ILA E-Newsletter

Legislative Update -- June 25, 2020
June 25, 2020
This week, as Illinois heads toward Phase 4 of Governor Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan, both the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Board of Higher Education have released guidelines for potential …
Legislative Update -- June 18, 2020
June 18, 2020
Earlier this week we sent out a special legislative update, with good news about the increased funding for per capita grants for school and public libraries in the budget for fiscal year 2021. This very welcome success, however, does come in the cont…
Special Legislative Update -- June 16, 2020
June 16, 2020
We are especially pleased to announce that Governor Pritzker signed the FY2020-21 budget (Public Act 101-0638) on June 12, 2020, and that this budget includes increases in the per capita grant rate for both school and public libraries, from…
From Statements to Action: ILA Condemns Racism and Violence
June 4, 2020
Today, we are called to address current events—specifically, to condemn the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers, and Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of self-appointed white vigilantes. These may be well beyond t…
Legislative Update -- May 28, 2020
May 28, 2020
The Illinois General Assembly completed its four-day special session with the passage of the FY2021 budget and appropriations package, including the Secretary of State's requested budget; and several omnibus amendments designed for COVID-19 resp…
ILA Executive Director Announces Bigger Than A Building Campaign
May 6, 2020
We started this new month by announcing something that we hope will help our community continue to stay strong during this pandemic, the Bigger Than A Building Campaign. Bigger Than A Building is two-fold. First, it’s designed to increase …
Legislative Update -- April 9, 2020
April 9, 2020
The ILA Public Policy and Advocacy Committees met on Monday and to no one's surprise, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on libraries was the main focus of discussion. In Illinois, the General Assembly stands adjourned as Governor Pritzker’s …
Legislative Update -- March 26, 2020
March 26, 2020
On the federal level, the Senate has passed the third funding bill aimed at emergency relief with regard to COVID-19; it includes $50 million for libraries that will be disseminated via the existing Grants to States program, with the state matching r…
Legislative Update -- March 19, 2020
March 19, 2020
Macmillan Abandons Library Ebook Embargo On Tuesday, March 17, John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan Publishers, announced that effective Friday, March 20, they will return to the library ebook pricing model that was in effect on October 31, …
ILA Statement On Library Closures
March 16, 2020
3/16/2020 ILA Statement on Library Closures In light of Governor Pritzker's recent closing of Illinois public schools, restaurants, and bars, his disaster proclamation, and recommendation to avoid  large gatherings, as well a…
iREAD Summer Reading Programs

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