South Cook News

William "Will" Davis introduced HB3655 in the Illinois House on Feb. 7, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall create a small business financing program to provide low-interest financing to small businesses that secure State contracts to assist with the fulfilment of those contracts. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that the Department of Central Management Services shall, in consultation with State agencies, develop a scorecard for the assessment of bids from businesses that have annual gross sales of less than $15,000,000 as evidenced by the federal income tax return of the business. Makes changes in provisions concerning the advertisement of bids to small businesses."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill establishes a small business financing program under the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide low-interest financing for small businesses with state contracts, subject to appropriation. It amends the Illinois Procurement Code to authorize procurement officers to set aside a proportion of contracts for small businesses, defined by specific criteria, such as a maximum of $8 million in retail sales or 250 employees for manufacturers. The bill mandates each procurement officer to appoint a small business specialist to support small contractors and compile annual reports on set-aside awards. It requires developing a small business scorecard for bids from companies with less than $15 million in annual sales. The bill is effective Jan. 1, 2024.

William "Will" Davis has proposed another 16 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Davis graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1989 with a BA.

William "Will" Davis is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 30th House District. He replaced previous state representative Harold Murphy in 2003.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB3655	02/07/2025	Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall create a small business financing program to provide low-interest financing to small businesses that secure State contracts to assist with the fulfilment of those contracts. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that the Department of Central Management Services shall, in consultation with State agencies, develop a scorecard for the assessment of bids from businesses that have annual gross sales of less than $15,000,000 as evidenced by the federal income tax return of the business. Makes changes in provisions concerning the advertisement of bids to small businesses.
HB3508	02/07/2025	Amends the Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Act. Defines "water treatment residuals". Deletes provisions regarding generator and broker registration. Adds new provisions regarding generator and broker registration requiring registration with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security within 60 days after the commencement of generating or taking possession of low-level radioactive waste. Provides an exemption for a generator that stores waste containing or composed of radioactive material with a physical half-life of less than 120 days. Provides an exemption for a generator of water treatment residuals. Makes technical changes.
HB3611	02/07/2025	Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that documents that have been determined to be security sensitive under certain requirements related to the U.S. Nuclear Regulation Commission and National Materials Program are exempt from inspection and copying under the Act.
HB3772	02/07/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that early childhood programs receiving State funds shall restrict suspensions. Provides that the decision to suspend a student in preschool for 3 or more days may only be made by the superintendent of the school district, director of an early childhood program, or their equivalent and that the length of the suspension for any student in preschool may not be longer than the number of days required by the school district or early childhood program to develop and implement a behavior intervention plan or safety plan. Prohibits a student in kindergarten through grade 2 from being expelled unless otherwise required by federal or State law. Provides that the decision to suspend a student in kindergarten through grade 2 for 3 or more days may only be made by the superintendent of the school district and that the length of the suspension for any student in kindergarten through grade 2 may not be longer than the number of days required by the school district to develop and implement a behavior intervention plan or safety plan. Provides that a student who is suspended in excess of 20 school days may be immediately transferred to an alternative program. Provides that a student shall not be denied transfer because of the suspension, except in cases in which such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the safety of students or staff in the alternative program. Makes other changes.
HB3784	02/07/2025	Appropriates $2,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning for fulfilling its obligations under the Regional Planning Act and for enhancing capacity to support local planning and technical assistance for the counties and municipalities, including, but not limited to, ADA self-evaluation and transition plans, bicycle and pedestrian plans, Capital improvement plans, comprehensive and other strategic plans, corridor plans, grant readiness, plan implementation assistance, pavement management plans, transportation safety plans, and other assistance in response to local needs. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3798	02/07/2025	Appropriates $10,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Agency for grants to Community Resource Healing Centers (CHRC)for their operational expenses. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3809	02/07/2025	Repeals the School Construction Bond Act. Amends the Statute on Statutes, the General Obligation Bond Act, and the Prevailing Wage Act to make conforming changes.
