DECATUR, Ill. – To celebrate the upcoming academic year, state Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, in partnership with Sista Girls and Friends and West Side New Creations, will be hosting a Back to School Bash on Sunday, August 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of Illinois, 55S Country Club Road in Decatur.
“As a parent and a former educator, I know how exciting and busy the back to school season can be,” Scherer said. “This one-stop-shop event will be fun for students while also connecting them to the resources they need to succeed at school.”
Free backpacks will be available for the first 100 participants. Event attendees will also have the opportunity to enjoy dinner, playtime for children, free hygiene kits and hair styling for all hair types. This event is free and open to the public.
“Whether it’s through our Back to School Bash or legislation from Springfield, I will always work to make sure our students are cared for and supported at school,” said Scherer. “I encourage all families to come out and enjoy this free event with their children.”
Education is a cornerstone of Scherer’s legislative agenda. This past session, she passed a budget that increases evidence-based education funding by $350 million and invests millions in special and early childhood education.
Scherer represents areas of Sangamon, Macon and Christian counties. For more information, please contact her full time constituent service office at 217-877-9636 or staterepsue@gmail.com.
For ten days, the state of Illinois will charge just 1.25% in sales tax on school supplies and some clothing. The tax relief takes effect on Friday this week and ends on Sunday, August 14th. Outside of that period, the state sales tax will be the usual 6.25%. Ottawa Democratic St. Rep. Lance Yednock says families buying pencils, calculators, notebooks, and other school supplies should take advantage of it for inflation relief. The sales tax will also drop for clothing and shoes costing less than $125.
OTTAWA, Ill. – State Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, is reminding constituents about the upcoming back to school sales tax holiday on school supplies and certain footwear and clothing items that will take place from August 5-14. During this ten-day period, the sales tax on qualifying items will be reduced by 5 percent.
“As back to school season approaches, we wanted to give families a well-deserved break from the impact of inflation,” Yednock said. “This sales tax holiday will save families money as they prepare their children for a new school year full of learning and success.”
Yednock passed the sales tax holiday as a part of the Illinois Family Relief Plan, which suspended the grocery tax for a year and froze the gas tax for six months. Under the sales tax holiday, taxes will be cut on qualifying items such as notebooks, pencils, calculators, crayons and other supplies used by students. Footwear and clothing that retails for less than $125 per item also qualify.
“As your state representative, my top priority is to provide our community with the relief and recovery it needs. I will always advocate for policies like the Illinois Family Relief Plan that directly benefit and support our community,” Yednock said. “This sales tax holiday will help ensure students have the tools they need to fully engage and participate in the classroom. Our students are one of Illinois’ most valuable resources, and this investment will help them grow and thrive.”
The Centennial Bridge stars in this image from a poster for the HBO film “Sugar.” Efforts are underway to create a local film office to attract more such projects to the region.
“Why would anyone want to film a movie in Rock Island?”
That’s what Tarah Sipes, Rock Island’s community and economic development manager, asked herself when she first learned of a plan – then known as “Project Film” – to bring a Quad Cities Film Office to her city.
“To me it seemed like a lot of work for very little reward,” she said, before adding, “After looking at the project as an economic development project – understanding the existing assets, compiling the assets, and marketing the assets – the feasibility of this effort became more clear.”
The Now, a series streaming on Roku, features exteriors shot in Rock Island and Moline.
Ms. Sipes can be forgiven for her initial skepticism. Despite the films, documentaries, television shows and commercials that have been shot in this area of the Midwest, many longtime Quad Citians still are unaware of the great locations and the depth of talent and experience that can be mined in the bistate region, insiders say.
Davenport’s Doug Miller, however, is intimately familiar with what the Quad Cities has to offer entertainment productions. His Two Rivers & Associates production company has focused for more than 30 years on bringing entertainment projects to the bistate region. That includes working for the past three years to create a Quad Cities Film Office.
He also has a wide range of government, community and industry connections, which led Illinois to offer Mr. Miller a contract to help Ms. Sipes set up and, if all goes well, run a new Quad Cities Regional Film Office. The seed money for the startup will come from a one-year, $65,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). It also could be renewed for a second year.
“This grant came from discussions with Doug Miller and others to incentivize film production in the Quad Cities,” said Illinois state Rep. Mike Halpin, a legislative leader who has worked to extend critical tax credits to expand the state’s exploding film industry, which last year hit a projected record high of $630 million.
