Galesburg Reporter

In a Dec. 16 newsletter, Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) shared information about the upcoming legislative session.

"Lame-duck session is a period where the General Assembly meets after the November election but before sitting legislators’ terms have expired,” Tracy said.

The so-called "lame duck" session is set to begin Jan. 4 and last five days, according to Tracy's newsletter. "In Illinois, lame-duck session is traditionally held after the first of the year because bills that pass prior to May 31 in a calendar year only need a simple majority vote, rather than a three-fifths majority vote, to have an immediate effective date. Because the inauguration of the new General Assembly isn’t until Jan. 11, lawmakers have five scheduled days of session to push through potential legislation that can be immediately enacted."

The Illinois Senate schedule for both the lame duck session and the spring session is available here.

She also discussed the December hiring report in this newsletter. Most notably, there was an increase in Illinois’ small-business hiring freezes. Tracy said the report shows that Illinois has the highest percentage of small-business hiring freezes in the country. She said 82% of small businesses are planning on not hiring additional staff until at least the spring of 2023.