104th ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois General Assembly remains adjourned for the summer. Veto Session is scheduled for October 14 – 16 and 28 – 30.
The House Executive Committee will hold a hearing on July 8 in the Bilandic Building in Chicago to discuss HB 4017.
(Amends the School Finance Authority Act of the School Code. Reinstates the School Finance Authority and reverts any powers, duties, rights, or property granted to the Chicago Board of Education upon the abolition of the original Authority established by the Article back to the Authority.)
Please note that the new ILGA website is now fully operational. New login credentials are required to track legislation and witness slips.
GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
Governor Pritzker selected Christian Mitchell as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor. Mitchell, a former three-term state representative, is currently a First Lieutenant in the Illinois Air National Guard. He served as Deputy Governor for over four years, during which he played a key role in the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
New Laws: The Governor signed the following legislation into law this week.
HB 1697, which creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, bans spread pricing and steering by PBMs to pharmacies they own or control and limits the misclassification of commonly used medications as “specialty drugs.” It also requires that the contract between a PBM and a health insurer include a provision requiring an annual compliance audit of the PBM. PBMs found non-compliant with these provisions will now be required to pay $10,000 per day per offense, rather than $1,000 per day per offense, for each offense. The bill streamlines the Critical Access Pharmacy program, administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which assists pharmacies in rural and underserved communities. The bill also establishes a new $25 million grant through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the creation of the Prescription Drug Affordability Grant program, which will support independent pharmacists.
HB 3019, which creates the Healthcare Protection Expansion Act, builds on Governor Pritzker’s Health Care Protection Act, passed last year, by further strengthening consumer protections in health insurance coverage through increased transparency in coverage decisions, reduced surprise billing, and expanded access to essential health benefits. The legislation expands the ban on prior authorization for additional mental health services, including outpatient mental health services and partial hospitalization services. It also addresses the needs of rural communities by requiring insurers to reimburse patients for reasonable travel-related costs when they must travel beyond network adequacy limits to receive in-network care. The bill also prohibits insurance companies from including items such as executive compensation beyond base salary, surplus profit, or costs associated with lifestyle management apps in their Medical Loss Ratio, clarifying that these items are not “medical care.”
HB 2327 provides an exemption to the Child Labor Law, allowing minors 14 years of age or older to work as scorers at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta for the U.S. Open and the Grand American Trapshooting Championships.
HB 2488 eliminates references to a federal program in the Equal Pay Act to ensure that federal changes do not undermine the state requirement that private employers with 100 or more employees report on employee wages by gender and race/ethnicity.
HB 2967 strengthens coordination to ensure dual credit programs are aligned with higher education institutions.
HB 3096 designates a FAFSA point person at each high school to enhance support for families.
HB 3097 increases access and equity by requiring schools to designate time during the school day to provide support on the FAFSA process.
HB 3339 extends the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act to 2028 and allows for the cameras to be used in investigations of human trafficking and involuntary servitude.
HB 3522 streamlines the admissions process, eliminates unnecessary application fees, and expands access to postsecondary education through a new direct admissions program.
HB 3760 establishes a designated hunting season for the Gray Fox. It allows the Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to adjust the season’s length to manage the Gray Fox population effectively.
SB 28 amends the School Code. In a provision regarding an optional alternative evaluative dismissal process for teacher evaluations, it removes the definition of and references to “student growth components.”
SB 108 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to make permanent a pilot program for assessment waivers for violations of the Vehicle Code in counties with a population of more than 3,000,000.
SB 852 eliminates failure-to-appear driver license suspensions for minor traffic offenses that only carry a fine. Still, it allows a failure-to-appear license suspension for traffic offenses punishable by imprisonment or when the incident involved a fatality.
SB 1344 establishes financial penalties for contractors who fail to file payroll reports in violation of the Prevailing Wage Act and codifies that the Prevailing Wage Act applies to sewer inspection projects.
SB 1764 makes several updates and changes to the Illinois State Police Civil Administrative Code to aid in modernizing the statutory authority and mission of the Illinois State Police.
SB 2108 transfers the Motor Carrier Safety Administration Program from the Illinois Department of Transportation to the Illinois State Police.
SB 2266 clarifies authority for regulating non-community water supplies.
Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery: The newly formed Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) is now operational within the Illinois Department of Human Services. This division combines the former Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR) and Division of Mental Health (DMH). Governor Pritzker signed an Executive Order in February 2025 to create the new division to improve access to behavioral health care and reduce administrative burdens for providers. Dr. David Albert is the Director of DBHR, while Dr. Rafael Rivera serves as the Assistant Director. All former employees of SUPR and DMH are now part of the integrated division.
