SB 2637 (Preston-D/Stava Murray-D) – Food Additives Ban

Banned the manufacture, sale, delivery, and distribution, of food products for human consumption that contains brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye 3.

• IMA Position: Oppose

SB 2682 (Ellman-D/Yang Rohr-D) – Women in Technology

Creates the Increasing Representation of Women in Technology Task Force Act, and creates the Increasing Representation of Women in Technology Task Force, to, among other things, evaluate evidence and data on recruitment, advancement, and retention of women in technology positions and the corresponding management chain.

• IMA Position: Support

SB 2979 (Cunningham-D/Williams, A.-D) – BIPA

Allows employers to obtain consent from employees to use biometrics through an electronic signature and clarifies that each individual BIPA violation should not be considered a separate violation, while leaving out critical reforms.

• IMA Position: Oppose

SB 3649 (Peters-D/Evans-D) with HCA#1 – Captive Audience

Creates the Worker Freedom of Speech Act that provides that an employer may not discipline or take any adverse employment action against an employee who declines to participate in a meeting that may be religious or political in nature. The bill also contains language that supports the private right of action for violations of the law.

• IMA Position: Opposed

SB 3650 (Peters-D/Gonzalez-D) with HFA#1 – Day & Temp Workers

Allows for easier compliance to recent changes to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (DTLSA) and shifts liability away from employers.

• IMA Position: Support