The Illinois Court Reporters Association (ILCRA) has reported that Floor Amendment 001 to Illinois Senate Bill 1105 has been pulled from consideration and is dead for this session. The amendment was sponsored by outside electronic and digital recording organizations, which aimed to repeal the Illinois Certified Shorthand Reporters Act of 1984, supersede proper licensing requirements that have been in place for decades, and sought to implement electronic and digital recording in the state.
This bill was pulled from the calendar due to a tremendous grassroots effort. With the collaboration of NCRA, ILCRA, and court reporters across the state of Illinois, calls and emails to state senate offices caused the Illinois Senate Judiciary to pull the bill in less than five hours. This was evidence of the power of grassroots advocacy; when we come together, we can effect immediate change.
NCRA President Debbie Dibble, RDR, CRR, CRC, stated that “this is an accomplishment and success that cannot be defined nor weighed in the grand scheme of what this legislation could have foreshadowed for our profession. The impacts of this bill would have been felt deeply with potentially catastrophic consequences throughout the industry. We simply cannot sing higher praise nor extend more gratitude for our NCRA Government Relations team, Dave Wenhold and Jocelynn Moore, for their heroic efforts in leading the troops, as well as the Illinois stenographic community that heard the call and created such an overwhelming tsunami of grassroots effort that a bill was killed in a weekend. This is what it’s all about! This accomplishment by these valiant members of our profession and community indeed changed our collective world today. I hope you will join me in extending gratitude without measure for what they did for us all in these few critical hours. Thank you, Dave, Jocelynn, and Illinois!”
NCRA Government Relations would not have been able to implement an immediate and effective grassroots strategy without the help of ILCRA and without the use of our new grassroots advocacy software, which allows NCRA members to engage with the state and federal advocacy campaigns that NCRA Government Relations is engaged in. To take a look at our new software and to stay up to date on NCRA’s state and federal advocacy campaigns, please visit the NCRA Take Action Advocacy Center. More in-depth information about our Take Action Advocacy Center will be released soon.
Lastly, we urge you to consider attending NCRA’s Leadership & Legislative Bootcamp in 2023 to learn how you can become a more effective grassroots lobbyist! Visit here for more information.
