We are on legislation, I believe, Lynn.

Ready?

All right.

The legislation and intergovernmental relations committee of the Cook County Board will uh return to order.

And we still have a quorum, Madam Secretary.

Yes, sir.

You still have a quorum at your recess meeting.

All members were present.

Remote participation is needed, and there's an absence for Commissioner McCaskill at the moment.

Thank you, Lynn.

That request is granted.

Um Chairman Daly moves for remote participation, seconded by Commissioner Lowry.

Roll call, please.

Commissioner Aguilar, your vote.

Aye.

Commissioner Naya.

Commissioner Daly.

Commissioner Dugnan.

Commissioner Gainer.

Aye.

Commissioner Laurie.

Aye.

Commissioner McCaskill.

Is still absent.

Commissioner Miller.

Commissioner, that's an I vote, ma'am.

Thank you.

Commissioner Moore.

Commissioner Marita.

Is absent.

Commissioner Kevin Morrison is absent.

Commissioner Sean Morrison.

Aye.

Thank you, sir.

Commissioner Scott.

Aye.

Thank you, sir.

Commissioner Stamps.

Aye.

Commissioner Trevor.

Aye.

Commissioner Vasquez.

Aye.

Mr.

Chairman.

Yes.

Aye.

Chairman, you have 14 ayes and three absent vote.

They are.

McCaskill.

Marita K.

Morrison.

Motion passes.

Madam Secretary, please call the public speakers.

Yes, sir.

Mr.

Chairman, we have two.

Tywan Sims, followed by George Blakemore.

Please speak.

We do, but I'm going to do the walk ins first.

So Taiwan Sims and George Blakemore.

If you would come to the podium, then we do have another list, sir.

Allow me to grab it.

Tyron Sims, are you coming, sir?

Are you deferring?

Are you deferring?

Are you coming or are you not coming?

Mr.

Blake Moore is recognized.

Mr.

Blake Moore, you can proceed.

Thank you.

Legislation.

Making laws.

Okay.

Legislators.

You all are making laws that it affects people's life.

And then you're doing the same thing that Mr.

Moore.

Once somebody comes from the public, remember you are public servants.

And you should be honored and happy to serve the public.

I don't think you all are good public servants.

You're serving the political party.

Democratic machine.

And when you when I defeated, you're gonna have a vote on these items.

And everyone's gonna say, I they're gonna call each one of them named I.

No dissent.

That's suspect that you all have met before.

Oh, look at you, Mr.

Blake Moore.

You didn't even shave.

You look terrible.

Anyway, let me get to this point.

In a few moments, they're gonna have the roll call.

I it's it's not a good look.

Illegal with each other.

No dissent.

Everybody's gonna like Mr.

Blake Moore.

Some of them like him and some don't.

Everybody like me.

They like this old crazy man.

Some of them know I don't like him.

Some say I like him.

But it's suspect that this is a dog and pony show.

One minute.

And I'm here to show up and show out.

That's right.

I'm a part of this show too.

You don't want me to be a part of the dog and pony show.

I know you.

I know you're not a public servant.

You serve your own selfish interest and the interest of this uh terrible machine that you represent.

I got this great hat on.

Oh, well, Trump's a racist.

Don't you think these guys are racist?

Go black on them, Mr.

Blankmore.

Go black.

Remember, I know you're not a public servant.

I am the public, and you must treat me with dignity and respect.

I'm gonna teach you how to treat me.

Next speaker, please.

Time on Sims.

And please add Commissioner McCaskill to the role.

Thank you.

And then the affirmative on remote participation as well.

Yes, sir.

Um, sorry about that, Commission.

I just want to get the information proper.

So then I'm not speaking just out of emotion.

Um, so the cases that I previously brought up.

Um, one of them is 24 OP 72549, and this was an OP that was given to a tomorrow Yemi.

This is the mother of my child.

This read this was a plenary order, a two-year plenary order that was entered without me being in the courtroom, um, no service, which makes it void, and because I've been coming down here speaking to you.

Ma'am, I don't know.

Ma'am, your mic is open in Plymouth.

Commissioner Gaynor, your mic is open.

Thank you.

Sorry, sir.

Please continue.

My apologies, sir.

Once again, so that's 24 OP 72549, which was a void OP, that I've been actually that is it's been two years now, it's passed.

The second is two three D, which violated my parental, which gave me parental restrictions, a constitutional violation.

Um, the other is 23D79597, which was initially 23OP 72315, which is now a DV number that I don't have on hand, um, which violated my parental rights, and I've been serving that out.

I've spoken countlessly, well, countless times to that.

The third now is 25120 458 301 and 25120 869201.

Both false arrests, one April 16, 2025, the second June 3rd, 2025, both took place in this building at 121 North LaSalle.

I've spoken to that issue.

And yet, no resolve, no remedy.

And this is the commission.

And the commission has, as I know, jurisdiction within the um the what the courts and whatnot, so I wonder why there hasn't been any remedy any resolve.

However, this has hindered my life greatly, my liberty, my parental duties, all of this, and it's been in the span of three years.

