104th ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois House adjourned on Wednesday, with Thursday and Friday sessions canceled. The Senate was off this week, and will return on Tuesday, April 1 (at 4 pm ) through Thursday, April 3. Note that only seven session days remain to consider Senate Bills for final passage before the April 11 Third Reading deadline. Meanwhile, the House is off next week — returning on Monday April 7 (at noon) with just five days to consider House bills for final passage ahead of the deadline.
This week, the House focused on moving bills from Second to Third Reading and considering floor amendments at the committee and floor level. No House Bills on Third Reading have been debated by that chamber yet. House Democrats were advised in caucus to prioritize their top five bills for consideration before the Third Reading deadline. Members with more than five bills pending on the House calendar were encouraged to share their bills with other members who have fewer bills on the calendar.
After last week’s committee deadline, the Senate extended the deadline for 569 Senate Bills. The House has not extended the deadline for any of its bills and has re-referred legislation that did not advance out of committee back to the House Rules Committee — with the exception of a few bills assigned to appropriation committees (although they do not have extended deadlines). The full list of Senate committee deadline extensions is here.
Several Senate committees held subject matter hearings this week despite the chamber not being in session.
Representative Ness filed HJR 24 which creates the Child Welfare Agency Liability Task Force to develop a permanent solution to the unavailability of liability insurance for child welfare agencies. HJR 24 awaits assignment to a standing committee.
2025 Spring Session Key Dates and Deadlines:
April 11: Deadline – Third Reading Deadline Both Chambers
May 9: Deadline – Committee Deadline Bills in Opposite Chamber
May 23: Deadline – Third Reading Deadline Bills in Opposite Chamber
May 31: Adjournment
GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
The Governor has now concluded action on all legislation passed during the 103rd General Assembly’s January Lame Duck Session.
New Laws: Late last Friday, Governor Pritzker signed 16 bills passed during the Lame Duck Session.
HB 297 sets up a mandatory interest arbitration procedure for educational supervisors – like principals and assistant principals – in Chicago Public Schools when a collective bargaining impasse occurs. Existing terms of employment remain in effect during the arbitration process.
HB 817 authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to acquire and repair property on behalf of the Illinois State Treasurer and makes technical changes to the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act.
HB 2474 protects nursing home residents from retaliation in such instances as when they file complaints, seek assistance, or participate in investigations.
HB 4224 exempts parking lots of non-profit educational trade schools from the property tax code; validates certain tax levies for community mental health boards; and allows a county clerk to retroactively abate property taxes from 2023 to a certain property.
HB 4410 ensures that law enforcement agencies comply with state law when investigating individuals in the sex worker industry.
HB 4412 provides that a childcare facility, day care center, day care home, or group day care home may authorize a third-party vendor to complete a background check investigation.
HB 4439 designates the soybean as the official State bean of the State of Illinois.
HB 4828 requires the Department of Corrections to publish quarterly website reports on the general trends in its use of restrictive housing units.
HB 4907 not only makes a technical fix to the (statutory) calculation for incentive payments to nursing home staff but also increases the maximum size of contiguous counties in which hospitals can apply to operate under one single license.
SB 457 allows ISBE to procure religious meal options for school districts wishing to buy from the ISBE contract.
SB 727 creates the Safe Public Drinking Water Act to set a timeline for adopting federal PFAS standards for drinking water and requiring the sampling of certain community water supplies for 1,4-Dioxane.
SB 867 authorizes the land transfer of Shabbona Lake State Park in DeKalb County to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
SB 899 authorizes the Department of Transportation to restrict vehicle length on its roadways as it deems appropriate.
SB 952 grants the transfer of property to the Village of Deer Park for potable water transmission use.
SB 2655 reconciles inconsistencies between the operation of in-car video recording equipment and the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act pertaining to Illinois State Police vehicles and closes a loophole as it relates to child pornography laws.
SB 3180 provides that employers violate the One Day Rest in Seven Act if they retaliate against employees for exercising their rights under the Act.
Warehouse Worker Protection Act: Governor Pritzker vetoed HB 2547 (Olickal/Villanueva), which would establish the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, requiring warehouse employers to disclose quotas to workers upon hire. The bill was intended to limit Amazon and other large warehouse operators from imposing fast-paced work speed or productivity quotas on employees.
The Governor, who has rarely used his veto authority, said that the bill lacked clarity on who would be covered under the law and failed to establish proper due process for enforcement. There is no opportunity to override the Governor’s veto since the legislation passed during the January Lame Duck Session and the 103rd General Assembly adjourned sine die.
OTHER NEWS:
Raoul Leads Coalition Seeking Court Order to Stop FEMA Funding Freeze: Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 22 state attorneys general in seeking a court order to compel the Trump administration to unfreeze critical funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The courts have issued multiple orders, including a preliminary injunction issued on March 6 that blocked the administration from freezing these federal funds. Raoul and the coalition filed a motion this week to enforce the March 6 preliminary injunction, requesting a court order requiring the administration to immediately stop the freezing of FEMA funds. Read more here.
Federal Funding Cuts Impact IDPH and Local Health Departments: The federal government is slashing $11.4 billion in funding for state and local health departments and other health organizations across the country for COVID-19-related activities. As part of this, the Illinois Department of Public Health and 97 local health departments are losing $125 million in federal support to track disease spread, invest in infectious disease testing labs, conduct wastewater surveillance, build public health workforce capacity, and strengthen local health departments. This move is the latest cost-cutting measure from the Trump administration. Read more here.
Federal Funding Cuts to Mental Health and Substance Abuse: The Trump Administration plans to terminate up to $28 million in federal funding allocated to Illinois for mental health and substance use disorder treatment; the notification came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Granted through the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal funding supported 77 community-based organizations that provide direct services to thousands of Illinoisans. These funds enabled behavioral health crisis response services, support for young people experiencing early symptoms of psychosis, substance use recovery homes, and substance use prevention services. Read more here.
Mass Layoffs and Restructuring at Health and Human Services: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is undergoing significant restructuring. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced the layoff of 10,000 employees and the closure of entire agencies, including those managing substantial funds for addiction services and community health centers nationwide.
Characterizing the department as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy,” Kennedy attributed declining public health outcomes to its 82,000 employees. He acknowledged that this restructuring will be a challenging period for top health agencies tasked with monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and hospitals, and overseeing insurance programs for nearly half the country’s population.
Overall, HHS will reduce its workforce to 62,000 positions, with 10,000 jobs eliminated through layoffs and another 10,000 through early retirement and voluntary separation. Specific reductions include 3,500 positions at the FDA; 2,400 at the CDC; 1,200 at the NIH; and 300 at CMS. HHS indicates that these changes will result in annual savings of $1.8 billion, although detailed information on the savings was not provided.
In addition to workforce reductions, Kennedy announced that entire agencies would be closed, including the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which finance community health and addiction services. The plan also includes collapsing 10 regional H.H.S. offices into five and consolidating the 28 divisions of the health agency into 15 new divisions. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response will also be integrated into the CDC.