Policy Updates: House Bill 277, Spring Legislative Session and more
Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA)
In her recent testimony before the full Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones, CEO of the Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), emphasized the critical role of federal support in addressing Illinois' severe unemployment challenges, particularly among Black men and women. Despite a high number of job openings in the state, the unemployment rate remains disproportionately high, highlighting the need for robust funding and innovative solutions. Dr. Bly-Jones called for increased investment in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to support skills training and supportive services, stressing the importance of industry partnerships and extended career pathways to ensure long-term success for workers, especially those who have experienced trauma.
In response to this testimony, both the Senate and the House have proposed revisions to reauthorize WIOA. While these revisions address some of the key points raised, CJC believes there is a need for stronger racial equity language and additional considerations that were not fully acknowledged in the initial testimony. Dr. Bly-Jones has been invited to submit written responses to further questions from senators, with her input due back to their teams by July 11, 2024. As these discussions continue, it is vital that federal policies and investments comprehensively support workforce equity and the diverse needs of all workers.
Take a look at National Skills Summit WIOA Recommendations here.
Failure to Appear Update
Chicago Jobs Council, the Transit Table, and partners with lead sponsors Representative Nick Smith and Senator Celina Villanueva were proud to pass House Bill 277 in the Illinois General Assembly this session. HB 277 will prevent all future driver’s license suspensions for failure to appear in traffic court for minor traffic tickets while encouraging the modernizing of systems by which courts reach out to people to notify them of a pending court appearance. The bill also requires the Secretary of State to clear all license suspensions since January 1, 2020.
Our Failure to Appear campaign is built on the structural transportation barrier work the Transit Table has advocated for since its inception, including progress in the License to Work Act and SAFE-T Act. The License to Work Act ended license suspension in Illinois for the inability to pay non-moving tickets. The SAFE-T Act ended suspension and holds of driver’s licenses for failing to pay red-light camera tickets, speed camera tickets, traffic tickets, and abandoned vehicle fees.
A driver’s license suspension can carry severe consequences. Unfortunately, inadequate or non-existent public transit means that more than 80% of Illinoisans drive to work, and we know that, nationally, 42% of people lose their jobs after a license suspension. When someone with a traffic ticket loses employment, the corresponding loss of income makes them less—not more—able to pay the ticket.
Eliminating these license suspensions contributes to increased equity. Of the top ten zip codes with the most license suspensions for failure to appear in traffic court, we know that the vast majority of suspensions are for Black and Latino drivers. We also know that each of the top ten zip codes has a poverty rate that exceeds 20%.
We want to extend a special thank you to State Senator Celina Villanueva, State Representative Nicholas Smith, State Representative Justin Slaughter, and many more who championed the bill and stood up and acknowledged unjust and racially disproportionate driver’s license suspension practices. The bill will go into effect January 1, 2025.
Spring Legislative Session
In this year’s Illinois General Assembly Spring Session, CJC advocated for policies that move us closer to an anti-racist workforce development system and employment equity. The Skills for Good Jobs expansive collaborative Agenda has encompassed several key initiatives led by partners and CJC. These include advocating for state funding for workforce training focusing on racial and gender equity and promoting policies to dismantle employment barriers faced by people of color, foreign-born workers, young people, and women in Illinois. We are committed to ensuring economic security for all Illinois residents and enhancing research and data sharing across state agencies to address equity gaps in public investments related to education and workforce training. This year's bills underline that these legislative victories are hard-fought, multi-year efforts. We are grateful for our coalition partners and their persistent advocacy for a prosperous, inclusive economy in Illinois that supports all workers’ career aspirations and unique pathways, creating jobs with family-thriving wages and boosting local businesses.
As mentioned above, we celebrate the passage of HB277 within the Skills Agenda Coalition, where we engaged partners in the Transit Table’s advocacy efforts to end driver’s license suspensions for minor traffic offenses related to failure to appear in court. We also celebrate the passage of HB4500, Truth, and Accuracy in Offense Titles, which created truth and accuracy in Illinois’ weapons possession statutes by renaming “use” to “possession.” It made these name changes retroactively so individuals who have faced bias for years because of their records can start to move forward. These misleading offense titles unfairly impact people’s ability to secure housing and employment. Alongside those bills, we saw the passage of $5.25M in appropriations for the Human Service Professional Loan Repayment Program. Securing these appropriations will provide loan repayment assistance to eligible direct service professionals practicing in community-based human service organizations that contract with or are grant-funded by a state agency. Lastly, on the 2024 Skills Agenda, we saw the creation of a state-based child tax credit. A statewide Child Tax Credit is the stimulus Illinois families need to meet basic needs in the face of rising inflation, higher food and housing costs, and lost COVID-boosted benefits.
When the spring legislative session closed, we saw bills supported by the Skills for Good Jobs Agenda Coalition move and stall at different parts of the legislative process, including repealing the subminimum wage for people with disabilities, Cannabis Equity that would allow returning citizens to participate in the industry, financial support to the social equity dispensaries, standardize and streamline the online application and badging process for prospective workers, eliminating the subminimum wage for restaurant workers, and paid family and medical leave.
Our work this year has been a source of valuable lessons and encouragement to be resolute in our long-term advocacy. Achieving legislative goals is long-term, often requiring years of dedicated effort with gradual change punctuated by significant milestones. We will continue the work in partnership toward investments that create family-sustaining jobs and fund inclusive skills training, upskilling, reskilling, subsidized employment, supportive services, and career-focused education. We are eager to continue to do that work alongside you.