And where I've come into oversight committees like the Bureau of Internal Affairs, COPA, CCPSA, and also this commission.

I have gotten no help in the span of three years.

This order was given May 2nd, 2024.

30 seconds.

And so just need help.

Chairman, two speakers, if you could come to the mic and then I'll complete the list.

Dan Patlock, or representative from um Illinois Policy Institute, followed by Joshua Bandock.

While they are coming, let me um share with you those written statements, statements of opposition from Jenny Jones and Commissioner Stamps.

Then there's a um statement of support for item number 260978 from Pamela Tate.

Uh you may begin, sir.

Our can you hear me?

Please state your name.

Joshua Bandok.

Our public schools need your leadership.

You have the opportunity today to vote for equity, for opportunity, and for our public schools.

You can do this by bringing hundreds of millions of dollars to Cook County and nearly one billion dollars statewide.

Denying our struggling students this money is unfair.

Denying struggling students tutoring to help them learn to read, SAT and test preparation, after school enrichment programs, support for dual enrollment programs, and special education services is downright inequitable.

Imagine telling students, struggling students, that just because they live in Illinois rather than Indiana or Iowa, that these resources, these precious resources will not be available to them.

Are you ready to have those conversations?

What's more, you have an opportunity to lead, to encourage everyone to invest more in our most important institution, our schools.

You can be champions of this program.

That opportunity is the federal scholarship tax credit.

That's why I'm asking you to support resolution 260974 and encourage Governor Pritzker to opt into this program.

This program will bring an enormous infusion of resources into our public schools.

One misconception about this program is that it only supports private schools.

To be crystal clear, that is not true.

This program permits individuals to give money to public school scholarship granting organizations or SGOs.

Those organizations already exist in Illinois, and more will come.

About 90% of students attend public schools.

That means that parents and grandparents have an overwhelming incentive to give money to SGOs that support their kids and their grandkids.

Rejecting this program is undemocratic.

Illinois residents support this program by wide margins, and many of them voice support for it in recent elections.

Support for this scholarship program is bipartisan too.

Recently, Illinois State Comptroller Susan Susanna Mendoza spoke out in favor of Illinois opting into this program.

Twenty-eight states have already opted into this program.

Illinois residents can still give money to other states, which means that if Illinois does not opt in, uh Illinois residents can give money to schools in Indiana, Iowa, or any of the other 28 states that have opted in.

Scholarship money does not replace or divert local, state, or federal education funding.

It adds to it through private funding from members of our community.

Our students are struggling.

They need resources.

Illinois stand ready to provide these resources.

Rejecting this federal program only hurts the people who need opportunity most.

Students, our future leaders, and workers.

Support equity, lead the fight for opportunity and empowerment by championing this program.

Defend our schools by bringing them more resources.

Our struggling students need and deserve nothing less from you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is Joshua here?

Joshua Banner?

That's Joshua.

That's Joshua.

Thank you.

Dan.

Dan?

You're good to go?

Okay.

I just want to make one thing clear before we hear from additional speakers potentially on this issue.

This item is 260978.

It is being deferred.

Therefore, there will be no vote taken today on this matter.

Uh you are more than welcome to address it.

74?

74.

Oh, it's the wrong number?

All right, 74.

So um 974 will be deferred.

Um if you wish to address it, you may, but just be aware there will be no vote taken by this body today.

You may call the next chair.

Thank you.

Cassie Cresswell, followed by Pamela Tate.

Now, Pamela, we have your statement on file.

Do you still want to speak?

Are you here, Pamela Tate?

If you are speaking, come on to the mic.

And before we begin with the next speaker, Commissioner Aguilar.

This is a state statute we're talking about, right?

It's a federal statute.

I just actually don't think.

You may proceed.

Hi, I'm Cassie Cresswell, a CPS parent and executive director of Illinois Families for Public Schools.

I'm here to urge a no vote on resolution 26974 if you do hold a vote today.

Illinois opting into the Trump administration's new federal voucher program would harm Cook County's public schools and truly all Illinois public schools.

The first choice of Illinois families of children is a well-resourced public school located where they live and play.

Public schools must educate all our kids.

Students with disabilities, English language learners, undocumented students, pregnant and parenting students, students who've had an abortion, LGBTQ plus students, private schools do not educate all kids.

They discriminate and exclude a state voucher program, all of those categories of students were discriminated against uh at various private schools getting public dollars.

And all voucher programs divert tax dollars to private schools, which aren't subject to the same oversight, accountability, or transparency as public schools.

If students leave public schools to use vouchers, districts lose funding directly due to the loss of per pupil state and federal funding.

And also indirectly when they can't rapidly reduce fixed costs like building maintenance or staffing.

In theory, the federal voucher program might cover some individual public school students' expenses.

But we've seen public school voucher programs like this elsewhere, and like all vouchers, they hurt education equity.

A study of one in Arizona showed that the wealthiest quarter of public schools receive more than five times as much money as the poorest quarter.

Underfunded public schools in Cook County, including some of the most underfunded in the state, serving high-need student populations will not be the beneficiaries of funding dependent on tax credit gimmicks, subject to the whims of individual wealthy taxpayers and unaccountable third-party nonprofits.

More importantly, under the Illinois Constitution, Article 10, education in public schools through the secondary level shall be free.

And under federal law, students with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education.

The cost of public schools in Illinois, including things like tutoring and after school programs, should be paid for through tax dollars, directly appropriated school districts through the legislative process, and elected school boards.

Vouchers will never be a path to achieving full fair funding for public schools.

That's why, along with my organization, Illinois Families are public schools, more than 40 organizations signed a letter to the Cook County Board, which we sent by email this morning, opposing this resolution.

K 12 education systems are not under the direct control of the Cook County Board, but Illinois public schools are still primarily funded through local tax dollars, mostly property taxes, and Cook County's fiscal fate and the common good of the communities that make up this county are intertwined with that of all of its educational taxing bodies.

Local elected officials across the state, including here in County, should be some of the strongest advocates for keeping school vouchers from returning to Illinois.

Please vote no on resolution 26974 if you consider it, and please use your platform as leaders in the largest county in Illinois to encourage Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly to reject this harmful scheme.

Thank you.

Pamela Tate is next.

Before the next speaker, just to make it clear to the speakers, as I indicated, there will be no vote today, but you may certainly address this issue as you wish.

Go ahead.

Good morning, uh Commissioners and President Preck Winkel, and I appreciate the chance to speak.

Um I'm speaking in strong support of resolution 260978.

Uh, and that is directed to Congress and the Illinois delegation to oppose the efforts of the fossil fuel industry, uh, which is trying to gain complete immunity from all laws and lawsuits nationwide.

I appreciate uh Commissioner Degnan bringing this to your attention, and that this resolution is on your agenda.

Uh we cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to gain immunity from laws and lawsuits.

The American Petroleum Institute has made achieving total immunity its top legislative priority for 2026.

Uh meanwhile, if they get it, then all the damage being done with their products gas, oil, coal, methane, the damage is mounting, and we are paying for it.

These companies' own scientists told them decades ago that their products would cause global warming and the destruction that comes with it.

But they did not help the public transition away from these fossil fuels.

Instead, they lied to us, and they claimed that the science is unclear.

That is just what big tobacco did about smoking and cancer.

If the fossil fuel industry gets immunity, then Chicago's lawsuit against them, and the lawsuits of nearly 30 other cities and states would be null and void.

Climate superfund laws, such as the one introduced here and passed already in New York and Vermont would be null and void.

We should have the right to make these companies accountable for what they've done.

An immunity shield would take away that right, and we have to do everything we can to fight a federal law such as this.

All of you know that Cook County and Illinois have seen firsthand the damage being done to residents and businesses by extreme heat, smoke, pollution, intense rain, et cetera, and the effects are increasing exponentially.

So it is wrong for the industry to make local governments and taxpayers bear the cost.

It is wrong for the industry to lie to the public for 50 years while bringing in trillions of dollars in profits, and it's wrong for the industry to attempt to be above the law.

This is unfair to Cook County, to Illinois, to the planet.

So I want to thank you for introducing this resolution and urge it everyone to support it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Reverend Brian Sauter.

Please come to the mic.

Then we will switch over to our virtual participants.

So virtually, we have Senator Guzman, Guzman, Lisa Caber, Stacey Silver, Charlotte Sanders, and Robert Meacham.

Please be prepared to turn on your mic at that time.

Reverend, go ahead.

Good morning, Chair and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

This is my first time testifying with you all.

Usually I'm up front offering an opening prayer, so it's great to be here to testify with you this morning.

My name is Reverend Brian Souter.

I'm a Chicago resident.

Most importantly, I'm a dad of twin girls.

I'm a Mennonite Minister and President and CEO of Faith and Place.

Faith and Place is a multi-faith organization advancing environmental justice across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Now I gotta tell you, my four-year-old twins already know this rule.

If you make a mess, you clean it up.

And big oil should be able to handle kindergarten ethics.

Instead, Illinois families are paying for a climate crisis they did not create.

They're paying through flooded homes, through rising insurance costs, through damaged infrastructure, through overheated schools and neighborhoods without what they need to keep them safe.

Meanwhile, the corporations that help create this mess keep the profits while we, the public get stuck with the bill.

That is backwards.

The principle at the heart of these resolutions is simple.

If you cause the harm, you should pay for the repair.

Now our holy scripture points in the same direction.

And the gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verse 8.

Zacchaeus says to Jesus when confronted with the community harm that he caused, if I have defrauded you anything, I will pay back four times as much.

That is what accountability looks like when it gets real.

Not just words, but repair.

So what has big oil broken?

Our homes, our budgets, our schools, and the basic public trust that says the people who cause the harm should repair it.

Let me just give you one alarming example.

Just one of many.

No, no, no.

It takes days.

No, it takes weeks and months to clean up.

And who has to clean it up?

We do.

Who caused it?

Not us.

