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 The Illinois General Assembly ended its Spring session on May 4, 2006 nearly one month after its originally scheduled adjournment date. Credit unions were spared from any adverse proposals in the FY07 Budget. There were no further sweeps from the Credit Union Fund, and no fee escalations imposed on the industry.
2006 marked the second year of the 94th General Assembly and was an intentionally shortened schedule. As a result, lawmakers focused primarily on the budget and "emergency" legislation, and were informed by legislative leaders to limit themselves to as few as three bills per member. Still, nearly 3,000 new bills were filed for consideration. ICUL and credit unions were challenged by attempting to resolve the litigation over regulatory fees through the passage of a legislative initiative. In pursuing a credit union friendly legislative agenda, ICUL dealt with nearly 300 bills that potentially had some impact on credit unions and/or their operations.
SB 2495 was introduced by ICUL and its co-plaintiffs as part of a dual-track strategy to settle the regulatory fee issues legislatively, during the pendency of the lawsuit. The measure rolled back regulatory fees 27 1/2% to their pre-2004 budget bill escalation levels and prohibited excess fee sweeps from the financial institution dedicated funds to the General Revenue Fund. With its co-plaintiffs, ICUL regularly met with Administration officials from the Governor’s office to lobby for passage of the measure. While it passed the Senate on a 51-0 vote and had 66 sponsors in the House, it was unfortunately held in the House Rules Committee. Without a legislative resolution during the Spring Session, ICUL will move forward with the pending litigation. It is possible settlement discussions will resume closer to the Fall Session, when the General Assembly returns to Springfield after the November elections.
Now that the General Assembly has adjourned, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) may issue regulatory fee invoices to state-chartered credit unions with some amount of a fee credit (as required by Section 12 of the Illinois Credit Union Act). Absent any credit, the ICUL Board has authorized management to pursue additional litigation against the state. In the meantime, the Division of Financial Institutions has advised ICUL that credit unions should not be concerned about late payment assessments. Watch for a future Regulatory Action Alert on this issue as more information becomes available.
Another legislative measure in which credit unions played a very active part was SB 482, Amendment #5, amending the Real Estate Appraiser Act. Due in large part to the movement’s grassroots efforts, legislative leaders agreed to hold SB 482 and conduct meetings over the summer to further review the bill. If approved, Amendment #5 would have eliminated the existing exemption from procuring a licensed appraisal for real estate loans under $250,000.
One bright spot during this legislative session and election year has been the strong support of Illinois State Treasurer, long-time friend of credit unions, and now Gubernatorial candidate, Judy Baar Topinka. Topinka provided a successful kick-off to ICUL’s annual Legislative Day event at which more than 150 credit union officials from throughout Illinois attended in Springfield on March 28. Her remarks were capped off by signing a "Statement of Support" indicating her ongoing support of credit unions' tax-exempt status as well as her pledge to reduce credit union regulatory fees, and prevent further raids against the Credit Union Fund once elected Governor. The event also featured several other legislative speakers, including IDFPR Division of Financial Institutions Acting Director, Gina DeCiani, and her staff, visits to the State Capitol, and a reception at the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Click here to view a photo collage from the event.
Topinka was also featured at this year’s Chapter Leaders Conference, where she reiterated her strong support of credit unions to nearly 100 chapter officials representing all of ICUL’s 26 chapters around the state. This year’s conference was hosted by the Joseph S. DeRamus Chapter in Countryside, which happens to be Topinka’s area of hometown support. In addition to addressing the group, Topinka also took time out of her busy schedule to take many photos with those in attendance. The Credit Union Political Action Council (CUPAC) is working to provide credit unions with more opportunities to learn about her support first-hand.
After analyzing the Governor’s race, CUPAC has recommended support of Topinka. She has pledged (upon her election) to provide adequate staffing of the Credit Union Section of the Division of Financial Institutions, and develop a positive business climate that will encourage Illinois credit unions to remain state-chartered institutions. Topinka also pledged to roll back excess credit union regulatory fees and protect the dedicated credit union fund from future raids.
To demonstrate credit unions’ support for Topinka, CUPAC is asking you to assist in a grassroots effort to elect her as Illinois’ next governor. CUPAC has mailed a participation form, sample newsletter article and a support flyer to all credit unions, asking for their commitment to participate by July 31. We encourage you to share this information with your membership by completing as many of the following action steps as possible:
- Include the sample article in your newsletter
- Post the flyer at a prominent place in your credit union
- Place the flyer at teller stations as a handout
- Volunteer a few hours or a few days to assist in campaign work (unpaid)
- Remind members to vote on November 7th
“Notifying your membership of the strong support credit unions have received from long-time friend Judy Baar Topinka is an excellent way to demonstrate the ‘people helping people’ philosophy of credit unions,” said Tory Eckstein, CUPAC Chairman.
Watch for more details from ICUL as the election year progresses and check the Web site.
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