OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Lake County Legislative Committee Meeting - June 2, 2026

Committee Meetings — Tuesday, June 2, 2026
BodyLake County, Illinois
SessionCommittee Meetings
DateTuesday, June 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 53:43

Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

Good morning.

0:13

Today is June 2nd, 2026.

0:16

And I call Lake County Legislative Committee to order at 1 p.m.

0:22

In addition to being able to attend in person remote attendance has been made available to the public via Zoom at the link on the agenda.

0:29

This meeting is being recorded to through Zoom.

0:31

And I believe we do not have any remote attendees.

0:35

Very good.

0:38

Gina, would you please lead us in a pledge of allegiance?

0:43

Pledge of allegiance by the United States of America.

0:47

And to the Republican.

0:56

Thank you.

1:01

Yes.

1:01

Vice Chair.

1:02

Sorry.

1:05

Member Frank?

1:07

Member Hunter.

1:08

Member Roberts.

1:09

Member Schlick.

1:11

Here.

1:11

Member Volitzick.

1:12

And Chair Wasig.

1:14

Here.

1:15

Do we have any addenda to the agenda?

1:18

We do not.

1:19

Any public comment for items not on the agenda?

1:22

There is no public comment today.

1:23

Yeah, really briefly, we're going to have a review of what happened in Springfield or didn't happen from our lobbyists and a brief update from Washington.

1:33

We have some special presentations that will refer to our NACO resolutions a little bit later on.

1:40

Right.

1:41

Do we have any unfinished business?

1:43

We do not.

1:44

All right.

1:45

May I have a motion and a second to approve our consent agenda minutes.

1:49

Motion by Jim.

1:50

Sure, there's no consent agenda this this uh month.

1:53

Oh, no approval minutes.

1:55

We'll bring the minutes next month.

1:56

Okay.

1:58

Thanks.

1:59

All right.

2:00

Thank you anyway.

2:01

That'll do it.

2:02

Beat me to it.

2:03

Uh so we'll zoom right to uh 8.1.

2:07

The update from Springfield session just ended this Monday.

2:12

And we have Mike.

2:14

Hello, Mike.

2:16

How are you?

2:17

And Derek?

2:18

Yeah, we're both here.

2:20

We uh we we we uh uh survived uh the legislative session and the uh 4 a.m.

2:26

adjournment uh on June 1st.

2:29

And uh excuse me, Kevin.

2:30

Could we turn up the volume a little bit more on the on the room?

2:34

Thank you.

2:35

Sorry, guys.

2:36

Wow.

2:37

It's not often uh I'm accused of being too quiet.

2:41

Anyway, uh I was just saying, uh, you know, uh both Derek and I.

2:46

Uh we we uh session ended uh uh at about right around 4 a.m.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development██████████████████████████████████████38%
Procedural█████████9%
Public Safety█████████9%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Vehicle Fleet███████7%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Community Engagement██████6%
Fiscal Sustainability███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Lake County Legislative Committee Meeting - June 2, 2026

The Lake County Legislative Committee convened at 1:00 PM on June 2, 2026, with Chair Wasig presiding. No remote attendees were present. The meeting featured updates on the recently concluded Illinois legislative session, federal legislative developments, and the approval of seven policy resolutions for submission to the National Association of Counties (NACO) annual conference in July.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comment was made.

Discussion Items

8.1 – Update from Springfield Session
Lobbyists Mike and Derek reported on the Illinois General Assembly session that ended at 4:00 AM on June 1, 2026. Key outcomes: a balanced $56.9 billion state budget, an $800 million supplemental appropriation for current fiscal year gaps, and new taxes on social media companies (based on user count), prediction markets, fantasy sports, and digital assets. Major initiatives that did not pass: the Chicago Bears stadium deal, the governor's affordable housing program, and a proposed property tax incentive (PILOT) program for mega-projects.

  • E-bikes: Legislation passed (around 2:00 AM June 1) keeping e-bikes in the Illinois Vehicle Code, meaning counties and municipalities cannot regulate them, but special districts (forest preserves, park districts) can regulate on paths and roadways within their jurisdiction.
  • Digital advertisement tax: A framework was passed, but collections are pending resolution of a Maryland federal lawsuit on constitutionality; no revenue in FY2027.
  • Fuel taxes: A six-month sales tax holiday on the inflationary fuel tax increase (1.3 cents) was enacted. Also, $150 million from fuel taxes was diverted to general revenue.
  • Pensions: A Tier 2 safe harbor fix was not addressed; it may be taken up in November or January.
  • Land transfer (IDOT to IDNR to Forest Preserve): Still in interagency discussions; on track but moving slowly.
  • PTAB hearings relocation: Bill stalled in Senate; will be refiled in the 105th General Assembly in January 2027.
  • Volunteer Lake Management Program: Line item not yet located in budget; lobbyist will follow up.