Mr. Halpin and Mr. Miller credited The Illinois Film Production Tax Credit Act for a large chunk of that success. It’s also why the Rock Island Democrat and other lawmakers successfully pushed to extend and expand it. “Recently, as part of reauthorizing that tax credit we’ve tried to capitalize on the Illinois Quad Cities as a film destination outside Chicago, given our diverse natural, rural and urban settings,” Mr. Halpin told the QCBJ.
First adopted in 2008, that act offers a 30% tax credit for qualified production spending and labor expenditures. Under the 2022 expansion, benefits were extended as of July 1 to include a capped credit for resident and non-resident compensation under qualified expenditures, as well as the establishment of a workforce training program. Applicants also can now receive 15% tax credit on salaries paid to individuals who live in economically disadvantaged areas.
Mr. Halpin said the QC office will be a liaison with the national film industry, the Illinois Film Office, local governments, local creators and the QC film workforce. “The goal is to facilitate local projects, and demonstrate that our community is film friendly and prepared to meet the needs of the industry,” he said. “Many successful films have already been shot in this region, and we plan to attract many more.”
Why QC needs a film office
Mr. Miller has had a hand in many of those projects and he knows the impact such productions and relationships have on a local economy.
The bigger the budget, the larger the payoff, of course. Blockbusters like “Field of Dreams” based in Dyersville, Iowa, are “manna from heaven,” Mr. Miller said. But films like HBO’s “Sugar” – shot, in part, in Davenport and Burlington, Iowa – paid big dividends for the Quad Cities region even with a modest budget of about $5 million.
That’s why Mr. Miller said he’d like to see the Quad Cities attract a movie project, big budget or small, at least every other year.
“Doug’s goal is a great one,” Ms. Sipes agreed. “In my mind, if the Quad Cities Regional Film Office can help to create a landscape where more local productions occur and we attract a couple million dollars within the next five years, my efforts will have been worth it.“
Smaller projects also will matter in achieving that goal. Consider, for example, that 80% of the state’s film tax credit money goes for television commercials, Mr. Miller said.
Ms. Sipes acknowledged that competition for business “is certainly stiff, but we want people to know that Rock Island, and the Quad Cities, is an option that exists.” That means getting noticed and it begins with working with Rock Island’s Augustana College to develop a website as soon as funding is released from the state.
“Once the website is up and running,” Ms. Sipes said, “we hope to help our local folks connect with existing industry directories, like the Illinois Production Guide, to be sure we are able to accurately represent the assets that exist in the Quad Cities. I see us hosting discussion groups and informational sessions as the work continues so that we can draw on the knowledge that exists and be sure everyone is moving forward together.”
Why not Rock Island, QC?
“Maybe we will never bring a blockbuster film production to the Quad Cities, but you never know,” Ms. Sipes added. “A production does not have to be a multi-million dollar ordeal to have an impact in our local economy. Every time a local actor or technical expert is hired for a production those are real dollars that are being spent here. If sound stages are booked and there is a need for a space, why not Rock Island? If we can help someone understand how it can work, and that there are people here who understand industry standards, then Rock Island, and the Quad Cities, become an attractive option.”
For some in Hollywood the Quad Cities area already is on the map. Filmmakers including the Farrelly Brothers and the prolific Italian Director Pupi Avati have shot projects here and know what the Quad Cities community brings to a production.
Local leaders also know what a thriving film industry brings to the QC.
“The film and television production industry is important to tourism and our brand,” Visit Quad Cities President and CEO Dave Herrell told the QCBJ. “The industry generates positive economic development opportunities, creates and sustains jobs, and has a positive impact on tourism.”
“Moreover, having productions in your backyard will support a multitude of small businesses and position your community through the added awareness the final product will deliver,” the leader of the Quad Cities bistate destination marketing organization added. “Productions can take weeks and months and can also help shape perception and your community’s story. In addition, a lot of visitors are intrigued by where certain productions have occurred, so they add to your unique destination experience.”
Return on films is sweet
Take, for example, “Sugar,” that HBO film about a top pitching prospect from the Dominican Republic playing on a Midwest minor league team in the fictional community of Bridgeport, Iowa. The film by Hunting Lane Films and Journeyman Pictures for HBO prominently featured Modern Woodmen Park on Davenport’s riverfront, and included actual baseball players from what then was the Quad Cities Swing. The Centennial Bridge also starred prominently in one of the film’s widely distributed posters.
