In this Issue
Tomorrow: Heroes & Helicopters Event
Veto Session Preview
Summer Intern Season Wrap-Up
Coffee & Conversation
Hike with Sierra Club
Dear Friends,
This week marked the start of a new school year for many in our district, and my office and I wish all our students, their families, and school staff a safe, fun, and successful school year!
While each summer vacation seems to fly by, we have one more event to help usher out the summer: This Saturday, August 19, please join Senator Laura Ellman and me for our Second Annual Heroes & Helicopters event! This is a chance for the many wonderful organizations in our community to showcase their work, including a live helicopter landing at 10 AM.
In the 41st District office, meanwhile, we’ve also been wrapping up a summer of legislative research and community outreach. We’re getting ready for an intense fall veto session and to introduce a slew of new bills for the 2024 regular legislative session.
You can read about all those activities below. If you want to find out more, send me a note or join me at one of our monthly coffee & conversations. Hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Janet
This Saturday: Heroes & Helicopters Event
Along with Senator Laura Ellman, my office and I are excited to celebrate our community heroes with you and your family at our upcoming Heroes & Helicopters: A Community Showcase event!
What: Heroes and Helicopters
When: August 19 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Where: Frontier Park, 3380 Cedar Glade Dr., Naperville
Join us for a day of community fun and exploration, beginning with a 10 AM medical helicopter landing. You’ll also be able to enjoy a close-up view of trucks and equipment used by our first responders, plus engage with the many participating organizations that serve our community. These heroes serve all ages–from our youngest kiddos and their families to our seniors. They also offer care and compassion in so many ways–from literacy to youth safety to puppies!
Below are some of this year’s participating organizations:
Turning Pointe Autism Foundation
Veto Session Preview
The legislative calendar follows a fairly regular path, with legislators generally introducing and passing bills through the House and Senate chambers throughout the first half of the year and the Governor reviewing, signing, and sometimes vetoing bills throughout the summer. In the fall, legislators have the opportunity during veto session to override vetoes and also pass new, generally more urgent legislation.
Governor Prtizker has wholly or partially vetoed a handful of bills so far this year. Below are some of the more notable ones that I expect may resurface during this fall’s veto session, which will take place the week of October 23 and November 6. Overriding a veto requires 71 votes in the House and 36 votes in the Senate.
Senate Bill 76 removes the decades-long moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). This bi-partisan bill, which I supported, passed the House with 84 voting in favor and 22 opposed and the Senate with 36 in favor and 14 opposed. In his veto message, the Governor acknowledges the potential for SMRs as an important source of zero-carbon energy but cites concerns over the lack of health and safety regulatory protections.
House Bill 2878 received an amendatory veto, which allows the Governor to veto a section of legislation rather than the entire bill. In this case, Governor Pritzker vetoed the bill’s public private partnership (P3) aspects, which would have let private entities partner with local governments on transportation projects, citing the lack of proper oversight as a strong concern. The bipartisan bill passed the House 77-9 and passed the Senate unanimously.
House Bill 3445 contained a number of energy-related provisions, including one that would have allowed Ameren right-of-first-refusal on new transmission projects. This anti-competitive language caused my original “no” vote on the bill, as well as the Governor’s amendatory veto. The bill will return to the legislature this fall, where legislators will vote on whether they accept this deletion from the bill. The bill originally passed the House 63-32 and the Senate 41-9.
Summer Intern Season Wrap-Up
The start of a new school year means the end of another summer intern season, and I want to thank this year’s summer intern class for their amazing work serving the community. In addition to outreach and planning so many of our community events, they have been hard at work researching issues and helping me to draft new legislation for the upcoming year. Because of their work, over the next few months, I’ll be introducing bills to support students, the environment, and those with developmental disabilities (and more!). I’m excited to share with you the progress of these new pieces of legislation in the upcoming months.
If you’re interested or know others who might be interested in next year’s summer program, please drop me a note. This year’s interns included current students or alumni from Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley and Metea Valley high schools. Their interests varied across many different areas, and all were excited to serve their community and research policy to address our community’s concerns.
August Coffee & Conversation
For a broader overview of Springfield and 41st District activities, please join us at one of our monthly coffee and conversations. These generally occur on the last Saturday of the month, and we’ll meet on August 26 at our district office for this month’s get-together. Come and join other constituents from across Naperville, Warrenville, and Bolingbrook for informal catching-up and conversation.
What: Coffee & Conversation with me and your neighbors
When: Saturday, August 26, 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 am
Where: District 41 Office, 475 River Bend Rd., Suite 500, Naperville
Hike with Sierra Club
Join us for a hike where you can learn about the plants right here in District 41 and have a chance to speak with Rep. Yang Rohr along the way. We will be joined by the Sierra Club River Prairie Group so they can share their expertise with nature. Ed Max will be our guide as we hike along the West Branch of the DuPage River and discover a world of adventure right here in our own backyard.
What: Hike with Sierra Club
When: Sunday, September 17, 2023 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Where: Knoch Knolls Nature Center Parking Lot, 320 Knoch Knolls Rd, Naperville
