Macon Reporter

Chris Miller introduced HB2821 in the Illinois House on Feb. 5, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the School Boards Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning e-learning days, provides that a school or school district that offers e-learning days may not use any real property owned or leased by a school or school district to house migrants while students are not present at a school. Provides that a school or school district may not utilize an e-learning day to house migrants on any real property owned or leased by the school or school district due to a mandate by a unit of local government that the school or school district house migrants on any real property owned or leased by the school or school district."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the School Code to stipulate that schools or school districts utilizing e-learning days cannot use their properties to house migrants in the absence of students. Furthermore, the bill prohibits the use of e-learning days as a means to comply with local government mandates to accommodate migrants on school-owned or leased properties. It maintains that schools must ensure equitable access to e-learning resources, including provisions for special education and English learners, while guaranteeing five hours of instruction or school work per day, and comprehensive access to technology for students and staff. Public hearings are required for initial e-learning adoption or renewal, and all plans must be verified by regional education authorities. Additionally, it ensures the payment of educational support staff during e-learning days, subject to existing collective bargaining agreements. Schools are encouraged to adapt their programs to address any challenges encountered during implementation. The State Board of Education may create complementary rules to support this section's provisions.

Chris Miller has proposed another 17 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Miller graduated from Eureka College with a BS.

Chris Miller is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 101st House District. He replaced previous state representative Reggie Phillips in 2023.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB2821	02/05/2025	Amends the School Boards Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning e-learning days, provides that a school or school district that offers e-learning days may not use any real property owned or leased by a school or school district to house migrants while students are not present at a school. Provides that a school or school district may not utilize an e-learning day to house migrants on any real property owned or leased by the school or school district due to a mandate by a unit of local government that the school or school district house migrants on any real property owned or leased by the school or school district.
HB2816	02/05/2025	Amends the Property Owned By Noncitizens Act. Provides that, beginning on the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Governor shall take such actions as may be necessary to prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate located in Illinois by any noncitizens. Provides that the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shall submit to the General Assembly a report that details the history of purchases of public and private real estate located in the State by noncitizens; provides more information on the percentage of real estate located in the State that is owned by noncitizens; and offers recommendations to make it easier for citizens and harder for noncitizens to purchase real estate located in the State, including farmland. Repeals the provisions 5 years after the effective date of the Act. Makes conforming changes.
HB2817	02/05/2025	Creates the Database Resources for Students Act. Provides that a school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college may offer digital or online library database resources to students in grades kindergarten through 12 only if the provider of the resources verifies that all the resources have safety policies and technology protection measures that prohibit and prevent a user of the resources from sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading and filter or block access to child pornography, obscene materials, or materials that depict child sexual exploitation. Provides that, notwithstanding any contract provision to the contrary, if a provider fails to comply with these provisions, the school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college shall withhold further payments to the provider pending verification of compliance. Provides that if a provider fails to timely verify that the provider is in compliance, then the school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college shall consider the provider's act of noncompliance as a breach of contract. Provides that nothing in the Act exempts from prosecution an employee of a school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college for a willful violation of the provisions of the Criminal Code of 2012 regarding obscenity and child pornography. Sets forth reporting provisions. Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code to provide that the Act applies to charter schools. Effective July 1, 2026.
HB2818	02/05/2025	Amends the School Code. Requires a school board to ensure parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in the school district are free to petition the school board and provide public comment at all public and regularly scheduled meetings, have access to certain information, are well-informed on specified subject matters, and have the right to meet with a pupil's teacher at least twice per school year. Requires a school board to ensure curriculum and learning materials are posted on the school district's Internet website. Effective immediately.
HB2819	02/05/2025	Amends the General Assembly Organization Act. Provides that any amendment to a bill that is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate must be germane to the title of the introduced bill. Provides that any amendment that is not germane to the title of the introduced bill shall not be considered for adoption by the house of the General Assembly in which the amendment is offered for consideration. Provides that any member of the house of the General Assembly in which the amendment is offered for consideration may object to the introduction of the amendment as not being germane to the title of the introduced bill. Provides that if such an objection is made, the question of germaneness shall be presented to the respective house for consideration. Provides that if at least a majority of the members voting on the question determine that the amendment is germane to the title of the introduced bill, then the amendment may be considered by that house. Provides that if less than a majority of the members voting on the question determine that the amendment is germane to the title of the bill, the amendment shall not be considered by that house.