And that is only part of the cost.

Illinois has seen extreme precipitation increase by 40% since the early of 20th century.

Annual flood losses in Illinois have averaged 260 million since the 1980s.

Schools across our state need to estimate 6.1 billion in air conditioning retrofits because many of these buildings were built for a climate that no longer exists.

30 seconds.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Senator Guzman, are you connected?

Sorry.

Lisa Copper.

Lisa, are you connected?

Hi, I'm connected.

Hi, please begin.

Um, so I'm here to speak about the same thing that Cassie Cresswell also spoke about.

And I would like you to consider eventually when it comes up again, not to vote for federal school vouchers.

It harms our public schools and the students.

And I don't have anything additional to add that she did not already cover.

Thank you for your statement.

Thank you.

Thank you for connecting.

Stacey Silver.

Please begin.

Good morning.

I'm Stacy Silver, a former CPS parent and a former private school parent.

In preparing for today's remarks to oppose 260974, I reviewed the work of Jonathan Kozal, a giant in the field of education policy who spent a career writing and speaking about education inequality.

In 2007, he wrote that quote, vouchers in my belief represent the single worst most dangerous idea to enter education discourse in my lifetime.

End quote.

Why did this leader in educational policy oppose private school vouchers?

Aren't vouchers supposed to level the playing field?

Aren't they supposed to provide equal access to superior education?

Let's look into the window of one of those private schools.

One that received over 200,000 in vouchers in a single school year through the now defunct Invest in Kids Voucher Program, a school that my own kids attended.

One of our children was falsely accused of being a bully and was told if he didn't confess, he would have to leave.

So he left with only four months left in eighth grade.

The school admitted that they had no substantiation for their charges.

This made for a solid college essay.

Unlike public schools, private schools are not part of the government, so there are no constitutional guarantees of due process.

It later got back to our family that the school school leadership believes that there is a fine line between doing the right thing and pleasing a donor.

The same school told us about another one of my children in fifth grade that they didn't know if he could read.

Well, wasn't that their job?

Spoiler alert.

He could read just fine.

There are no standards, no guarantee of credentialed professional teachers.

The administration accused this child of swearing at the science teacher and gave him an in-school suspension for two days.

Except they forgot to tell the science teacher.

When we brought it up at conferences, she asked, What are you talking about?

She said it never happened.

This child tested well, he got into Lane Tech and he got straight A's there.

Today's he is thriving in an engineering PhD program at Northwestern University.

Praise to Lane Tech.

One minute.

We moved our youngest child out of the same school going into fifth grade because some important donors' kids were bullying bullying her, and the teachers did nothing to defend her.

We sent her to our neighborhood Chicago Public School.

When she got there, her math standardized test score was at 60 at the 67th percentile, but the by the end of fifth grade, it was at the 92nd percentile.

So don't let anyone tell you that you can improve academic performance by giving tax support to private school.

This is what can happen when a middle class family believes it, they will be welcomed at a private school despite receiving financial aid.

30 seconds.

If the school decides they don't like your family, that you don't fit in, if a rich family decides to target your kid, you can't expect it will work out.

The wealthy donors take priority.

Jonathan Colesal warned us that private school vouchers would aggravate, not alleviate inequality in education.

Our family is exhibit A for how this happens.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Charlotte Sanders, Robert Pincham.

I have you connected remotely.

Charlotte Sanders, Robert Pinchum.

If not, we're going to go to those still in the room.

Robert Bartlett, followed by Margot.

I'm here.

Okay, let's begin.

Good morning.

Um thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.

My name is Charlotte Sanders.

I am a mother for a grandmother of six and a great grandmother of one.

I'm a retired educator for almost 30 years, so I know how the system works.

I come to you to speak about the voucher program that you're considering and the impact that this would have on public education in this day and time.

Public education is under attack once again.

We started with charter school evasions, which was supposed to be the best thing for public education, but it was just the opposite.

Charter operators stated that they would change education, and they did just that.

They robbed the public school system of every dollar, and when they get all the money that they could join from public schools, they're bailing out.

We are playing a serious game with public education once again.

Vouchers.

I ask that you take a deep breath and think if my child go to the neighborhood public school is it adequately funded today with the funding that they receive?

Will you send your child to that school that is already underfunded?

One minute where they don't have voucher money.

If the answer is no, please rethink how this would impact public education.

Vote no to vouchers in Illinois, and I thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Is Robert Peachum available?

If not, we're gonna go to Robert Bartlett, followed by Margot Murphy.

If you're in the room, please come to the mic.

Then Patricia Bowton.

Thank you.

Robert Bartlett, I'm a retired teacher from Morton West High School.

I would like to speak about the experience of underfunding of schools.

Everyone knows that the state of Illinois has evidence-based funding.

My school and the schools of Budding Must have different, completely different realities.

In my district, we have 72.6% funding according to the state standards.

Riverside Brookfield has 76%.

What effect does that have?

Well, in my district, we pay in 2025 10,500 per student in funding for instruction.

