North Cook News

Mark L. Walker introduced SB1538 in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 4, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Renewable Energy Production District Act. Changes the definition of "renewable energy facility" to include, among other things, small modular reactors. Defines "small modular reactor". Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Renewable Energy Production District Act in Illinois to expand the definition of a "renewable energy facility" by including small modular reactors. It provides a definition for "small modular reactor," specifying it as an advanced nuclear reactor with a rated nameplate capacity of 300 electrical megawatts or less, allowing for the possibility of multiple reactors being constructed and operated at a single site. The amendment aims to broaden the types of energy sources qualifying as renewable within the scope of the Act. The bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Mark L. Walker has proposed another two bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Walker graduated from Brown University with a BA.

Mark L. Walker is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 27th Senate District. He replaced previous state senator Ann Gillespie in 2024.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
SB1538	02/04/2025	Amends the Renewable Energy Production District Act. Changes the definition of "renewable energy facility" to include, among other things, small modular reactors. Defines "small modular reactor". Effective immediately.
SB1512	02/04/2025	Creates the Consumer Financial Protection Law. Creates the Financial Protection Fund. Sets forth provisions concerning findings and purpose, exemptions, administration of the provisions, funds, supervision, registration requirements, consumer protection, cybersecurity, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering, enforcement, procedures, and rulemaking. Defines terms. Makes conforming changes in the Freedom of Information Act and the State Finance Act. Changes the name of the Financial Institutions Code to the Financial Institutions Act. Sets forth additional powers and duties of the Division of Financial Institutions. Sets forth provisions concerning court orders, penalty of perjury, character and fitness of licensees, and consent orders and settlement agreements. Removes specified provisions. Defines terms. Makes other changes. Makes a conforming change in the Collection Agency Act. Amends the Currency Exchange Act, the Sales Finance Agency Act, the Debt Management Service Act, the Consumer Installment Loan Act, and the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act. Changes application, license, and examination fees. Effective January 1, 2026.
SB1514	02/04/2025	Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may certify a taxpayer for an exemption from any State or local use tax or retailers' occupation tax on building materials that will be incorporated into real estate at a megaproject site. Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that a retailer that makes a qualified sale of building materials to be incorporated into real estate at a megaproject site may deduct the receipts from such sales when calculating the taxes imposed by those Acts. Amends the Property Tax Code. Creates the Megaproject Assessment Freeze and Payment Law. Provides that a "megaproject" is a project that meets certain investment and job creation specifications. Provides that the megaproject property is eligible for an assessment freeze. Provides that megaproject property may be granted an abatement. Provides that a company that operates a megaproject shall enter into an agreement with the municipality in which the project is located and other local taxing districts to make certain special payments. Effective July 1, 2025.