HB2820	02/05/2025	Creates the Education Savings Account Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall develop and implement an education savings account program for eligible pupils. Provides that education savings account payments shall be made available to parents and guardians in the manner authorized for the payment of qualified educational expenses as provided in the Act. Provides that parents and guardians shall first use education savings account payments for all qualified educational expenses that are tuition and fees for which the parent or guardian is responsible for payment at the pupil's nonpublic school prior to using the education savings account for other qualified educational expenses. Sets forth provisions regarding program eligibility, application requirements, disbursement of funds, testing requirements, and rulemaking. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB2822	02/05/2025	Creates the Education Savings Account Act. Requires the State Board of Education to create the Education Savings Account Program. Provides that a parent of an eligible student (defined as any elementary or secondary student who was eligible to attend a public school in this State in the preceding semester or is starting school in this State for the first time and who is a member of a household whose total annual income does not exceed an amount equal to 2.5 times the income standard used to qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch under the national free or reduced-price lunch program) shall qualify for the State Board to make a grant to his or her child's Education Savings Account by signing an agreement. Requires the State Board to deposit into an Education Savings Account some or all of the State aid under the State aid formula provisions of the School Code that would otherwise have been provided to the resident school district for the eligible student had the student enrolled in the resident school district. Provides that parents participating in the Program shall agree to use the funds deposited in their eligible students' accounts for certain qualifying expenses to educate the eligible student. Sets forth provisions concerning the calculation of grant amounts and other basic elements of the Program, administration of the Program, accountability standards for participating schools, and the responsibilities of the State Board and resident school districts.
HB2823	02/05/2025	Creates the Gender in Sports Act. Provides that a student-athlete may participate in an intercollegiate athletics program at a postsecondary educational institution that allows only a single gender to participate in that program only if the gender of the student-athlete is the same gender as the single gender designation for that program.
HB2876	02/05/2025	Amends the Flag Display Act. Prohibits State institutions, including public school buildings, from displaying any flags other than the national flag of the United States or the flag of the State of Illinois.
HB1641	01/23/2025	Amends the Illinois Identification Card Act. Provides that the Secretary of State shall (rather than may) provide by rule for the issuance of Illinois Person with a Disability Identification Cards without photographs if the applicant has a bona fide religious objection to being photographed or to the display of his or her photograph. Makes technical changes.
HB1498	01/21/2025	Amends the Election Code. Provides that the county clerk of a county where a decedent last resided shall (rather than may) issue certifications of death records from the electronic reporting system for death registrations and shall (rather than may) use that system to cancel the registration of any person who has died during the preceding month. Requires a county coroner, medical examiner, or physician for a county or any other individual responsible for certification of death under the Vital Records Act to promptly transmit certified records to the county clerk within 7 days after the death. Requires the county clerk and coroner to report quarterly to its affiliated county board and certify its full compliance with the provisions and accuracy of the voter rolls. Allows an individual to request a copy of the county clerk's or coroner's report and allows for relief if the county clerk fails to provide an accurate report within specified timeframes. Prohibits a political committee from making expenditures for payments to attorneys, expert witnesses, investigators, or others to provide a defense in a criminal case. Amends the Attorney General Act. Creates an Office of Election Integrity within the Office of the Attorney General. Provides that the purpose of the Office is to aid the State Board of Elections in completion of its duties under the Election Code. Provides that the Office shall develop and create a voter fraud hotline within 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that by January 15 of each year, the Office shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives detailing information on investigations of alleged election law violations or election irregularities conducted during the prior calendar year.
HB1499	01/21/2025	Amends the Qualifications of Voters Article of the Election Code. Provides that a person may not register to vote in the election district in which the person attends an educational institution if that person does not reside in the election district in which that educational institution is located.
HB0014	01/09/2025	Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, any package of beef sold in Illinois must have a label on the package that contains the beef's country of origin.
HB0015	01/09/2025	Creates the Illinois Cultivated Meat Act. Provides that it is unlawful for any person to manufacture for sale, sell, hold or offer for sale, or distribute cultivated meat. Provides that a person who knowingly violates this Act commits a Class C misdemeanor. Allows for rulemaking by the Department of Agriculture. Makes a finding and states the purpose. Defines cultivated meat.
HB0016	01/09/2025	Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that, for persons dying on or after January 1, 2026, the exclusion amount shall be the applicable exclusion amount calculated under Section 2010 of the Internal Revenue Code, including any deceased spousal unused exclusion amount (currently, the exclusion amount for Illinois estate tax purposes is $4,000,000). Effective immediately.