When I go to LT or OPRF, they're spending almost 15,000 per student in funding each year.

Now, what effect does that actually have on the class?

Now I taught for 25 years, and the thing that one thing I see and I get from the Illinois State Board of Education school report cards is class size.

Now these are actually underestimates.

In my school, the average class size was 22.5.

In Riverside Brookfield, 18.7.

In OPRF, 14.

In Lyons Township, 17.

I think anyone here, any parent would understand that the more attention a teacher can pay to the students in the class, the better the chance you can actually diagnose problems that you have.

And I think that that's something that everyone understands.

Second effect.

When 2009, when there was the banking crisis, funding disappeared.

In my school, what happened was that the school decided to save to be able to be pay the budget.

They looked at the state regulations and asked, what is the minimum number, minimum number of credits that you need to graduate from high school?

20.

My school said 24 was the requirement.

What happened?

They lowered it.

That meant students in my school were taking five classes a year, not six.

That reduced the diversity.

Our art and fine arts departments reduced.

I was in science.

The requirements for science was three years.

It went down to two.

It went down to the base level.

So the diversity was bad.

The number of classes, of course, is something key.

We want students to be able to have a broad experience in education.

We don't want to funnel them into one thing or another.

We want to give them a capability to make choices and go forward.

This tax credit is really just another voucher program, which will continue to reduce and keep the disparity in funding between richer school districts and poorer ones.

This is an issue that we have to reject.

Thank you.

Thank you, next speaker.

Tell us your name.

Good morning.

Good morning, uh commissioners and the committee.

My name is Marco Murray.

I was a teacher in the Chicago public schools for 35 years.

I taught primary first and then taught special ed students.

I also sent my own two children to public schools.

So I've been involved with CPS for a long time.

This was when I was teaching special aid.

And then towards the beginning of the next year, about two months before we were getting ready to test.

A bunch of them came back because they were kicked out of the charter school.

I went to my principal and I said, All right, you want me to get these kids ready for testing?

I need materials.

Can I have some money for materials to help this?

The principal said, there is no money.

Why?

Because the money that follows the student went to the charter school at the beginning of the year.

Now that they were towards the end of the year, the money was gone, was not there.

There was no money available.

Same thing will happen with the voucher school system.

Just like my sisters already spoke and told about how this is not regulated by the government.

There will be no overseers.

A lot of them end up doing partial because by tax requirements, special care students are required to be serviced.

So a lot of them end up going partway to private schools, part way to public schools.

But and if the money is in private school, that would be unfair to the special ed students.

Since that was my personal experience, the Morrison Institute a study on the voucher system in Chicago, Illinois.

They track the students similar to how the preschools and early childhood programs are tracked.

And their findings show that there was no significant increase in the test scores or the or what the students were able to and how they were able to progress between students that came from the voucher system and students that came into the public schools.

So I urge you, I will close with this.

I urge you to uh think about this and listen to the people who are personally involved, not the people who are looking at it from the outside, making a determination.

Pay attention to the people who have been involved with public schools for many years.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Patricia.

Chairman, I believe Patricia is the last one.

We did have a couple that did not respond, but after Patricia, we are done with public speaking.

Thank you, Anne.

Good morning, uh commissioners.

And I am here to uh I'm sorry.

I am here to object to the uh proposal.

Did you state your name again, ma'am?

My name is Patricia Bowton.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um what I want to say goes back to how vouchers began in the 1950s when Brown versus Board of Education was enacted by the Supreme Court.

The southern states, in an effort to keep their schools segregated, introduce vouchers, and what they did with those vouchers, they financed the predominantly white, the white school.

They weren't predominantly white, they were all white.

All right, and they also did not fund the African American schools.

The black schools were left on their own.

When I came to when I I was born and raised in Chicago, I went here for school all of my life, and I can remember in the 1960s having books that were old all the way back to before World War II.

They still talked about Palestine and Palestine did not exist anymore on a map.

Okay.

So this state has had a history of discriminating against this minority students for the entire time of my life.

I worked in a high school where the chemistry teacher had no chemicals.

One minute that my parents fought in the 1950s or the 1940s.

It's time for us as a state and as citizens in the state to make a commitment that our children are a precious commodity to us, and that we need to make a commitment to fully, fully fund our schools.

That's thank you.

I believe that we have um now Senator Guzman.

Um Senator Senator, open your mic and turn on your camera.

I see you're muted.

Do you have a camera, ma'am?

Hi there, good morning, everyone.

Can you hear me?

You can now, yes.

Oh, thank you so much for the time.

Um good morning, and thank you, uh Chair.

Thank you, Commissioner, for the opportunity to speak in support of items 26-097, urging the passage of the Climate Change Superfund Act and items item 26 0978, urging Congress to reject legal immunity for big oil and fossil fuel companies.

Um, I'm here in Springfield, so my apologies I can't be here in person.

But I want to begin with what this crisis looks like at the moment in Cook County.

Climate change is not abstract for our residents, it is flooded homes, damaged property, overwhelmed infrastructure, and rising costs that families and local governments are being forced to absorb.

