August 13, 2015

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois Senate,

99th General Assembly:

Today I veto Senate Bill 1360 from the 99th General Assembly, which would increase the cost and burdens of doing business in Cook County.

Under current law, a business that operates with an assumed name is required to register that name with the Secretary of State and each county in which the business operates. The business is also required to renew that registration with the Secretary of State – and pay a renewal fee to the State – periodically. This bill would require the business to also renew its registration with Cook County, but no other county, every five years and pay a renewal fee to Cook County. 

This new mandate and fee would apply mostly to small businesses. The economic climate in Illinois is already detrimental to business, particularly small business. Over and over, we hear small businesses report that they are overburdened with regulations and fees, which hamper their ability to expand and impose barriers to entry.

Moreover, the need for the bill is not apparent. The Secretary of State maintains a thorough and current online database of business registrations and assumed names. We should be exploring ways to consolidate and eliminate redundant filing requirements between the State and local governments, rather than expanding them.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1360, entitled “AN ACT concerning business”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR