Chicago City Wire

Aarón M. Ortíz introduced HB3085 in the Illinois House on Feb. 6, 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 Grocery Initiative Act. Defines "independently owned" and "local ownership"."

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

In essence, the bill amends the Grocery Initiative Act to define terms such as "independently owned," indicating that an applicant can own a limited number of grocery stores (up to four in municipalities with fewer than 1 million residents and up to 10 in larger areas) and employ a limited number of people. It also specifies "local ownership" as being primarily located in Illinois. The bill defines food deserts based on poverty and geographical criteria, such as distance from grocery stores, and allows for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to designate areas as food deserts using data like poverty metrics. It clarifies the criteria for a grocery store, such as its primary business, revenue from tobacco and alcohol, classification under a North American Industry code, and acceptance of federal nutrition benefits. Additionally, it defines and distinguishes between rural and urban tracts and outlines what constitutes a local governmental unit and a not-for-profit organization.

Ortiz graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013 with a BA.

Aaron M. Ortiz is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 1st House District. He replaced previous state representative Daniel J. Burke in 2019.

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
HB3085	02/06/2025	Amends the Grocery Initiative Act. Defines "independently owned" and "local ownership".
HB3081	02/06/2025	Amends the School Code. Creates the Out-of-School Time (OST) Advisory Council for the purpose of providing information and advice to the Governor and State agencies regarding State and federal policy and funding issues affecting out of school time programs. Sets forth membership, co-chairperson's and meetings. Provides that the OST Advisory Council shall: (1) provide information on the status of funding provided for OST programs in each fiscal year; (2) provide recommendations on legislative and administrative action needed to ensure that funding for before and after school programs is allocated promptly to qualified providers of OST programs; (3) provide information on the quality of services and accountability measures that are appropriate for school-age children and youth; (4) provide information regarding challenges faced by OST programs that impede the provision of the best possible services; (5) provide recommendations on the equitable reach of OST programs to ensure that the State has policies in place that promote access to the children and youth most in need of services; (6) make recommendations to the Governor and State agencies on reporting requirements, priority points, statewide evaluation, and licensure for OST programs; and (7) create and deliver to the Governor and General Assembly an annual report on statewide successes in OST and areas of growth for the future. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3082	02/06/2025	Appropriates $50,000,000 to the State Board of Education for the purpose of providing grants for community learning centers to support afterschool programs and community schools. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3083	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois TRUST Act. Adds schools and school employees to provisions regarding law enforcement agencies and law enforcement officials. Defines "school".
HB3084	02/06/2025	Amends the Downstate Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act (Article 20 of the Code) is adopted and made a part of the Downstate Firefighter Article, but only with respect to a person who, on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act, is entitled under the Downstate Firefighter Article to begin receiving a retirement annuity or survivor's annuity and who elects to proceed under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State.