It is working test communities and communities of color being hit the hardest, often with the fewest researchers to recover.

At the same time, local governments have been asked to do more and more to respond.

We are repairing streets, addressing stormwater damage, we need to change the system and track strength and infrastructure against the impacts that are becoming more frequent and more severe in our communities.

That is these two resolutions matter to you.

The climate change superfund act is something I've introduced in the state, and it is about accountability.

It is about establishing a mechanism to require the largest fossil fuel companies whose emissions have substantially contributed to the climate crisis for the damage and adaptation costs that are currently carrying.

And the second resolution is equally important because at the same time, states are moving to hold polluters accountable.

Big oil is seeking protection from Congress in the farming.

That would undermine state efforts like ours and block one of the available to recover costs from the comp from the corporations most responsible for this harm.

But because county residents should not be left paying again and again for a crisis they did not see it while the companies that fueled it avoid responsibility.

These resolutions send a clear message.

Could counties the right of states to pursue accountability for any attempts to place the fossil fuel industry above the law and stands with the communities already living with the cost of climate change.

I respectfully ask for your support of both of these items.

Thank you.

Thank you, Senator.

That concludes our public speakers.

We'll now move to the first item of business.

The chain will now change a motion to approve item 261153.

The minutes held on March 11.

That motion is made by Vice Chair Degan, signated by Commissioner McCaskill.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

They asked have it.

Chair now changed a motion to approve item 26097.

A resolution urging the passage of the Climate Change Superfund Act.

That motion is made by Vice Chair Degan and seconded by Commissioner Naya.

Commissioner Degan, would you like to address this item?

You know I would.

My bet.

Thank you.

Let's go.

So I want to send a sincere thank you to those that were here today and who spoke remotely in support of these resolutions and who've submitted written comment.

The leaders include Pamela Tate of the Climate Reality Chicago Metro chapter, who has worked with me in my office over the last seven years.

Senator Garciella Guzman, who is a climate champion.

She is the co-sponsor of the Climate Superfund Act.

Devin McAllister, Chair of the Chicago Surfrider Foundation.

Um, Reverend Brian Saunder, President of Faith and Place, and Laura Dirks of the Oak Park Climate Action Network.

The Make Polluters Pay Illinois Coalition has worked tirelessly to raise the salience of climate accountability at the local and federal level efforts which are under attack by the federal administration, Republican controlled states, and the conservative legal movement, working to protect special interests over our local citizens, consumers, and our local governments.

Despite the efforts of special interests, there's a real and growing movement across the country and across Cook County to make polluters pay.

Between 2021 and 2024, home insurance costs in Illinois rose by an egregious 50%, costing homeowners nearly a thousand more a thousand dollars more annually.

One of the primary drivers of this increase is extreme weather.

Development and flood pollution areas compounds these pressures, pushing costs even higher for families already stretched thin across the United States.

Insured losses from natural catastrophes have skyrocketed from 15 billion annually a decade ago to roughly a hundred billion dollars annually between 2023 and 2025.

A relatively small number of fossil fuel companies are responsible for a significant share of global climate damage, totaling 28 trillion dollars.

Yet taxpayers are bearing these costs while all also suffering through an affordability crisis.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies led disinformation campaigns to deflect and delay regulation while reaping record profits.

As a result, states and cities have sued big oil for state-level alleged crimes, ranging from unfair and deceptive practices, nuisance, and antitrust concerns.

Big oil is now lobbying Congress to provide legal immunity to them for climate liability.

The American Petroleum Institute recently announced that blocking state climate lawsuits and climate superfund laws is their top legislative priority in 2026.

If successful, it'll be nearly impossible to hold them accountable in our courts.

But if corporations knowingly sell a harmful product and lie about it, we should be able to take them to court to hold them accountable.

We can send a clear message today that we support climate accountability.

Item number 26-0977 urges the passage of the Climate Superfund Act, sponsored by Senator Graciella Guzman and Representative Robin Gable, State Bill 2981 and House Bill 4773 would assess fees for polluters and use that money collected to fund climate resiliency efforts, including in areas that have been overburdened by pollution.

Our second resolution, item number 26-0978, urges Congress to reject efforts to create legal immunity for fossil fuel companies, given an effort in Congress to do so.

Our final item 26-0979 urges passage of the disposable Food Service Container Act, which is Senate Bill 1531.

It's sponsored by Senator Laura Fine and Representative Jennifer Gong Gerschwitz, and it would ban polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam.

Illinois would join at least 12 other states if we ban it, and studies on polystyrene suggest it may never truly biodegrade.

It takes more than 500 years to break down simply into smaller parts and contributes to a myriad of environmental contamination, including microplastics in the environment that enter our bodies and the Great Lakes.

We have way better alternatives to carry out food and other products that don't carry the same health risks.

The bill is currently on the House floor, and we hope to see it passed into law.

The environment should not be a pardon me.

The environment should not be a politicized topic.

I've said it before that we all want to breathe clean air.

We all want to drink clean water.

