- Urgent: Speak Out for School Libraries in September
- August 26, 2016
- In December 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law. ESSA replaces No Child Left Behind and, thanks to the work of library advocates, specifically includes language regarding “effective school library program…
- Kip Kolkmeier Latest Luminary
- August 26, 2016
- Anyone who cares about what happens to libraries in Illinois has had occasion to thank Kip Kolkmeier, longtime legislative consultant for the Illinois Library Association (ILA). He was hired as ILA’s lobbyist in 1996 and remains an effective vo…
- Governor Signs "Liquor in Libraries" Bill
- July 19, 2016
- On July 15, it became legal for libraries to serve alcohol during educational or cultural events, thanks to the efforts of the ILA Public Policy Committee and others. Senate Bill 399 amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934, and was signed into law by G…
- Stopgap State Budget Approval
- June 30, 2016
- The Illinois General Assembly approved legislation (Senate Bill 2047) this afternoon funding most of the FY2016 budget, and adopting a "stopgap" six-month budget for FY2017. The governor is expected to sign the legislation. While this legislation has…
- Contact Your Senator: Property Tax Freeze Legislation
- April 29, 2016
- ILA has received a number of requests to clarify the impact of the so-called "Property Tax Freeze" legislation. While several versions of a property tax freeze have been proposed by Governor Rauner and considered by the Illinois General Assembly, the…
- Tax-Capped? Read on for Possible Relief...
- February 24, 2016
- Q: Under what circumstances are public library districts eligible to receive reimbursement for tax caps imposed under tax increment financing (TIF) districts? A: Public Library Districts are entitled to reimbursement for residents in a TIF district c…
- CARLI to Sponsor Free Preconference at IACRL Conference
- February 10, 2016
- CARLI, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois, is presenting a free preconference in conjunction with the IACRL Conference. Curriculum Mapping: A CARLI-Sponsored IACRL Preconference, will be held Thursday, March 17, 2016 at the…
- Derek Blaida to Join ILA's Advocacy Team
- December 21, 2015
- The ILA Executive Board has approved a proposal from our long-time Legislative Counsel, Kip Kolkmeier, to expand our efforts in Springfield by adding lobbyist Derek Blaida to our advocacy team. Blaida is a highly experienced local government advocate…
- 14% of the US Population Can't Read this Post
- December 9, 2015
- 14% of the US population can't read this post because they're illiterate. Without what most of us consider to be a basic skill, adults and children in your community are isolated from modern technology and unable to develop other fundamental skills n…
- Progress on State Library Grant Funding
- December 7, 2015
- Today the Illinois Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill (SB) 2039 which was approved by the Illinois House of Representatives last week. This legislation appropriates a little more than half of the proposed budget for Fiscal 2016 library grants, inc…
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