HB3810	02/07/2025	Amends the State Salary and Annuity Withholding Act, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Technology Advancement and Development Act, the Women's Business Ownership Act of 2015, the State Finance Act, the Illinois Insurance Code, the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Illinois Vehicle Code, the Franchise Tax and License Fee Amnesty Act of 2007, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act to remove provisions concerning specified funds. Amends the Illinois Municipal Code to remove definitions and make other changes. Amends the State Finance Act to repeal specified funds on January 1, 2026. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to repeal provisions concerning certain special registration plates on January 1, 2026. Amends the State Employee Housing Act, the State Budget Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Department of Public Health Act, the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the School Code, the Higher Education Veterans Service Act, the Older Adult Services Act, the Fish and Aquatic Life Code, and the Wildlife Code to make other changes. Repeals the Farm Fresh Schools Program Act, the Emergency Budget Implementation Act of Fiscal Year 2010, the Institution for Tuberculosis Research Act, and the Problem Pregnancy Health Services and Care Act. Effective immediately.
HB2961	02/06/2025	Creates the Best Interest of the State Act. Provides that any collective bargaining unit, contractor, or subcontractor participating in a project labor agreement shall satisfy specified requirements to promote racial inclusion, diversity, and equity. Contains provisions concerning prequalification of collective bargaining units, contractors, and subcontractors; the determination of the demographic make-up of counties; complaints to the Commission on Equity and Inclusion; and penalties. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Local Construction Training and Development Fund. Amends the Project Labor Agreements Act and the Commission on Equity and Inclusion Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.
HB2981	02/06/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that a school report card must include data related to: (1) the total student capacity for each school in the school district; (2) the number of student transfers enrolled in each receiving school in the receiving school district; (3) the number of requests for transfer received; and (4) the number of requests for transfer denied and the reasons supporting the denial of any request for transfer. Provides that on or before the first day of each semester, it shall be the duty of the superintendent of the receiving school district to file with the State Board of Education showing the total number of students granted transfers into or within the receiving school district, and their respective school sites and grade levels. Requires the State Board to submit an annual report available to the public, on or before July 1st, on their website that includes for each school district: (1) the number of students in the school year seeking admission to transfer to or within a school district; (2) the number of rejected transfer requests in the school year; (3) the reason or reasons why each rejected transfer request was rejected in the school year; and (4) the total number of students that into or within each district. Provides that each year the State Board shall randomly select 20 of the school districts in the State to conduct an audit of each district's approved and denied transfers based on the provisions of the policies adopted by the respective school district. Amends the State Mandates Act. Provides that no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by the amendatory Act.
HB3185	02/06/2025	Amends the State Prompt Payment Act. Provides that, for construction contracts with the Department of Transportation or the Capital Development Board (instead of the Department of Transportation only), the contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier, regardless of tier, shall not offset, decrease, or diminish payment or payments that are due to its subcontractors or material suppliers without reasonable cause.
HB2685	02/04/2025	Amends the School Code. Requires the Illinois State Board of Education to create the Licensed School Librarian Task Force, which shall meet a minimum of 4 times and shall submit, no later than 12 months after the first convening of the Task Force, a final report to the Governor and the General Assembly containing recommendations, including, but not limited to, recommendations for how to ensure Illinois public elementary and secondary schools consider, budget appropriate resources for, and employ licensed school librarians in future academic years from available State and local resources. Effective immediately.
HB2686	02/04/2025	Amends the State Finance Act and the State Revenue Sharing Act. Provides that certain provisions concerning distributions from the State and Local Sales Tax Reform Fund and from the Local Government Distributive Fund constitute an irrevocable and continuing appropriation. Effective immediately.
HB2687	02/04/2025	Amends the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
HB1861	01/29/2025	Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code. Provides that for a child residing in a long-term, acute care facility serving a majority of patients who are (i) minor children and (ii) Medicaid-eligible in Harvey School District 152, if a parent or guardian moves out of the State after the child is placed in such a facility, that parent or guardian shall enroll the child in a school in the other state to initiate reimbursement to Illinois. With respect to determining the location of a student's parent or guardian, provides that the information submitted to the State Superintendent of Education must include an affidavit from that school district's superintendent or the facility's director attesting that the location of the parent or guardian is unknown and at least 3 satisfactory attempts (rather than 4 items of documentary evidence that a minimum of 4 separate attempts) were made on 3 separate days to locate the parent or guardian and no response was received from the parent or guardian within 14 days after such satisfactory attempts. Provides that for a child residing in a long-term, acute care facility serving a majority of patients who are (i) minor children and (ii) Medicaid-eligible in Harvey School District 152, the following apply: (1) if the child is not currently enrolled in a school district or if the resident school district is unknown, the appropriate resident school district must be identified and the child must be enrolled in that district prior to the placement of the child, except in emergency situations; (2) for a child with an out-of-state resident district whose out-of-state resident district has refused to enroll the child in the district, despite being contacted by both the nonpublic school within the applicable facility and the State Board of Education, the resident district shall be the student's most recent resident district in Illinois and that resident district shall be the responsible payee; and (3) the equivalent of each applicable child's tuition receipts for the 2025-2026 school year shall be paid to the resident district. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
HB1827	01/28/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, taxpayers of income-producing property shall submit income and expense data annually to the chief county assessment officer on or before July 1 of each year. Provides that, in counties of fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county board may provide by ordinance or resolution that taxpayers of income-producing property shall submit income and expense data annually to the chief county assessment officer on or before March 31 of each year. Contains certain exceptions. Effective immediately.