A simple, reasonable and fair solution to climate resiliency includes funding from the industry that caused its damage.

So I want to say thank you to my colleagues for joining as co-sponsors for these resolutions.

And again, thank you to the environmental advocates, consumers, and taxpayers who are saying enough is enough.

I urge an I vote and thank you.

Vice Chair, would you be willing to uh withdraw your motion and then bundle these three together?

Is that okay?

So the motion now is going to with leave of the body, we're going to withdraw and leave is granted.

Therefore, we're now considering three items 260977, the Climate Change Superfund Act, the 260978, the regarding the immunity of big oil and fossil fuel, and 26079, the Disposal Food Service Container Act.

That motion bundled motion is made by Vice Chair Deggan, seconded by Commissioner Anaya.

Are there any further questions regarding those three items now we're now considering, and that'll be Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Trevor, Commissioner Stamps, Commissioner Master?

Are we all sponsors on the three?

Chairman, let me correct those numbers just for clearing.

Unless I missed it.

0977, 0978, and 0979.

Correct.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Does the body wish to be at least sponsors all those on the floor?

Leave is granted to add all as sponsors.

So we'll start off with Commissioner Miller.

Yes, I was just going to ask to be added as a co-sponsor, and I want to thank Commissioner Dagman for being a champion for climate change.

And all of these issues disproportionately obviously affect communities of color.

And so we want to make sure that we are uplifting that on every level of government.

So thank you for doing that.

Thank you.

Commissioner Trevor.

Thank you, Chair, and um thank you, Commissioner Degnan, for bringing these items up.

And I wholeheartedly wholeheartedly agree with what these are trying to accomplish.

I think that these do disproportionately affect poor communities, communities of color.

And also I wanted to put on my economist hat on all of these.

And the classic example of that is pollution.

And I think that both of these sort of hit it, that in that uh the uh resolution 097 is trying to directly address those negative externalities.

And um 978 is trying to hold that those industries that are responsible for those negative externalities for uh paying for them.

And not only is it the right thing to do in terms of justice, it's also the right thing to do in terms of the economy.

Um that we are using uh basically we're trying to make sure that the economic tools and the the legal tools that we have available to us um make those um entities that are producing pollution uh economically accountable for those.

Um so in that case, I'm I'm fully fully supportive of these items.

Also, in terms of the uh the um uh uh polystyrene container ban.

Um I think one of the things that I'm very sensitive to is particularly with the district that I represent is that restaurants that are using these are in a tough competitive environment.

And when we try and regulate something like this on the county level, we run into the situation that you know we have different sets of rules for people who are in unincorporated cook, incorporated cook in home rule communities in the city of Chicago, and also for uh uh businesses that are right along county lines.

The right way to do the I think this ban is necessary, but the right way to do it uh to try and keep a level play playing field for restaurants is to do it at the state level.

And for that I'm I am a full-throated yes I on this bill as well.

So thank you.

Thank you, Dr.

Trevor.

Commissioner Aguilar.

Well, she's a doctor, isn't it?

She's a doctor, PhD in the past.

You know, that's all I'm doing.

I didn't make that up.

No, she is, she's a she is a PhD.

And so is the Dr.

McCaskill.

Who else is PhD?

I was gonna call her doctor next.

Don't steal my thumbnail.

Okay.

Well, thank you very much.

I will just commend the Commissioner Degman uh for this resolution.

But you know, uh I won't be here, she won't be here, but this has got to be a continued, continued effort that the board must address and include the state, not the federal government is going the other direction.

You know, combining environmental issues, combined with infrastructure issues.

Um mentioned you know that I'm big on flooding.

This is not gonna get better.

Whether it's not whether it's not going to go away.

Um flooding is one of the causes if we don't address this the devastation that it causes to families, to homeowners, to business owners, very, very extremely costly.

And many insurance companies are pulling away from covering those losses.

And it gets more expensive to the point where many people can just cannot afford it anymore, make even to the verge of bankruptcy and keeping up their homes.

I've seen the devastation of floodings, especially with seniors that live in a very limited income.

This must continue and involve the state, and it must continue because uh um if we don't address it, no one will.

And it's starting here in in this chamber and I urge that that we just you know keep close attention to this and just keep keep up the fight.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Dr.

Ms.

Caskell.

Thank you, Chair.

I was just gonna commend um Commissioner Degnan for this report.

It's actually going to assist with communities like Ogell Garden and um Dalton, who has the landfill there.

Um it's imperative because we have those fossil fuels, and if you're driving on the Bishop Ford, you can actually smell the fumes as you ride past the city of Dalton.

And it can be intoxicating.

So thank you for this.

And I'm hoping that this is actually going to reach the local municipalities as we do begin to bring funding to these issues, um, that it's going to reach those that have crumbling infrastructure where the flooding is also impacted by the infrastructure as well.

So thank you again.

All right.

Um Bill Lowry Esquire.

Thank you, Chair.

I just want to thank uh Commissioner Degnan for bringing this forward and for being a true environmental champion.

