A month ago, we highlighted several interesting bills in the General Assembly that had been passed by their originating chamber.  The next hurdle for these measures is passing out of committee in the opposite chamber.  Here's an update on what made the cut this week:

Health/ Human Services: A key TANF reform bill introduced by Rep. Will Burns to help ease enrollment criteria (HB 2383) passed out of the Senate Human Services committee. Meanwhile, Rep. Sara Feigenholtz's companion reform (HB 745) was held.

Housing: Homeowners facing foreclosure could soon be able to tap into state funds through Rep. Esther Golar's (HB 2653) proposed amendment to the Homelessness Prevention Act, which also cleared the Senate Human Services Committee.

Environment: The bill that Environment Illinois' Max Muller told us is his group's top legislative priority, Rep. Julie Hamos' Energy Efficient Commercial Building Act (HB 3987), passed out of the Senate Environment Committee. The measure aims to curbs greenhouse gases by forcing homes to adhere to the same high-efficiency standards as new commercial projects. Also passd by that committee: Rep. Karen May made headway with her proposal (HB 2437) to expand the Green Clean Schools Act to all state-owned buildings. We also noticed an interesting resolution introduced by Rep. Heather Steans (SJR 36) that would help usher in a "green capital plan" by requiring builders accepting state funds to adhere to LEED standards. It passed out of the Senate and will now be taken up by the House.

Criminal Justice: Despite some intense lobbying by the law enforcement community, Sen. Kwame Raoul found support in the House Judiciary Committee his proposal to form a commission (SB 48) that will investigate allegations of torture under former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge's leadership.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF): The Senate Revenue Committee gave the green light to Rep. John Fritchey's (HB 4326) measure forcing companies that receive TIF funds to pay up if they renege on their end of the contract.

Next week, lawmakers will hold another round of hearings and dozens of proposals are already on the docket. These and other bills will have to make it out of committee and onto the floor for a vote before May 22. The session will conclude on May 31.

Among the bills we'll be watching closely are Rep. Cynthia Soto's proposal (HB 363) to reform the school closure process in Chicago. Incidentally, some of the bill's proponents are holding out hope that teeth will be added to the measure since the moratorium provision was recently stripped from the bill. Also on tap next Tuesday is Burn's (HB 3863) legislation to extend protections to renters who are entangled in the foreclosure crisis. As an aside, momentum may be building for Rep. Greg Harris' (HB 3923) crackdown on unfair billing practices by the health insurance industry; the measure was granted a third-reading deadline of May 31. More on that to come.