Quick hits: Illinois news in brief for Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021
Trailer fee to be reduced
Starting Jan. 1, the fee for trailers will be reduced, but not back down to where it was before.
In 2019, when lawmakers doubled the state’s gas tax and tacked on annual increases linked to inflation, they also increased other fees. Certain fees for trailers went from $18 to $118 a year.
Without fanfare, Pritzker signed Senate Bill 58, which drops the fee to $36. That was in exchange for a $5 increase to $155 for title transfers.
The measure also removes the cap for vehicle trade-in tax exemptions.
Pritzker signs mandatory recess bill into law
Schools are now required to provide 30 minutes of daily playtime for all students up through 5th grade.
Among the dozens of bills the governor signed last week is Senate Bill 654. The measure narrowly passed both chambers.
The measure gives flexibility for schools to divide 30 minutes into two periods of 15 minutes each.
GOP analysis shows Democrats’ statehouse map deviates up to 30%
Illinois statehouse Republicans say the legislative maps Democrats enacted in June aren’t valid because they were based on estimates.
State Rep. Tim Butler said the deviation between the enacted maps and the data released last week is up to 30 percent.
He said it’s beyond the June 30 deadline for the legislature to act and it must now be up to a bipartisan commission.
House Democrats say they’re still reviewing the data.
Harmon recovering from breakthrough case of COVID-19
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is recovering from a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
In a tweet, Harmon said he’s recovering from mild symptoms despite getting vaccinated this spring.
While the total number of cases among those vaccinated statewide isn’t available, state data does show 899 have been hospitalized and 189 have died of COVID-19 despite getting vaccinated.
Aggressive bees attack in Metro East area
Multiple people were reportedly stung dozens of times by what officials are calling a large swarm of very aggressive bees in southern Illinois.
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office reports the attack took place Sunday outside a florist and restaurant in the Metro East area.
A worker at the restaurant said about 30 of its customers were stung anywhere between 3 and 10 times.
New area code for some south suburban areas
South suburban counties will have a new area code overlaying the 708 area code.
The Illinois Commerce Commission said the new 464 area code will be available when the 708 numbers have been exhausted, something not expected until January 2022.
Starting Oct. 24 this year, callers may have to include the area code for all calls.
This impacts areas of southern Cook County and eastern and southern Will County.
Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square
