Illinois will be the 16th
 state to abolish the death penalty,
beginning Friday.Jeremy Schroeder, executive director of the
Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, a grass-roots
organization that pushed for the abolition of the state's death
penalty since 1976, said Gov. Pat Quinn, who signed the bill into
law in March, ordered life sentences for anyone on death row,
including defendants in a handful of death penalty cases statewide.
"It's certainly kind of a sad waste of taxpayer money, knowing
that those people aren't going to be placed on death row," added
Schroeder.
However, the law's effective date likely will go unnoticed, said
Schroeder.
"Most Illinoisans didn't think we had the death penalty," he
said. Illinois has not executed a prisoner in more than 10 years.
Online shoppers will pay the state's sales tax when they buy from
online stores that do not have a physical store in Illinois. Rates
start at 6.25 percent, but vary depending on local communities.
Illinois' so-called Amazon Tax, which takes effect Friday, drove
online retailer Fat Wallet out of the state. The Web-based coupon
and deals site moved its 56 employees from outside of Rockford to
Beloit, Wis.
"We said all along (the tax) was going to affect a pretty good
chunk of our bottom line, and we'd have to relocate if it was
passed," said Fat Wallet spokesman Brent Shelton. "So we did."
Shelton said he wants the state-by-state spat over online sales
taxes to end and be replaced with a national online tax to level the
playing field.
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But it's not all weighty issues that prompted new laws. Friday
also brings a new requirement for bitter-tasting antifreeze. The law
is a result of concerned pet owners and the deadly consequences of
"sweet" antifreeze.
"Antifreeze, people tell me -- I've never really tasted it -- has
a very sweet flavor about it. Some dogs and cats like the taste of
it," said Dr. Byron McCall, a Springfield-area veterinarian. "If the
car leaks a little antifreeze in the garage, the dogs and cats lick
it up."
McCall said antifreeze is toxic and causes fatal kidney failure
in pets. Illinois joins a dozen other states in requiring that a
bitter-tasting ingredient be added to antifreeze.
Other new laws target drivers who refuse to take a breathalyzer
test after causing a wreck while driving under the influence of
alcohol; criminals who harm children; and pension eligibility for
Chicago teachers.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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