![Delivery service rules, limits on governor’s authority over unions advance Delivery service rules, limits on governor’s authority over unions advance](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/img-Senate-floor-2-04291-3tV9OP-1024x578.jpeg)
Delivery service rules, limits on governor’s authority over unions advance
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate worked through a long list of bills Thursday as lawmakers prepared to enter the final stretch of the 2021 session.
Those bills included new restrictions on third-party delivery services such as DoorDash, limits on the governor’s authority to interfere with collective bargaining agreements and new requirements to collect data on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the LGBTQ community.
Delivery services
Senate Bill 672 would create the “Fair Food Delivery Act,” requiring third-party delivery services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats to have formal agreements with the restaurants and retailers for whom they deliver before they can use the merchant’s name, likeness, menus or other intellectual property.
Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, the chief sponsor of the bill, said it is designed to prevent those restaurants and retailers from being taken advantage of by the delivery services.
The bill would only apply to delivery services that have an online presence such as a website or smart phone app.
Bush said when issues arise about a delivery, such as an incorrect order or added delivery fees, customers often complain to the restaurant, even though the restaurant may not have known that the order was placed by the delivery service.
She also said she negotiated the legislation with delivery service companies and described those talks as “fruitful,” but admitted they were not able to agree on a key element.
“These companies want to be able to list all of the restaurants in their area that you can order food from, even if they don’t have an agreement with those restaurants,” she said. “We believe if they don’t have an agreement, that’s proprietary and they shouldn’t be able to list that restaurant when they can’t deliver for it.”
The bill cleared the Senate by a vote of 55-0 and now heads to the House for consideration.
Public employee unions
The Senate also passed a bill Thursday aimed at rolling back some of former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s actions regarding public employee unions.
Senate Bill 525, by Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, would provide that a state employee’s eligibility to be a member of a collective bargaining unit be based on the duties that employee actually performs rather than the duties listed in a written job description.
“The Labor Relations Board, primarily under the Rauner administration, issued decisions overturning decades of case law allowing employees to be designated confidential, supervisory or managerial based on written job descriptions and not the duties an employee actually performs,” Aquino said on the Senate floor. “Employees who had been part of the bargaining unit for decades saw their collective bargaining rights taken away despite never having performed the duties in the written job description that caused them to be excluded.”
Aquino said the bill came about through an agreement with the Department of Central Management Services and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, the state’s largest public employee union.
Republican Sen. Jason Barickman, of Bloomington, argued against the bill, saying that currently about 93 percent of the state’s workforce is part of a collective bargaining unit, making it difficult for supervisors to manage their employees because so few individuals qualify as supervisors. He said passage of the bill would exacerbate that problem.
Aquino, however, said the bill would only return the state’s labor relations to the conditions that existed before the Rauner administration, “and every step that we can do to go back to those days before that administration is a better day for our state.”
The bill passed, 44-11.
LGBTQ data
Hospitals and state agencies in Illinois would be required to gather more demographic data about COVID-19 patients to determine how the pandemic has affected the LGBTQ community under a bill that cleared the Senate Thursday on a 40-1 vote.
Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, the first openly gay member of the Senate and lead sponsor of Senate Bill 2133, said that information is needed to ensure visibility and justice for historically marginalized communities.
The bill, which is supported by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the gay rights advocacy group Equality Illinois, calls on hospitals and state agencies to gather specific data about the age, sex, disability status, sexual orientation and gender identity of COVID-19 patients.
“Any pandemic relief and recovery must be rooted in an understanding of what disparities got us here,” Simmons said in a statement. “This vote (Thursday) is a declaration to LGBTQIA+ communities that we see them and are working for a recovery that includes them.”
He referenced studies that he said show members of those communities are more likely to have chronic conditions and other risk factors that can increase vulnerability to COVID-19.
Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, was the only senator to vote against the bill. Eighteen other senators did not cast a vote.
Nursing home visitation
Another bill that passed the Senate Thursday would require nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to adopt procedures to prevent social isolation among their residents, including making technology available for online visits with loved ones when in-person visits are not possible.
Senate Bill 2137, cosponsored by Democratic Sen. Jacqueline Collins, of Chicago, and Republican Sen. Donald DeWitte, of St. Charles, passed unanimously, 53-0.
“This last year was incredibly difficult for seniors who were unable to touch or hug their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic, and SB 2137 will ensure that moving forward we place more of a balance between physical and social-emotional health,” DeWitte said in a statement.
The bill provides that online visitation and other forms of social isolation prevention measures would be in addition to, not a substitute for, in-person visitation and that each patient’s individualized visitation plan should give priority to the resident’s own preference over the resident’s representative.
It also provides that long-term care facilities could apply for grants from the state’s civil monetary penalty fund, as well as other state and federal funds, to pay for assistive and supportive technology.
