I hope everyone is staying busy and cool as summer winds down. I’ve been keeping busy, and want to update you. This week, I’ll discuss what I’ve been doing, seniors, economic development, the environment, the DuQuoin State Fair, and what’s next.
WHERE’S KEVIN
This has been a fantastic week! I joined Rep. Charlie Meier for a Coffee Talk in New Baden. It was great to hear directly from you about what issues are important to you. I have prioritized being accessible and transparent, and look forward to more opportunities to represent you.
I toured Bowman Avenue Pump Station. It was so eye opening to visit the Station. Many people don’t realize how important this station is. It deals with water from Columbia to Alton, and without it our interstate would flood in only 30 minutes.
My job fair was a success! It was so great to see so many professionals come together to learn about opportunities for new careers. Thank you to all who came, both vendors and job seekers! The 114th district is going to see some new employees soon!
SENIORS
House Republicans champion legislation to help seniors. Illinois House Republicans continue to step up to protect and support the senior community through a series of legislative efforts aimed at enhancing the lives of seniors across the state. Representatives Ryan Spain, Jeff Keicher, myself, and other House Republican legislators have introduced and championed bills that address key issues affecting older adults, from healthcare and housing to financial stability and driver safety.
Rep. Ryan Spain has long been a vocal advocate for seniors. He has championed property tax relief, increasing access to transportation, safeguarding retirement benefits and protecting against exploitation.
“Our seniors have given so much to our communities, and it’s our duty to ensure they’re protected and supported,” said Rep. Spain. “We’re committed to passing legislation that makes a real difference in their lives, from healthcare to financial security.”
Rep. Jeff Keicher has taken a stand on a critical issue affecting older drivers in Illinois.
“Seniors deserve to live with the respect and dignity they’ve earned,” Rep. Keicher said. “Our focus is on ensuring they have the resources and support they need to enjoy their golden years without unnecessary burdens.”
I have sponsored and co-sponsored several key pieces of legislation aimed at improving the financial and healthcare security of Illinois seniors, by reducing property taxes, lowering the cost of groceries, protecting retirement income and fighting financial exploitation.
Supporting our seniors isn’t just about policy—it’s about recognizing their invaluable contributions and making sure they can live comfortably and securely. We’re here to stand with them, advocating for their well-being every step of the way.
Together, House Republicans are championing legislation that directly addresses the needs of Illinois seniors. Their collective efforts reflect a shared commitment to protecting the rights, health, and financial well-being of older adults, ensuring that they receive the respect and care they deserve in their golden years.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
General Assembly makes a small, but potentially valuable, change to the job-threatening Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The BIPA law, enacted in 2008, purports to protect the privacy of an individual’s biometric information from misuse in Illinois. Biometrics are the biologically unique identifiers that differentiate each individual human being, including eye and fingerprint markings. Illinois Democrats have a long record of alliances with law firms that issue contingent lawsuits for big-money damages. Especially in years that followed 2008, the BIPA law was interpreted by the courts to grant ‘standing’ to file enormous lawsuits against any business firm in Illinois that had collected biometric information about its employees, such as using biometric locks or time clocks.
After some of these lawsuits began to move to trial and massive verdicts, the Illinois business community began to warn the General Assembly that BIPA was becoming a deadly threat to job creation and retention. House Republicans sponsored bills to reduce or eliminate the threats created by BIPA misuse. Many Democrats, faithful to their alliance with the trial bar, did not want to take action. Under pressure, the leadership of the House and Senate Democrats partially gave in. In the 2024 spring session, they allowed a bill to come to the floor of the House and Senate. As passed by both houses, SB 2979 allowed many of the job-threatening features of BIPA to remain untouched: trial lawyers will continue to be able to use BIPA to file big lawsuits. However, SB 2979 also says that if a firm collects biometric information two or more times from one individual without explicit permission – as, for example, if a security camera repeatedly takes a picture of an individual reporting to work, and the same picture is taken every day – then only one act of alleged damage has taken place. No plaintiff or law firm can claim that two or more pictures, or fingerprints, create two or more episodes of damage for which huge sums of money can be awarded.
Even after passage of SB 2979 and its enactment into law, the Biometric Information Privacy Act continues to be highly hostile to job creation and retention in Illinois. Employers and job creators do not face similar lawsuits in any of the other states that compete with Illinois for jobs. Firms that use facial recognition, fingerprint-scans, or any of the other identification methods pinpointed by BIPA continue to be potentially liable for lawsuits and damages. House Republicans would have preferred a much more equitable biometric privacy law that would have balanced the interests of business and labor. Two House Republican bills, HB 2335 (Keicher) and HB 5635 (Keicher) are good examples of what an equitable BIPA bill looks like. Many House Republicans voted against the 2024 law because it fell far short of true BIPA reform.
However, the 2024 law is better than nothing and marks a rare partial defeat for the trial bar in Illinois. The SB 2979 biometric law modification statute was signed into law in August 2024.
ENVIRONMENT
Schweizer and bipartisan group of legislators work to protect safe drinking water. State Representative Brandun Schweizer has filed HB 5870 to ban any carbon sequestration activity in and around federally designated Sole Source Aquifers, including the Mahomet Aquifer. The legislation also prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing permits to any applicant that is knowingly intending to conduct any carbon sequestration activity over any sole source aquifer.
The legislation comes after Governor Pritzker signed SB 1289 late last month. The newly signed law introduces a three-step process to capture, transport, and sequester carbon. The carbon is captured from high carbon emitting areas and transported to central and southern parts of the state to be sequestered and stored in pore storage sites under the rock shale formations. The legislation fails to address drinking water protections, allowing piping and drilling in and around water sources, like the Mahomet Aquifer.
“My biggest concern with the newly signed legislation is the possible drilling in and around the Mahomet Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to my entire district and much of east-central Illinois,” said Rep. Schweizer. “I cannot be supportive of legislation that allows a region to be put at risk with possible water contamination and sequestration function failures. That is why I filed legislation in support of safe drinking water, a measure that should have been taken before the legislation was signed into law.”
Following the passage of SB 1289, Rep. Schweizer was one of twelve bipartisan, bicameral legislators that signed a letter that was sent to Gov. Pritzker. The letter emphasized the risks that carbon sequestration poses to drinking water and asked that injecting carbon waste through and under the Mahomet Aquifer be banned. Although no response came from the Governor’s office regarding the bipartisan plea, Rep. Schweizer remains dedicated to working across the aisle and fighting for stronger water protections.
DUQUOIN STATE FAIR
The Du Quoin State Fair opened on Friday. The annual Du Quoin State Fair kicked off with a ribbon cutting and Twilight Parade last Friday, August 23. Learn about all the activities, events, and performers at this year’s fair!
The Du Quoin State Fair has announced their theme days for 2024.
Theme days at the Du Quoin State Fair really capture the essence of what makes this fair special. particularly excited about the way they emphasize the significance of agriculture. I want to extend my gratitude to everyone involved in the fair for consistently providing our community with such enjoyable summer experiences!
What’s Next?
This Friday I’m hosting another Coffee Talk in Mascoutah. Come out to tell me what changes you’d like to see in Illinois.
On September 7 I’m hosting a FREE Shred Day! I’ll be at the Cahokia Fitness and Sports Complex from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. I’m teaming up with a local company to accept electronics for recycling, too. See here for a list of accepted events.
Thank you for taking time to read Schmidt’s Spotlight! I’ll update you again soon. Have a great week!