This is important for just so many different reasons, uh, but one that I certainly focus on as all of us do is the rising incidence of cancers being diagnosed earlier and earlier.

In fact, colorectal cancer, I'm being told is being diagnosed age-wise three percent earlier each and every year.

So whether you're talking about breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, any type of cancer, undoubtedly.

I think part of the reason we're seeing this incidence and this earlier incidents is because of the food we eat and the air we breathe.

So it's very important measure, and I'm very pleased to be able to sign on as a co-sponsor.

Thank you.

Commissioner Stamps.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, um, Commissioner Degnan, uh, for always being a champion of the planet.

You know, I say oftentimes that uh what's going on in the world right now does have an impact on us, certainly.

But really, this is about the it what our children are going to inherit and the world that our children are going to inherit.

And I remember growing up on Saturday mornings and watching the bear protect the planet and talk about littering and polluting, and of course I thought it was cute then.

But then now, as an adult, you realize just how significant those commercials were and what and how it impacted the kind of steward you became of the planet.

And so these things that we're talking about don't just happen, you know, and it's a real consequence to us not being vigilant, you know.

As I share with you all before, it was just weeks after the appointment to this board that my house flooded, that my uncle, who's a double amputee Vietnam vet, was in the back, you know, basement light floating on a life wrath.

Um, and yes, we thank God for FEMA and thank God for the the um elected officials at the time that were beating back and trying to fight this, but we are living in a situation where those protections are being stripped from us, and so again, it's going to take so much uh muscle and local government to really future proof our world from the things that we are facing so that our children can actually inherit a planet um worth saving.

So thank you all again, and once this is passed, I really would appreciate language that we could share in our communities so that communities understand what the work is because oftentimes when you're talking about or talking to communities like mine, and we're using a lot of information around the environment that people may or may not understand, and I don't want to be dismissive about it.

What we understand on the West side and improvisoe is that I had three feet of water in my basement.

They don't realize us that part of that is caused by pollution and global warming and effects of the environment.

We know that we got lead pipes, we got lead in the water, they don't realize what that connection is.

We know that we have um mold left over that's making our families sicker and sicker.

They don't realize the connection between what they're living through and surviving and the environmental actions and the environmental harms.

And so once this is passed, I would really appreciate us being able to craft something that gets out into community so that they understand the connections between what they are surviving and the real world environmental harms that are at stake and that they are living through it, and that is so often the case in and um in communities like mine.

And so I want us to be educated in a way so they too can be warriors for their own survival and and and part of that is happening on the West Side.

So I want to shout out uh Ouija, the West Side Environmental Justice Association, and the people's lobby that's continuing to bring this information to communities like mine.

And so again, thank you, Degnan, for your leadership on this.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Commissioner Daly.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

And let Bridget uh Commissioner Degner, let me congratulate you for your leadership on this issue as well, as well as so many others, and reaching out to the communities and individuals in Springfield.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman.

Uh seeing no further hands, I just uh share with uh the commissioner, as I'm sure she knows.

I have a feeling between now and November, there's gonna be a lot of attempt at reconciliation to avoid uh running into the Senate block on cloture uh and not getting 60 votes.

I get the feeling this one might be a one that might very well be on the docket for the Republicans.

I'm not there's anything wrong with Republicans, although Sean's not here.

Um but I just wanted to share how incredibly important it is that we have people in Congress who are going to be able to fight on this, and thanks to those who were willing to step on do so.

The motions uh the mo the bundled motion on the floor is to approve items 260977, 260978, and 260979.

Roll call, please.

Commissioner Aguilar, you vote?

Aye, Commissioner Naya, Commissioner Daly, Commissioner Degnan.

Aye, Commissioner Gaynor.

Commissioner Gainer Absent, Commissioner Laurie.

Aye.

Previous votes were all aye.

Commissioner McCasco?

Aye.

Commissioner Midler.

Aye.

Commissioner Moore.

Absent.

Commissioner Marita.

Absent.

Commissioner Kevin Morrison.

Kevin Morrison, aye.

Commissioner Sean Morrison.

Absent.

Previous votes were all aye.

Commissioner Scott.

Aye.

Commissioner Stamps.

Aye.

Commissioner Trevor?

Aye.

Commissioner Vasquez.

Aye.

Mr.

Chairman?

Aye.

Mr.

Chairman, you have 13 ayes for absent.

Let me restate those.

Commissioner Gaynor, Commissioner Moore, Commissioner Marita, and Commissioner Shawn Morrison.

13-4.

Motions pass.

The chairman will now take a motion to defer item 260974, a resolution earning the City of Illinois to opt into the federal scholarship tax program.

The motion to defer it is made by Chairman Daly, seconded by Commissioner Lowry.

All those in favor of deferral signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed nay, append the chair, the ayes have it.

There being no business before this committee, motion to adjourn is made by uh Chairman Daly, seconded by Vice Chairman Lowry.

All those in favor of adjournment signify by saying aye.

Opposed nay, append the chair, the ayes have it.

We are adjourned.

Thanks, everybody.

Thank you all.

Veterans is the next.