Starting Jan. 1, 2023, facilities that fail to comply with the new rules could be subject to administrative penalties.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
![dvn 4-29-24 Arley Carrillo Mendez mugshot Arley Carrillo Mendez](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/dvn-4-29-24-Arley-Carrillo-Mendez-mugshot.jpg)
Man charged with child abduction in Stickney Township
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Chicago man was charged last week with child abduction and luring of a minor after Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives found he attempted to lure a minor into his vehicle, said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. According to police, about 4:43 p.m. on Monday, April 22, officers responded…
![2 Worth Mayor Mary Werner looks at old photos of the Worth Public Library during the History of the Worth Library exhibit's opening night. (Photos by Kelly White)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2-13-768x1024.jpg)
Worth Library celebrates 60th anniversary
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Worth Public Library has been around for decades. Resting in the heart of the village at 6917 W. 111th St., the library held an event focusing on its rich background story on April 23 with a historical photo exhibit. “It’s amazing because this library is still so important to…
![regional 4-30-24 womans club prez3 Newly installed 2024-26 board members of the 3rd District General Federation of Women's Clubs lined up for a photo following a ceremony held April 27 at Fox's Restaurant in Orland Park. With outgoing president Heather Linehan (from left) they are Vice President Sandy Christofanelli, President Rose Zubik of the Palos Heights Woman's Club, Secretary Sue Peterson – a palos Park Woman's Club member, Treasurer Judy Wagner, and Parliamentary Advisor Debbie Bach. (Photos by Dermot Connolly)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regional-4-30-24-womans-club-prez3-1024x739.jpg)
Rose Zubik, Woman’s Club veteran, installed as 3rd District president
Spread the love Rose Zubik, of Palos Heights, the new president of the 3rd District General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Illinois, lights a candle during the installation ceremony held April 27 at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park. Heather Linehan, the outgoing president, is beside her.By Dermot Connolly A longtime member of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club…
![reporter chicago ridge police logo reporter chicago ridge police logo](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reporter-chicago-ridge-police-logo.jpg)
Shots fired in Chicago Ridge Commons parking lot
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Shots were fired Wednesday night in the parking lot at Chicago Ridge Commons mall. Police said they received reports of the shooting about 9:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Multiple witnesses told police four men were walking through the parking lot from the XSport Fitness area. They approached two vehicles…
![reporter 4-30-24 flair ribbon photo 4-25 Melissa Kowalski, owner of Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge, prepares to cut the ribbon to mark the first anniversary of the business on April 18 with the assistance of her daughter, Anastasia, 5. (Photos by Joe Boyle)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/reporter-4-30-24-flair-ribbon-photo-4-25-1024x683.jpg)
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski,…
![regional 4-30-24 Gabe_Contest_winner Gabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. (Supplied photo)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regional-4-30-24-Gabe_Contest_winner-768x1024.jpg)
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Spread the loveGabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized…
![4 Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights, celebrated Autism Acceptance Week April 1 through April 5. (Supplied photos)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/4-1.jpg)
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
Spread the loveBy Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos…
![Cicada-shutterstock-2024 Cicada-shutterstock-2024](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cicada-shutterstock-2024-1024x680.jpg)
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
Spread the loveBy Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time.…
![GSWNH_HuescaCasket_050324 GSWNH_HuescaCasket_050324](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSWNH_HuescaCasket_050324-1024x682.jpeg)
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
Spread the love. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was…
Neighbors
![dvn 4-29-24 Arley Carrillo Mendez mugshot Arley Carrillo Mendez](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/dvn-4-29-24-Arley-Carrillo-Mendez-mugshot.jpg)
Man charged with child abduction in Stickney Township
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Chicago man was charged last week with child abduction and luring of a minor after Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives found he attempted to lure a minor into his vehicle, said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. According to police, about 4:43 p.m. on Monday, April 22, officers responded…
![2 Worth Mayor Mary Werner looks at old photos of the Worth Public Library during the History of the Worth Library exhibit's opening night. (Photos by Kelly White)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2-13-768x1024.jpg)
Worth Library celebrates 60th anniversary
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Worth Public Library has been around for decades. Resting in the heart of the village at 6917 W. 111th St., the library held an event focusing on its rich background story on April 23 with a historical photo exhibit. “It’s amazing because this library is still so important to…
![regional 4-30-24 womans club prez3 Newly installed 2024-26 board members of the 3rd District General Federation of Women's Clubs lined up for a photo following a ceremony held April 27 at Fox's Restaurant in Orland Park. With outgoing president Heather Linehan (from left) they are Vice President Sandy Christofanelli, President Rose Zubik of the Palos Heights Woman's Club, Secretary Sue Peterson – a palos Park Woman's Club member, Treasurer Judy Wagner, and Parliamentary Advisor Debbie Bach. (Photos by Dermot Connolly)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regional-4-30-24-womans-club-prez3-1024x739.jpg)
Rose Zubik, Woman’s Club veteran, installed as 3rd District president
Spread the love Rose Zubik, of Palos Heights, the new president of the 3rd District General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Illinois, lights a candle during the installation ceremony held April 27 at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park. Heather Linehan, the outgoing president, is beside her.By Dermot Connolly A longtime member of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club…
![reporter chicago ridge police logo reporter chicago ridge police logo](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reporter-chicago-ridge-police-logo.jpg)
Shots fired in Chicago Ridge Commons parking lot
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Shots were fired Wednesday night in the parking lot at Chicago Ridge Commons mall. Police said they received reports of the shooting about 9:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Multiple witnesses told police four men were walking through the parking lot from the XSport Fitness area. They approached two vehicles…
![reporter 4-30-24 flair ribbon photo 4-25 Melissa Kowalski, owner of Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge, prepares to cut the ribbon to mark the first anniversary of the business on April 18 with the assistance of her daughter, Anastasia, 5. (Photos by Joe Boyle)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/reporter-4-30-24-flair-ribbon-photo-4-25-1024x683.jpg)
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski,…
![regional 4-30-24 Gabe_Contest_winner Gabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. (Supplied photo)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regional-4-30-24-Gabe_Contest_winner-768x1024.jpg)
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Spread the loveGabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized…
![4 Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights, celebrated Autism Acceptance Week April 1 through April 5. (Supplied photos)](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/4-1.jpg)
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
Spread the loveBy Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos…
![Cicada-shutterstock-2024 Cicada-shutterstock-2024](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cicada-shutterstock-2024-1024x680.jpg)
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
Spread the loveBy Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time.…
![GSWNH_HuescaCasket_050324 GSWNH_HuescaCasket_050324](https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GSWNH_HuescaCasket_050324-1024x682.jpeg)
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
Spread the love. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was…