HB1829	01/28/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, in counties in which the county board so provides, by ordinance or resolution, owners of income-producing properties in the county shall file physical descriptions of their properties with the chief county assessment officer upon request of the chief county assessment officer. Sets forth the period of time during which those provisions apply. Provides that the request for information shall include an individualized statement specifying all physical description information that the assessor's office has on record or recorded against the property and shall contain a statement that the owner may confirm the information if no changes are required. Imposes certain penalties if the property owner fails to respond to a request for information. Amends the Freedom of Information Act to provide that financial records and data related to real estate income, expenses, and occupancy submitted by or on behalf of a property owner to a chief county assessment officer, except if submitted as part of an assessment appeal, are exempt from disclosure. Effective immediately.
HB1830	01/28/2025	Amends the School Code. In a provision concerning evidence-based funding for student success, allows the Professional Review Panel to study, at the discretion of the chairperson, any proposed legislation by the General Assembly impacting the provision or the distribution of Tier funds through the evidence-based funding formula or the adequacy targets of organizational units funded through the evidence-based funding formula.
HB1599	01/22/2025	Amends the Safe Schools Law of the School Code. In provisions concerning funding, provides that in any fiscal year in which the State funding allocation is at or above $22,730,000, each alternative school program shall receive $100,000 for that fiscal year (instead of receiving funding in the amount of $30,000), plus an amount based on the ratio of an educational service region's or the Chicago public school system's average student enrollment (instead of best 3 months' average daily attendance in grades pre-kindergarten through 12) to the statewide totals of these amounts. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.
HB1556	01/21/2025	Amends the Animal Welfare Act. Defines "professional breeder". Provides that an animal shelter shall not accept a dog or cat from an animal shelter licensed under the Act or an out-of-state animal control facility, rescue group, or animal shelter that is duly licensed in their state or is a not-for-profit organization unless it obtains documentation attesting that the dog or cat was not obtained through compensation or payment made to a cat breeder, dog breeder, dog dealer, or dog broker. Provides that an animal shelter shall not obtain a dog or cat by any means other than owner surrender, transfer from an animal control facility, an order by law enforcement, or an animal shelter in compliance with provisions concerning reporting of animals. Provides that a pet shop operator or dog dealer (rather than just a pet shop operator) may offer for sale a dog or cat only if the dog or cat is obtained from an animal control facility, animal shelter, or professional breeder (rather than just an animal control facility or an animal shelter) located in-state or out-of-state, that is in compliance with provisions concerning animal control facilities and animal shelters supplying to pet shop operators and requirements of professional dog breeders. Removes provisions concerning the requirement that a pet shop operator shall keep a record of each dog or cat offered for sale. Provides for requirements of professional dog breeders.
HB1224	01/09/2025	Creates the State Agency Retainage Act. Provides that, if a State agency determines that satisfactory progress has not been achieved by a contractor or subcontractor during any period for which a payment is to be made, a percentage of the payment may be retained by the State agency. Prohibits the amount of retainage under the Act from exceeding 10% of the amount of any and all draw amounts submitted and approved under the terms of the contract until the contract is 50% completed. Prohibits retainage of more than 5% of the contract of the amount of any and all draw amounts submitted and approved under the terms of the contract for the duration of the contract. Authorizes retainage to be adjusted as the contract approaches completion to recognize better than expected performance, the ability to rely on alternative safeguards, and other factors. Further provides that on completion of all contract requirements, amounts retained under the Act must be paid promptly. Defines the terms "retainage" and "State agency". Amends the State Prompt Payment Act. Specifies that the State Prompt Payment Act does not apply to retainage withheld under the State Agency Retainage Act.