“It was an experience of a lifetime,” recalls John Marx, a long-time Quad Cities reporter and columnist, who moonlighted on the film. “Locally, Doug Miller brought the film to life with the help of (then) Swing General Manager Mike ‘Yogi’ Weindruch. They secured the site and Doug laid all the groundwork with the State of Iowa. With the help of Dennis Hitchcock, Circa 21’s longtime executive producer, we secured every extra you saw in the film. The baseball talent was homegrown and handpicked.’’
Mr. Marx, a former scout for the Houston Astros and a member of the National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame, served as a consultant and played the team manager in the film.
“The producer, Jamie Patricof, was amazing,” Mr. Marx said. “He was so enamored with the Quad-Cities, often riding his bike throughout, just to get a glimpse of all that we offer. He was a California kid who went to Emory University in Atlanta, but truly fell in love with the Quads, the river and the people.”
Connections like that matter in the moviemaking industry, Mr. Miller said, as much as the financial contributions they make to the places where they are filmed which also are considerable.
“It should be noted these people spent one full month in the Quad Cities, staying at the (former) Lodge in Bettendorf,” Mr. Marx added. “They shopped here in their free time, they sampled every restaurant they could and they went bowling a minimum of two nights a week.”
The production kept all its “excellent” craft services local as well. “They gave back in so many ways,” Mr. Marx said. “They were part of the fabric. Personally, I met people I never would have met through the movie, some I still stay in contact with. The Quad Cities was engaged. Three times, we had over a thousand people show up to be baseball scene extras.”
For those reasons and more, Mr. Marx said, “Whatever we can do along political lines to make this happen again, we should. Two of the best baseball movies ever made came to life in Iowa. I had a chance to ‘have a catch’ with Kevin Costner in Iowa and he said he loved every minute of Field of Dreams and the people he met. If you polled everyone involved with ‘Sugar,’ they would tell you the same.”
Those experiences also will matter as the new QC film office begins to compete for projects, local economic development leaders say.
“We have been fortunate to have productions in the past and are hopeful that the Quad Cities Film Office will provide value and opportunities in the future,” Mr. Herrell said. “It is a highly competitive space and states and municipalities are recognizing that strategic investments are necessary coupled with the infrastructure, incentives, and policy required to be competitively positioned in the marketplace.”
It helps to have effective partners, he said. They include: Northwest Illinois Film Office, the Illinois Film Services Tax Credit, the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and Produce Iowa, the state’s office of media production and the Illinois Film Office and the Chicago Film Office.
Region rich in creative assets
“The Quad Cities has a lot that we can offer from geographic position, diverse backdrops, architecture, unique downtowns, farmland, our global asset – the Mississippi River, and our people,” Mr. Herrell said. “Our creatives in-market matched with talented crews, a variety of accommodations, and affordability are just a part of the tools we have in the toolbelt.”
Mr. Miller said that toolbelt also includes locally sourced movie-making and lighting equipment, experienced production veterans and the local talent and production experts required to make movies, television shows and commercials.
“I see the existing arts scene as a huge asset to any film office,” Ms. Sipes added. “We know that we have skilled set dressers, costumers, makeup artists, musicians, visual artists, lighting and sound professionals, and many others that can support efforts to create a film.”
Many are members of Local 85 of the IATSE. And the Quad Cities branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees & Moving Picture Operators of the United States & Canada has pushed for the film office’s creation.
Geography also helps, Mr. Miller said. The Quad Cities is served by the Quad Cities International Airport. It boasts great sites within an hour’s drive in every direction. And when passenger rail service to Moline finally takes off, Mr. Miller added, “That brings Chicago to our front door; actors and everything else.”
Mr. Miller and Ms. Sipes are taking nothing for granted, however.
“We haven’t done it yet,” Mr. Miller said of creating a QC film office. “I’ve got to prove-up. Baby steps; we get our word out, let people know and go back to the people we’ve already worked with before and remind them we’re the best bang for the buck you can get.”
Ms. Sipes added, “We are not certain what the future looks like, but through this relationship with Doug (Miller) we hope to have public facing information available and to have started a conversation with the larger community so that our local people know how to become ‘plugged in’ to efforts and activities of the film office.”
QC on the big, small screen
Over the years, numerous films, television shows, documentaries and commercials have been made, in part, in the Quad Cities. Below, in no particular order, is a sampling and the year of release:
Children of the Corn, 2009, SyFy channel film remake of the original release of the same name. It is based on the Stephen King short story.
Megafault, 2009, SyFy film featuring Brittany Murphy, who died unexpectedly on Dec. 20, 2009. It included a cameo by then-Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba.
Sugar, 2008, sports drama for HBO, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck; gross: $1.08 million.