HB1160	01/09/2025	Creates the Protect the Flag Act. Provides that an institution of higher education that, pursuant to an official policy of the institution to prohibit the display of the flag of the United States by the institution, removes, censors, takes down, prohibits, or otherwise halts display of the flag of the United States is ineligible to receive State funds for the following fiscal year until the institution reports to the General Assembly and the Board of Higher Education the complete and proper reinstatement, by the institution in its official capacity, of the flag of the United States at any and all locations on campus property from which a previously displayed flag of the United States was removed, censored, taken down, prohibited, or otherwise halted from display pursuant to an official policy of the institution to prohibit the display of the flag of the United States by the institution.
HB1161	01/09/2025	Creates the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act. Provides that notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no receipt of State funding may be contingent upon an educational institution forgoing the maintenance of sex-segregated spaces by the educational institution, including bathrooms and locker rooms. Provides that notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no receipt of State funding may be contingent upon an educational institution forgoing the maintenance of sex-segregated athletic or academic programs by the educational institution.
HB1162	01/09/2025	Creates the Foreign Land Ownership and Foreign Countries of Concern Act. Provides that a foreign principal may not directly or indirectly own, have a controlling interest in, or acquire by purchase, grant, devise, or descent agricultural land or any interest, except a de minimis indirect interest, in such land in the State. Provides that a foreign principal has a de minimis indirect interest if any ownership is the result of the foreign principal's ownership of registered equities in a publicly traded company owning the land and if the foreign principal's ownership interest in the company is either: (1) less than 5% of any class of registered equities or less than 5% in the aggregate in multiple classes of registered equities; or a noncontrolling interest in an entity controlled by a company that is both registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and is not a foreign entity. Provides for registration of certain foreign-owned property. Establishes requirements for acquiring foreign-owned land on or after the effective date of the Act. Provides that a foreign principal may not directly or indirectly own, or have a controlling interest in, or acquire by purchase, grant, devise, or descent any interest, except a de minimis indirect interest, in real property on or within 10 miles of any military installation or critical infrastructure facility in the State. Provides that persons or entities may not directly or indirectly own, have a controlling interest in, or acquire by purchase, grant, devise, or descent any interest, except a de minimis indirect interest, in real property in the State if the person or entity is: the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or any official or member of the People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party, a business principally located in the People's Republic of China of or its subsidiaries, or any person who is domiciled in the People's Republic of China and who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States. Provides exemptions. Makes other changes. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code and the Property Owned By Noncitizens Act to make conforming changes.
HB1163	01/09/2025	Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a commercial wind energy facility owner or solar energy facility owner must file a land reclamation plan and a recycling plan with the Department of Agriculture prior to the required public hearing on the siting of a facility. Provides that the land reclamation plan must outline how the property on which a facility has been constructed will be returned to the state the property existed prior to the construction of the facility upon removal of the facility. Provides that the recycling plan must outline how the material used to construct the facility will be recycled. Provides that a commercial solar energy facility may not be sited on property where the property's soil's crop productivity index is greater than 110. Effective immediately.
HB1164	01/09/2025	Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that a entity may not construct a windmill on land anywhere in the State unless an equal number of windmills have been or are constructed by the entity constructing the windmill within 3,000 feet of a county with a population more than 3,000,000.
HB1219	01/09/2025	Amends the General Assembly Operations Act. Provides that, if a legislator introduces legislation that results in the taking of private land for a project in another legislator's district, then a project of that same type must be completed in the district of the legislator who introduced the legislation that resulted in the taking of private land.
HB1220	01/09/2025	Amends the Reproductive Health Act. Provides that consent to a termination of pregnancy is voluntary and informed only if: the physician who is to perform the procedure, or the referring physician, has, at a minimum, orally, while physically present in the same room, and at least 24 hours before the procedure, provided the woman with specified information; specified printed materials prepared and provided by the Department of Public Health have been provided to the pregnant woman, if she chooses to view these materials; and the woman acknowledges in writing, before the termination of pregnancy, that the information required to be provided has been provided. Provides that if a medical emergency exists and a physician cannot comply with the requirements for informed consent, a physician may terminate a pregnancy if he or she has obtained at least one corroborative medical opinion attesting to the medical necessity for emergency medical procedures and to the fact that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty the continuation of the pregnancy would threaten the life of the pregnant woman. Provides that a physician or other person who violates the provisions shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
HB1221	01/09/2025	Repeals the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Amends various Acts to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.