IVCA Provides Updates for State Legislative Issues – 06/08/22
Illinois Venture Capital Association Illinois Legislative Report
David Stricklin / Stricklin & Associates
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
GOVERNOR SIGNS IVCA BILL
Easily the most significant legislative initiative of the IVCA has been to establish and then further improve the Technology Development Account, today known as the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund. An evergreen fund at approximately $1 billion, It represents a significant source of capital for Illinois VC funds and demonstrates the economic wallop of private investing in Illinois.
https://www.ilgif.com/
Over the lifetime of the TDA, the IVCA has worked closely with the Illinois Treasurer and the General Assembly on a bipartisan basis to expand and improve the program and to maintain guardrails in the investment approach to ensure high fiduciary standards.
All of this to say, on Friday, May 27, Governor Pritzker signed the latest improvements to the TDA as advanced by the IVCA, which include specific allocations for emerging fund managers and more specific reporting on allocations and returns.
PUBLIC ACT 102-1023
PENSION CONSOLIDATION MAY PROCEED
The unfunded liability in the state’s pension systems is still the elephant in the room, even with modest progress made this session to put more money into the systems and lower the unfunded liability. Illinois courts have ruled against the most recent efforts by the General Assembly to change pension benefits for state employees leaving most of the efforts at reform to work around the edges. Consolidation is viewed as an option, and one test of this approach is legislation from 2019 to merge the hundreds of funds operated at the local level. A legal challenge to this approach was recently decided and continues to serve as a harbinger of what options might exist for the State of Illinois:
An Illinois Circuit Court judge has denied a lawsuit that sought to stop the consolidation of the state’s 650 firefighter and police officer pension funds, rejecting the plaintiff’s claims that a law enacting the move violated the state’s constitution.
In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill that allows for the consolidation of 650 police and firefighter pensions in order to pool their funds into two statewide funds for investment purposes—one for police and one for firefighters. The move is intended to help improve the financial stability of the pension funds and ease pressure on local governments to raise taxes to fund those pensions.
PENSION FUND CONSOLIDTIONILLINOIS FISCAL CONDITION / CREDIT RATING UPDATES
A snapshot of the state of Illinois finances from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, including credit upgrades and bond sales to finance pension buyouts:
ILLINOIS FINANCES
PRIMARY ELECTION DAY APPROACHES
Early voting is open in most jurisdictions across Illinois as the June 28 primary date is within sight. Illinois Republicans are participating in a spirited contest to see who will face Governor JB Pritzker in November. The two leading candidates appear to be Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who enjoys the backing of Illinois billionaire Ken Griffin and much the Republican “establishment”, while downstate farmer and State Senator Darren Bailey is demonstrating considerable support from social and religious conservatives and Trump voters.
POLLING SHOWS TWO MAN RACE