Bix, 1991, award-winning Biopic of Davenport’s Bix Beiderbecke, directed by Italian Director Pupi Avati.
Beauty Queen Butcher, 1991, made-for-video film featuring a Sylvan Slough beauty queen gone berserk.
An American Love, 1994, comedy romance starring Brooke Shields and Carlo Della Piane.
The Childhood Friend, 1994, a Pupi Avati horror thriller film starring Jason Robards III.
The Hideout, 2007, drama horror film directed by Pupi Avati, starring Treat Williams, Burt Young and Angela Pagano.
WhiteBoyz, 1999, comedy drama, starring Danny Hoch, Dash Mihok, Mark Webber, Piper Perabo and Snoop Dogg.
The Now, 2021, Farrelly Brothers television series featuring Dave Franco, Darryl Hannah and Bill Murray and exteriors of Rock Island and Moline.
AURORA, Ill. – State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, will lead an effort to get weapons of war off streets as a member of the House Firearm Safety and Reform Working Group. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch appointed Hernandez to the working group in recognition of her acumen on the subject.
“Gun violence has had a terrible impact on communities across Illinois—including Aurora—and joining a group of dedicated lawmakers who are passionate on this subject is a privilege,” Hernandez said. “I can say without hesitation that our goal will be to make substantive legislative changes to crack down on gun deaths in our communities so no others have to experience the same pain we have had to deal with.”
Hernandez will join the House Democrats’ Firearm Safety and Reform Working Group, led by state Rep. Bob Morgan, who represents Highland Park, the site of the recent July 4th Parade mass shooting that left seven dead and dozens wounded. Hernandez will be joined by state Reps. La Shawn Ford, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Sonya Harper, Maura Hirschauer, Jay Hoffman, Nick Smith, Denyse Stoneback, Kathleen Willis and Lance Yednock.
The group will work with stakeholders to develop comprehensive legislation addressing access to firearms and ammunition, licensing, sales and background checks. Additional House working groups will examine intersecting issues of mental health and online extremism.
“The devastating impacts of gun violence are wide-ranging, but my thoughts often go to the thousands of kids in our community that are growing up in schools that feel less safe,” Hernandez said. “Their parents send some of them to class with bulletproof backpacks, and at school, they have regular drills to try and remain safe in case of an active shooter. They are already victims of the gun violence epidemic, and this is not the world they deserve. One of the aims of our working group is to help change that.”
HIGHLAND PARK, IL — As Illinois state lawmakers pledged to consider legislation aimed at addressing gun violence, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Monday appointed a dozen Democratic state representatives to a new gun safety working group.
State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) has been appointed to chair the House Firearm Safety Reform Working group.
“Three weeks ago, my community faced a horror that forever changed the lives of all of us at the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade. Our community had the strength to meet the moment, grieve, and recover to build a better world. Now, it’s time to act and I look forward to chairing the House Firearm Safety Reform Working Group to fulfill their mission,” Morgan said in a statement.
Morgan was waiting to ride along the July 4 parade route in Highland Park when the gunfire began. He rushed his family to safety at the Metra station before returning to scene of the shooting and helping people evacuate, he said.
“I have never been more committed to finding a solution to make sure no other town anywhere in Illinois has to go through what our town experienced,” he said. “We have the opportunity to work on creating and passing common sense legislation to reduce the violence and trauma communities across the state and the country have faced as a result of the inadequate gun laws and mental healthcare in Illinois.”
Morgan, an attorney and Deerfield resident whose legislative district office in Highwood, was elected to the state house in 2018. He previously chaired the West Deerfield Township Democrats and was the first-ever statewide coordinator for Illinois’ medical marijuana pilot program under then-Gov. Bruce Rauner.
In the weeks following the Highland Park parade shooting, Morgan has attended memorials for the victims, attended a White House ceremony last week to celebrate last month’s signing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Morgan has strongly advocated passage of a statewide ban on assault-style weapons, and on July 7 he was added as a chief co-sponsor of House Bill 5522, which defines and bans assault weapons.
As of Monday the House bill has 57 co-sponsors, not including the speaker, and 60 votes are needed for passage. The corresponding Senate Bill 2510 had 16 co-sponsors and will need 30 votes for passage.
The other appointees to the new working group are State Reps. La Shawn Ford, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Sonya Harper, Barbara Hernandez, Maura Hirshcauer, Jay Hoffman, Nick Smith, Denyse Stoneback, Kathleen Willis and Lance Yednock.
