SPRINGFIELD BECKONS : Illinois lawmakers head into their final session of the year this week with Democrats firmly in the driver’s seat after last week’s election — and Republicans feeling empowered now that Donald Trump is headed to the White House again. First order of business. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has been nominated for his third term, and Don Harmon will be nominated Tuesday as Senate president. Both are Democrats working with a Democratic governor hoping to establish a firewall of policies to Trump-proof the state against the president-elect's promises to ease up gun-safety laws, further restrict abortion access and undo environmental regulations. “Those conversations are happening,” Welch told Playbook, echoing Gov. JB Pritzker , who also said his administration is looking to shore up some policies. Welch ticked off past legislative wins including expanding worker rights, reproductive health care policies and LGBTQ rights as examples of work already done to prepare for a new Trump administration’s impact. “We’re doing a lot of things, but conversations are going on. We are committed to controlling costs for families, rebuilding our fiscal house. We’ll be looking at this starting in January, as well,” he said, referring to the next full session that starts next year. Environmental issues are under scrutiny, given Trump’s distaste for environmental regulations, Welch said. “We have to take a look at that. We have some meetings that are already scheduled, some conversations that are already taking place. That's possibly something we can get into a lame duck session if the parties come to an agreement on what those issues are. ... The pieces are in place, that if we need to do something, we can get it done.” Abortion analysis: Democrats are also looking to see how to further shore up laws supporting reproductive rights. Republicans question the moves: House Republican leader Tony McCombie said Trump’s definitive win should give Illinois Democrats pause about responding with new laws. “I don’t know any legislation that would be necessary as a reaction. ... I think the Democrats have to be careful,” she told the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner and Olivia Olander. Unrelated to Trump, balancing the budget is also a priority as lawmakers plan for 2025, Welch said. “We’ve had very grim forecasts” in the past, yet, “we’ve still managed to produce a budget with surpluses and additional payments to our pension obligations. So, I fully expect the tax office in January will approach the next budget with the same responsible line-by-line priorities and making smart decisions for our future.” Lawmakers will tackle that when they return for the full session next year. Reflecting on the election: Welch is going into the fall session acknowledging there was a Trump movement. He saw it months ago. After projecting that Democrats might pick up as many as six seats in the election, data showed that Republicans were holding their own, so his team adjusted. With two seats still undecided, Welch says “we’re within striking distance” of still gaining seats. Welch’s take-away : “The cost of living is a real concern, and we were able to address that as Illinois Democrats, because we could go into our record where we reined in the cost of health care, expanded access to child care costs and cracked down to eliminate the grocery tax," he said. "We need to do more of that on the national level. We have to meet voters where they're at. We have to acknowledge the cost of living was a real issue.” With that in mind: Watch for lawmakers in the Senate to address the Dignity in Pay Act (House Bill 793 HA1), which would increase the minimum wage for people with disabilities.
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