Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, gives an impassioned speech as he denounces the riot at the U.S. Capitol during the lame-duck session for the Illinois House of Representatives on Tuesday at the Bank of Springfield Center. Later, Butler voted against a bill in House Executive Committee that would expand vote-by-mail provisions. Butler said the bill fails to provide adequate security to ensure election integrity.
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House Executive Committee advanced an election bill that would make permanent some of the expansions to mail-in voting that were passed for the 2020 general election.
The bill would require election authorities to accept mail-in ballots that were submitted without sufficient postage and allow election authorities to set up collection sites or drop-boxes that accept ballots without postage.
Lawmakers approved those measures last spring for the 2020 election in order to accommodate concerns about voting in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic. But those earlier expansions of mail-in voting expired on Jan. 1.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, said those vote-by-mail provisions were successful in the 2020 general election and should continue in the upcoming consolidated elections. The consolidated primary election is scheduled for Feb. 23.
“This will be permanent because our election authorities who chose to use it found it was successful,” Stuart said.
The bill would also allow local election authorities to continue the use of curbside voting during early voting or on Election Day.
It would not require local election offices to mail or email vote-by-mail ballot applications to voters who cast a ballot in previous elections. This measure was included in the previous vote-by-mail law for the 2020 general election but will not be extended.
In order for a ballot returned to a drop-box to be counted in an election, it must be returned before voting closes on Election Day.
Some Republicans on the House Executive Committee said the bill’s requirement that the state Board of Elections provide guidance, rather than rules, for securing collection sites does not go far enough to provide security.
Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, who raised similar concerns about the previous vote-by-mail bill, said the bill should require the ISBE to create rules for drop-box security.
“I think this is important for election integrity, and for people to know that in this state when they drop off the ballot, that nothing is going to happen. And I think we as the Legislature need to give an executive branch agency with oversight of our elections much more clarification as to how these boxes should be built,” Butler said.
The bill, Senate Bill 145, moved to the full House floor, with Democratic committee members voting in favor and Republican members voting against it.
Photos: The career of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan
December 2013
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, gives his opening remarks on the pension reform bill, SB1, on the floor on the House at the Illinois State Capitol, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. The bill passed both the House and the Senate and is planned to eliminate the state's $100 billion pension shortfall. (AP Photo/The State Journal-Register, Justin L. Fowler)
March 2014
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, center front, poses for a photo after meeting with police chiefs, sheriffs, and state's attorneys who are lobbying to maintain funding for early education and youth programs.
March 2014
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, top, and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, bottom, shake hands in 2014 before Quinn delivers the State Budget Address to a joint session of the General Assembly in the House chambers.
April 2014
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appear before an Illinois House committee meeting in Chicago.
May 2014
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, left and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago talk at the Capitol in 2014.
December 2013
In this Dec. 5, 2013 file photo, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn hands off a pen during the signing of the pension overhaul legislation bill in Chicago.
January 2015
Retired Justice Alan J. Greiman delivers the oath of office to House Speaker Michael Madigan during the inauguration of the state House in January 2015 on the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield.
January 2015
In this Jan. 12, 2015, photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, center left, shakes hands Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan after inauguration ceremonies in Springfield.
February 2015
In this Feb. 4, 2015, file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, right, reaches to shake the hand of House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, after delivering his first state of the state address at the Capitol in Springfield.
August 2015
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks to supporters during a Democrats Day rally at the Illinois State Fair in August 2015 in Springfield.
October 2015
In this Oct. 20 2015 file photo, Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks to lawmakers at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.
April 2016
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks to reporters while heading into Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's office for a meeting in April 2016 at the Capitol in Springfield.
May 2016
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, answers questions along with Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, right, during a press conference in front of Gov. Bruce Rauner's office after a leaders meeting on the final day of the spring legislative session at the state Capitol, Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in Springfield, Ill.
November 2016
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks to reporters outside Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's office at the Illinois State Capitol during veto session Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, in Springfield, Ill.
July 2017
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, looks up towards the video boards during the overtime session at the state Capitol in Springfield in July 2017.
Illinois Legislature
In this July 26, 2017, file photo, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Springfield.
August 2017
In this Aug. 28, 2017, file photo, Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, looks out over the floor of the Illinois House at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
August 2018
In this Aug. 16, 2018, file photo, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, speaks in Springfield, Ill.
January 2019
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, shakes hands with Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, after being elected as the Illinois Speaker of the House during the inauguration ceremony for the Illinois House of Representatives for the 101st General Assembly at the University of Illinois Springfield's Sangamon Auditorium in January 2019.
January 2019
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, visits with House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, and Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker prior to to the inauguration ceremony for the Illinois House of Representatives for the 101st General Assembly at the University of Illinois at Springfield's Sangamon Auditorium on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019.
2019
House Speaker Mike Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, is pictured speaking to graduate students in the University of Illinois Springfield’s Public Affairs Reporting program at the Statehouse in 2019.
June 2019
House Speaker Michael Madigan, top row, second from right, D-Chicago, listens to debate on the state budget in the House at the State Capitol in June 2019.
May 2020
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, talks on his cellphone from his desk during an extended session of the Illinois House of Representatives at the Bank of Springfield Center, Saturday, May 23, 2020, in Springfield.
January 2021
In this Jan. 8, 2021, file photo, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan appears on the floor as the Illinois House of Representatives convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center, in Springfield, Ill. House Speaker Madigan on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, said he was “suspending” his campaign for a 19th term in the leadership post.