Tourism Grants Awarded: Governor JB Pritzker and DCEO announced $6.3 million in grants to 36 recipients through three programs: Route 66 Grant Program ($4 million), Tourism Attractions Grant Program ($1.7 million), and Tourism Private Sector Grant Program ($600,000). This effort aims to boost tourism and attract more visitors to Illinois. Read more here.
IDFPR Online Licensing: The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced that 18 additional professions can now be licensed through its new online system, CORE (Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment), completing Phase 2.2 of the project. This phase aims to transition license types that were previously only available via paper applications to CORE, streamlining the licensing process.
Applicants for these newly added professions are encouraged to use the online system. The additional licenses include roles such as Acupuncture Continuing Education Sponsor, Funeral Director and Embalmer Continuing Education Sponsor, and Genetic Counselor, among others. A total of 46 initial professional license applications are now available on CORE, with more methods and license types set to be added soon. Read more (including a full list of additional licenses added to CORE) here.
Lead Testing: The Illinois Department of Public Health expanded its list of ZIP codes requiring lead exposure testing for children, adding 180 new codes from 47 counties. This raises the total to over 1,350 high-risk ZIP codes. By next year, all remaining ZIP codes in Illinois will be included, implementing statewide universal childhood lead testing. Read more here.
Illinois Department on Aging: The Illinois Department on Aging has announced that Michelle Hoersch will assume the role of Chief Planning Officer. In this position, she will oversee the development and implementation of the multi-year Multi-Sector Plan for Aging.
Human Rights Commission: Mony Ruiz-Velasco was appointed as a member of the Human Rights Commission. She is a human rights advocate, attorney, organizer, and community leader. Currently, she serves as the Special Advisor on immigration and LGBTQ+ issues at the Illinois Department of Human Services. Previously, she held the position of Deputy Director at Equality Illinois, the state’s oldest and most effective LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, where she worked to promote equality for all LGBTQ+ individuals in Illinois.
OTHER NEWS:
2026 Election Update: State Representative Hoan Huynh has filed paperwork to run for the 9th Congressional District seat held by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. He won his first statehouse race in 2022. Huynh plans a kick-off rally on Tuesday.
State Representative Jed Davis announced he will seek reelection to the Illinois House. He had been contemplating challenging Congresswoman Lauren Underwood.
Democrat Ricky Rivard, a real estate agent, announced his candidacy for the 65th House District. The district is currently represented by Republican Dan Ugaste, who is considering a run for governor.
Conservative Republican Stephanie Trussell announced she will challenge Representative Terra Costa Howard. Trussell ran as Darren Bailey’s running mate in the 2022 gubernatorial election.
Representative Regan Deering announced she will seek reelection.
Comptroller’s Report: Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza’s new report indicates that for fiscal year 2025, the state paid its bills on time and increased the Rainy Day Fund to record levels. The Illinois Office of the Comptroller released all pending bills, resulting in a cash balance of $1.9 billion in the General Revenue Fund at the end of the year. The Rainy Day Fund received over $256 million, with an additional $166 million projected within the next year, potentially exceeding $2.5 billion by the end of fiscal year 2026. Mendoza suggests making further payments to the pension system and the Rainy Day Fund during prosperous years. With anticipated healthy balances this fiscal year, she plans to utilize a law that permits prepayment of monthly pension obligations.
CGFA Revenue Report: General Fund revenues fell short of expected levels but were offset by strong performance in certain state revenue sources at the end of the fiscal year. FY 2025 General Fund receipts totaled $53.998 billion, an increase of $435 million compared to the previous June and above the Commission’s projection of $53.931 billion.
Personal Income Tax experienced significant growth of $445 million, primarily due to business reallocations, while Corporate Income Tax decreased by $113 million as business taxes were shifted to Personal Income Tax. Sales Tax increased by $50 million, while “All Other State Sources” rose by $29 million despite declines in some areas.
Transfers In grew by $40 million, driven by Sports Wagering and gains from gaming and lottery sources. Federal Sources, which lagged throughout the year, increased by $49 million in June.
In summary, FY 2025 ended positively with total revenues increasing by $435 million, mainly due to a rise in Personal Income Tax and strong performances in Sales Tax and other state sources. Read the full report here.
Federal Education Funding Cut: The Trump administration announced it is withholding over $6 billion in federal education grants previously approved by Congress, impacting school districts’ plans for the fall. This decision, notified to state education officials a day before the funding deadline, is a result of a review of the FY 2025 funding. The withheld funds include significant allocations for English learners, support for the children of migrant workers, teacher training, and before- and after-school programs. Illinois is set to lose over $240 million, with the most significant cuts affecting Title II-A (teacher development) and Title IV-A (technology improvements in schools).