Kendall County Times

Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-North Aurora) recently thanked Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) for sponsoring a bill that would divest state pension fund investments from Russian-based companies.

"This was a back and forth and a good faith effort among our staff to get to an agreed place with this bill. I want to thank you again for this, Rep. LaPointe. This is what we’re supposed to be doing — collaboration," Wheeler said from the House floor. "We do resolutions for things we feel. But this is a bill that actually does something. This is the action we take because of those resolutions. There are elements of this bill that in collaboration and conversation bring forth a whole cybersecurity element that is vital for us going forward to maintain our sovereignty as a nation and state. This is something we should be engaged with and grateful for. I urge an aye vote." 

House Bill 1293 passed in the House on April 5 unanimously with 114 yes votes. It moved on to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and has been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee. 

“This is not a situation where we can sit back and ignore what's happening,” LaPointe said of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbor, NBC5 reported. “It is now time for us to do what we can here in Illinois.”

LaPointe is the chief sponsor of House Bill 1293. She is joined by 30 colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, as co-sponsors. “This bill in itself is not going to end the war in Ukraine but it’s a way to harness our collective power and do everything we can in Illinois to make a statement to support the Ukrainian people,” LaPointe said, the Associated Press reported.

The bill would also create the Money Laundering in Real Estate Task Force and the Illinois Elections and Infrastructure Integrity Task Force ahead of the 2024 election to prepare for and prevent potential cyberattacks on state infrastructure.