8.2 – Federal Legislative Update
Clayton provided an overview of pending federal actions:

  • Reauthorizations: Surface transportation bill (Build America 250 Act) passed House committee overwhelmingly; includes a fee on electric vehicles, changes to NEPA, and more local control. Farm bill passed House in April; SNAP rules tightened. 21st Century Road to Housing Act passed House; expands housing supply, bars investor buying sprees.
  • Reconciliation 2.0 & 3.0: 2.0 focused on DHS funding (ICE, Border Patrol); 3.0 will include broader tax reform and spending cuts, but passage is uncertain due to limited legislative time.
  • Appropriations: FY2027 budget expires September 30; likely a continuing resolution. House appropriations bills propose cuts to CDBG and HOME programs; Senate version is flatter. Clayton will advocate for maintaining these funds.
  • In response to a question from Paul, Clayton noted that member-directed appropriations (earmarks) have survived under current leadership and would likely continue under divided government.

8.3 – NACO Policy Resolutions
Matt presented seven resolutions for submission to NACO’s annual conference in New Orleans (July 2026). Each was introduced by a board member:

  1. Community-Based Violence Intervention Programs (Vice Chair Cunningham, presented by Roberts) – Seeks federal funding restoration; Lake County lost significant federal grants.
  2. Railway Safety (Clark) – Fourth submission; requests platform change. Focuses on safer routing of toxic materials, grade separation funding, rail car safety reviews, and first responder communication.
  3. Digital Literacy and Broadband Adoption (Clark) – Combines previous resolutions; supports funding for community-based digital skills programs and affordable broadband.
  4. Election Security Funding – EIISAC (Clark with Clerk Vega) – Restore federal cybersecurity funding for local elections, critical for smaller counties.
  5. Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Funding (Clark with Clerk Vega) – Ensure no reduction in HAVA grants used for voting systems, security, and worker training.
  6. Local Control of AI Policy (Clark) – Prevents federal preemption of county AI regulations and funding cuts for local policies.
  7. Renewable Diesel for Harder-to-Electrify Fleet (Altenberg) – Requests federal financial and technical assistance for converting heavy vehicles (snowplows, trucks) to renewable diesel and lower-carbon fuels.

Key Outcomes

  • Approval of NACO Resolutions: A motion by Vice Chair Compost, seconded by a member, to approve all seven policy resolutions for submittal to NACO carried unanimously.
  • Next Steps: The resolutions will be presented at the NACO conference in July 2026. The committee will continue monitoring state and federal legislative developments.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for July 7, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. Today is June 2nd, 2026. And I call Lake County Legislative Committee to order at 1 p.m. In addition to being able to attend in person remote attendance has been made available to the public via Zoom at the link on the agenda. This meeting is being recorded to through Zoom. And I believe we do not have any remote attendees. Very good. Gina, would you please lead us in a pledge of allegiance? Pledge of allegiance by the United States of America. And to the Republican. Thank you. Yes. Vice Chair. Sorry. Member Frank? Member Hunter. Member Roberts. Member Schlick. Here. Member Volitzick. And Chair Wasig. Here. Do we have any addenda to the agenda? We do not. Any public comment for items not on the agenda? There is no public comment today. Yeah, really briefly, we're going to have a review of what happened in Springfield or didn't happen from our lobbyists and a brief update from Washington. We have some special presentations that will refer to our NACO resolutions a little bit later on. Right. Do we have any unfinished business? We do not. All right. May I have a motion and a second to approve our consent agenda minutes. Motion by Jim. Sure, there's no consent agenda this this uh month. Oh, no approval minutes. We'll bring the minutes next month. Okay. Thanks. All right. Thank you anyway. That'll do it. Beat me to it. Uh so we'll zoom right to uh 8.1. The update from Springfield session just ended this Monday. And we have Mike. Hello, Mike. How are you? And Derek? Yeah, we're both here.

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