“I am incredibly honored to have the trust of my colleagues and our leadership in such a serious moment with the eyes of the nation upon us,” Morgan said. “We plan to lead our State forward and work diligently with anyone in any state or locality who wishes to put an end to the scourge of gun violence.”
Springfield, IL – Illinois’ Family Relief Plan is backed by state Rep. Jay Hoffman and several other Labor-friendly representatives, hoping to bring relief – and tax rebate checks – to working families struggling under current economic conditions.
The Family Relief Plan has suspended the state’s one-percent sales tax on groceries for one year and delayed the implementation of the state’s automatic motor fuel tax. Together those measures should save consumers $470 million.
In addition, all residents who made less than $200,000 in 2021 – $400,000 for couples – will receive income tax rebate checks, beginning in September. A single adult gets $50; couples filing jointly will receive $100; as well as $100 per dependent, up to three dependents.
Also for lower-income residents, the plan permanently expands the earned income credit from 18 to 20 percent of the federal credit and expands the number of households permitted to take the credit.
SALES TAX HOLIDAY The plan also creates a partial “sales tax holiday,” reducing sales taxes from 6.25 percent to 1.25 percent Aug. 5-14 for qualified school-related and clothing items – a back-to-school bonus for parents who will save approximately $50 million.
“On the tails of the pandemic, families are facing increased financial pressure brought on by inflation,” Hoffman said. “When putting together this year’s budget, we knew we had to put working families first and do what we could to help residents address higher costs.”
The plan also provides property tax rebates up to $300, in an amount equal to the tax credit for which they qualified on their 2021 state tax return.
Hoffman said offering $1.8 billion in relief to state residents is only possible due to responsible stewardship of state finances, and most Democratic state legislators agreed.
“Because of consistent responsible budgeting by Democrats, we’re able to cut taxes on everyday necessities like groceries and freeze taxes on gas, while also providing much-needed property tax rebates,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said. “We know people are struggling, and I’m grateful we’re able to put money back into the pockets of hardworking Illinoisans.”
PENSIONS, SCHOOLS GAIN AS WELL In addition to a balanced budget, the FY23 plan funds pensions at $500 million above the requirements and puts $1 billion into an emergency “Budget Stabilization Fund.” MAP grants are increasing from $6,438 to $8,508 for low-income college students. Funding has increased to $9.7 billion for K-12 schools, with a 10 percent increase in early childhood funding as well, according to the governor’s office.
“This will have a positive impact on those who need help the most, and it underscores the need to continue to take strong action with our finances so that we may continue to address challenges as they rise,” Hoffman said.
The Family Relief Plan was part of the FY23 budget signed in April, but it takes effect with the beginning of the new fiscal year this month. It passed out of the state House 72-42 and out of the Senate 34-19, with most opposition coming from Republicans.
The rebates will begin rolling out in September, automatically issued via the Illinois Department of Revenue. If direct deposit was used for a state tax refund last year, the rebate will also be issued by direct deposit. Taxpayers who did not receive a refund will get a paper check mailed to the address on file.
Taxpayers who did not file state income tax in 2021 who want to claim the rebate can do so at tax.illinois.gov. Checks should roll out beginning Sept. 12 and will take approximately eight weeks to distribute.
PEORIA (25 News Now) – State Representative Jehan Gordon Booth has been named one of two Democratic state representatives to serve on the Crime Reduction Task Force in Springfield.
The group aims to analyze root causes of crime and devise solutions for them, instead of focusing on “tough on crime policies.” It’s a part of a group of legislation Illinois Democrats have pushed forward as a different approach to crime, including the controversial SAFE-T Act passed last year.
Booth said she wants to bring more ideas from the Peoria area to the statewide stage. She said she’s brought several ideas to the statehouse before from both Peoria Police and former Sheriff Brian Asbell.
“Four of [Asbell’s} ideas are now state law,” Booth said. Another local initiative that combines mental health response with police response at the scene of the crime is now being tested for statewide use in Waukegan, East St Louis, Peoria and Springfield.
“[That] shows the phenomenal ideas that are coming, that are born of the leadership here in Peoria,” Booth said.
The task force has not held their first meeting yet. State law set the guideline that the group meet within 60 days of when the law became effective, which was May 10, 2022. They must meet at least four times and present their findings to the governor by March 2023.
Springfield, IL – Illinois’ Family Relief Plan is backed by state Rep. Jay Hoffman and several other Labor-friendly representatives, hoping to bring relief – and tax rebate checks – to working families struggling under current economic conditions.
Working for Illinois Caucus 