IVCA Provides Updates for State Legislative Issues – 07/06/22
Illinois Venture Capital Association Illinois Legislative Report
David Stricklin / Stricklin & Associates
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
HIGHLAND PARK
Readers of this newsletter live in Highland Park or surely know people who live in Highland Park, and our hearts go out to the families of the victims and to the entire community which was attacked on the 4th of July.
Writing from the standpoint of how events shape policy and politics, it should be noted several Illinois legislators who familiar to IVCA members, including State Senator Julie Morrison and State Representative Bob Morgan, were at the Highland Park 4th of July Parade.
ILLINOIS LEGISLATORS AT PARADE
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joined a chorus of Democratic lawmakers and public officials calling for legislative action:
GOVERNOR PRITZKER
ILLINOIS SPECIAL SESSION
A special legislative session to address Illinois law regarding reproductive rights contemplated for this week has been postponed:
But in a joint statement on Tuesday, Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon said they need additional time to get “an acute sense of our needs and how Illinois can play an even more vital role in standing up for reproductive freedom.”
SPECIAL SESSION PAUSE
RACE FOR TOP SPOT SET
Illinois primary voters established a clear and distinct choice for general elections voters in November by nominating State Senator Darren Bailey as the Republican challenger to Democratic incumbent Governor JB Pritzker. Bailey easily bested his challengers in a crowded field as the most reliably conservative candidate. Sen. Bailey earned an endorsement from former President Donald J. Trump to push his winning margin:
BAILEY WINS EASILY
PRIMARY VOTERS SWITCH HORSES
Primary voters were willing to make changes, demonstrating a trend for each party to move further in the direction of its most ardent supporters. Illinois State Representative and Revenue Committee Chairman Mike Zalewski was defeated by a challenge from his political left, and two other House incumbents were also defeated by their primary challengers. On the Republican side, a member of the House Republican Leadership team was defeated by a challenger from his political right.
LEADERSHIP LOSSES
The nomination of Sen. Bailey for governor is an outline of the direction for where Illinois Republican Party, as Bailey has expressed his interest in putting the party on his shoulders and in moving aside more “establishment” leaders, such as Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin.
STATE FISCAL FOCUS
Voters interested in the condition of the state’s finances – and those who aren’t – will hear a good bit this fall about the bill “backlog” which has been eliminated and the credit upgrades from the rating agencies.
BALANCE SHEET
Readers of this column know we also find value in consuming the reports from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability REVENUE REPORTIn summary, the better-than-expected revenue gains in FY 2022 came from several atypical revenue- enhancing factors that strongly influenced the overachieving nature of the economically tied revenue sources. Those factors include: the one- time influx of federal stimulus dollars to the nation’s economy; the continuation of a pandemic-related shift from non-taxed service-based sales to taxable goods; and strong market conditions as a result of this enhanced activity, thus, creating elevated taxable income and tax revenues from corporate profits and capital gains. The influence of these particular factors is expected to wane as the State enters into FY 2023 resulting in reduced revenue expectations for the upcoming fiscal year.
In summary, the better-than-expected revenue gains in FY 2022 came from several atypical revenue- enhancing factors that strongly influenced the overachieving nature of the economically tied revenue sources. Those factors include: the one- time influx of federal stimulus dollars to the nation’s economy; the continuation of a pandemic-related shift from non-taxed service-based sales to taxable goods; and strong market conditions as a result of this enhanced activity, thus, creating elevated taxable income and tax revenues from corporate profits and capital gains. The influence of these particular factors is expected to wane as the State enters into FY 2023 resulting in reduced revenue expectations for the upcoming fiscal year.