SPRINGFIELD — Legislation sponsored by State Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) to eliminate the need for an annual reapplication for the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption has passed the Illinois Senate.  
 
The Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption, a residential property tax exemption for Illinois residents aged 65 or older, is designed to help senior citizens financially.  Most years, the information needed to qualify for the exemption does not change. But state law requires seniors in Cook County to file paperwork annually and in some cases, to make trips to county courthouses to ensure they qualify, creating a hardship for those the exemption is intended to help.
 
"The current law places an unfair and sometimes confusing burden on seniors," Cunningham said. "Forcing some of our most vulnerable citizens to repeatedly file the same paperwork year- after-year is not only a waste of resources, it could lead to a situation where seniors are denied a tax break they've earned."  
 
In order to ensure senior exemptions are not awarded to residents who don't qualify, Cunningham's legislation also requires the Cook County Assessor's Office and the Recorder of Deeds Office to set up a communications system to alert the Assessor any time a home receiving a senior exemption is sold. This safeguard would prevent younger homeowners from "inheriting" a senior exemption for the previous owner.  
 
"By requiring county agencies to share information about housing transactions, we eliminate concerns about fraudulent exemptions being awarded and we shift the renewal burden from senior citizens to government agencies that should be tracking this information," Cunningham said. “This will hopefully give piece of mind to our seniors in Cook County and allow them to live their lives without this time consuming exercise.”  
 
Senate Bill 1488 now goes to the Illinois House of Representatives for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) has passed legislation in the Illinois Senate to create the Special Olympics income tax check off, which is expected to generate thousands of dollars for athletic programs for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.  
 
"The Illinois income tax check off program provides funding for a variety of worthy causes across the state by allowing tax payers to donate a portion of their tax return directly to charities," Cunningham said. "The Special Olympics are a worthwhile cause that, I believe, Illinois taxpayers will want to help come tax season.”
 
The Special Olympics is a global organization dedicated to helping those with disabilities through sports, education and health. The group, which was founded in Chicago more than 40 years ago, provides opportunities for nearly 22,000 Illinois athletes throughout the 102 counties of the state, including training, competitions and other opportunities to develop fitness, demonstrate courage and experience the camaraderie of sport.
 
Cunningham is a long-time support of Special Olympics, having co-sponsored previous legislation to establish a state lottery game to benefit the charity and as an annual participant in the Chicago Special Olympics' Polar Plunge, during which he joins thousands in jumping into the icy waters of Lake Michigan to raise pledges of financial support for special athletes.  
 
The Illinois income tax check off program provides the opportunity for Illinois taxpayers to fund a variety of charities. There cannot be more than 15 check offs per tax return and those check offs that do not reach a threshold of $100,000 in contributions are removed from the list. Those charities that are removed may be included again through legislation.
 
Currently, charities include Alzheimer’s disease research, breast cancer research, child abuse prevention, diabetes research, assistance to the homeless, relief for military families and wildlife preservation.

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) has passed legislation in the Illinois Senate to improve the process of criminal background checks on student teachers. The legislation comes after years of talks between the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Senator Cunningham.

Senate Bill 706 ensures that student teachers will have to go through the same background checks as regular teachers and other school employees. Currently, student teachers are required to get separate background checks for each school they teach at, possibly creating confusion amongst districts and teachers.

“With the many pressures that our educational system is under, I, along with ISBE and the FBI, believe we have found a way to get student teachers doing the job they have been trained to do, while protecting our students from criminals who would prey upon them,” Senator Cunningham said.

Specifically, the legislation requires student teachers to submit to the same safety standards as regular school district employees, including a fingerprint-based criminal history check, a Statewide Sex Offender Database check along with a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Databases. State Police and the FBI are required to also furnish any conviction records of prospective student teachers.

“The protection of our students from predators is a priority of ours. In order to keep up with the demand for instructors, I feel we have come up with a plan to not only protect our future leaders, but ensure those who will be their instructors are the best and safest people available,” Senator Cunningham said.

The legislation now goes to the Illinois House for consideration.

Review prompted by recent abuses

SPRINGFIELD — In the wake of questionable executive severance deals at state universities and community colleges, the Illinois Senate’s Higher Education Committee is creating a fact-finding subcommittee to steer reform efforts and ensure tuition and tax dollars are used responsibly.

“Taxpayers are demanding to know how we compensate administrators, why we are compensating them and what safeguards we can put in place to end the type of abuses we’ve recently seen,” said Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), who heads the new Subcommittee on Executive Compensation.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight after the College of DuPage inked a more than $750,000 severance deal with president Robert Breuder to have him quit early. Nearly a year ago, Illinois State University cut a similar deal worth $480,000 with its president. The lavish deals come at a time when tuition and fees have nearly doubled over the past decade and the average Illinois college student is saddled with more than $28,000 in debt.

"This money could be better spent on providing an affordable, world-class college education for students. It could be used to offer much needed tuition relief for families. Taxpayers cannot afford to pay for six-figure golden parachutes, shooting club memberships and other lavish perks for public servants," said state Senator Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat who will also serve on the subcommittee.

The fact-finding subcommittee is the latest effort by Senate Democrats to bring accountability to campus spending. In recent weeks, suburban lawmakers have pushed to rein in severance deals.

“The priorities for state universities and community colleges should be to educate our children, not betraying our constituents by handing out golden parachutes to administrators,” said state Senator Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat. “There is an obvious need for reforms to the way they use taxpayer dollars to ensure institutions are advancing educational opportunities, not administrators’ pockets.”   

Senator Melinda Bush, a Grayslake Democrat, is also sponsoring accountability legislation.“These institutions should be paying people to teach and lead, not paying them to quit,” said Bush.