Longtime observers know that an adjournment date means little, since no bill ever, really dies in Springfield. Lawmakers still have plenty on their plates. Here’s a rundown of some items of interest to Catholics in the Springfield diocese and the other dioceses statewide.

SB 2236 — Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Terrant (D-Plainfield) is sitting on a bill with the new Invest in Kids tax credit in its cross hairs. If passed, it would disallow credits for any taxable year that begins in a state fiscal year for which the minimum statutory funding level is not met as determined by the State Board of Education.

The Invest in Kids tax credit was passed during the 2017 overtime session allowing individuals and corporations up to a 75 percent state income tax credit for making donations for scholarships to non-public schools. More than $41 million has been pledged so far. Many schools in the Springfield diocese are eligible to participate.

HB 5044/SB 3080 — In the wake of the 2014 crisis that befell the Flint, Mich., water system, House Bill 5044 and Senate Bill 3080 seek to help low-income residents acquire affordable water. It also requires communities to develop plans to remove all public and private lead-pipe lines connected to the water main within 10 years. The bills were among those where Catholics joined other activists to spotlight on Environmental Lobby Day.

SB 1657/SB 337 — Missing his deadline to override the governor’s veto, Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) employed a maneuver to buy more time by inserting the provisions of Senate Bill 1657 into Senate Bill 337 and start the process all over again and seek a compromise with Republicans and downstate Democrats before May 31. The bill would require gun dealers to pay $1,000 for a five-year license, require video surveillance, mandate that employees possess Firearm Identification (FOID) cards and undergo training to spot so-called “straw” purchases (guns bought for someone else). The governor’s veto came, in part, because the law would exempt “big box” stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Scheels.

SB 2343 — The Senate passed Senate Bill 2343 on a lopsided vote. The measure now resides in the House Rules committee. It bans the manufacture or possession of bump stocks or trigger cranks, which turn rifles into assault-style weapons used in the Las Vegas shooting last year.

HB 4469 — CCI is also monitoring House Bill 4469, which ensures that eligible voters held in a county jail are given the chance to vote via absentee ballot. The measure also requires the Illinois Department of Corrections to inform inmates, upon their release, of the reinstatement of their voting rights.

CCI contributed to this article.