104th ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois Senate stands adjourned for the week, having met Tuesday through Thursday. The House was off this week. Both chambers reconvene Tuesday, May 5, through Friday, May 8. The latter date — May 8 — is the committee deadline to pass opposite chamber legislation out of committee. Adjournment of the 2026 Spring Session is Sunday, May 31.
The Senate spent the week considering legislation at the committee level, acting on gubernatorial appointments, and passing 9 Senate Bills, sending them to the House for consideration.
A list of Senate Committee hearings for next week is here; House hearings are here.
Note: Last Friday, the Senate extended the committee and 3rd Reading deadlines for 631 Senate Bills, granting the chamber extra time to consider the measures.
MEGA Projects/Chicago Bears Legislation: The Senate did not act this week on HB 910 (Welch/Harmon), which creates a statewide economic development package designed to attract and benefit large-scale developments, including efforts to move the Chicago Bears to Arlington Heights. The measure passed the House last week. Senator Bill Cunningham, the lead negotiator of the legislation in the Senate, told reporters this week that the upper chamber is not in a hurry to pass the bill, saying, “We’re going to take our time with this.” Cunningham indicated he is optimistic that a bill could pass before the Legislature adjourns on May 31. The Governor prefers a quick resolution on the bill, saying the state has to be “competitive.”
Redistricting Constitutional Amendment: Likewise, the Senate did not consider a constitutional amendment passed by the House last week, HJRCA 28 (Welch/Harmon), which rewrites Illinois’ constitutional standard for drawing legislative maps to protect majority-minority districts. (See last week’s report for further details on the amendment.) In light of the US Supreme Court’s 6–3 decision Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais, Senate President Don Harmon noted he wanted to give legal experts some time to “review the ruling.” He elaborated, saying, “We will dissect this decision, find a path forward, and continue to protect the rights of all Illinoisans.” He went on to offer, “I would ask for patience and time for our state’s top legal experts to work through this. The last thing we want is to act in haste and risk unintended consequences down the road. Too much is at stake for too many.”
Any amendments to change the constitution must receive approval from at least a three-fifths majority in both chambers at least six months before the General Election (set this year at Nov. 3). This means that May 3 is the deadline for passing any constitutional amendments this year; given that no action has been taken, this constitutional amendment is effectively dead for the year.
Below are highlights of this week’s action:
SB 3772 (Villanueva) strengthens environmental justice protections by requiring state regulators reviewing pollution control permits to consider potential impacts on communities that have historically borne disproportionate environmental burdens. Specifically, the bill would require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate environmental justice factors when reviewing certain air pollution construction permit applications. The proposal would require IEPA to assess whether a proposed facility is in an area of environmental justice concern and to determine whether additional safeguards may be needed. These evaluations could include assessing opportunities to reduce emissions, conducting additional air-quality modeling, and requiring permit enhancements (like improved air and odor monitoring or pollution-prevention techniques). The measure would also require permitting decisions to consider an applicant’s history of environmental violations and other relevant factors. Passed the Senate 43-11 and now heads to the House.
SB 3329 (Villanueva) represents a trailer bill to Karina’s Law, which enacted protections for victims of domestic violence. The measure prohibits any third party from knowingly transferring a firearm to a respondent under an order of protection action or from allowing the respondent access to a firearm. It would also require law enforcement to take reasonable steps to notify petitioners of domestic violence cases if the agency seeks to correct or nullify a search warrant for a respondent’s firearms. Passed the Senate 42-12 and now heads to the House for consideration.
SB 3340 (Guzman) creates the Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act to ensure individuals’ rights to wear protective medical equipment in public places, including places of employment. Passed the Senate 37-18 and now heads to the House.
HB 3409 (Harper/Hunter) makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly manufacture or sell a cosmetic product that contains any of 11 specifically enumerated “harmful chemicals” or 13 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – also known as “forever chemicals” – that were intentionally added during the product’s formulation. Passed the Senate Executive Committee 12-1 and moves to the full Senate.
HB 4137 (Mussman/Villa) expands the types of assistance school districts can offer students at risk of becoming homeless to include providing an extended motel stay for them. Passed the Senate Education Committee 11-2 and heads to the full Senate.
HB 4606 (Faver Dias/Castro) authorizes the Illinois Department of Human Services to develop and oversee a statewide, voluntary, no-cost newborn home-visiting program through evidence-based service models, by coordinating funding and data efforts, and by collaborating with stakeholders to expand support for newborns and their families. Unanimously passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and is now pending before the full Senate.
HB 5580 (LaHa/Morrison) requires the Illinois State Police to notify the investigating agency, in writing, if a consistent DNA profile has been identified by comparing evidence with a known standard from a suspect or with profiles in the CODIS database. Passed the Senate Criminal Law Committee unanimously and now moves to the full Senate.
HB 4834 (Cassidy/Johnson) removes hormonal medications such as testosterone and estrogen from the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program. Passed the Senate Executive Committee 9-4 and heads to the full Senate.
The Senate Insurance Committee held a subject matter hearing on HB 2584 (Cassidy/Feigenholtz). The measure would require private insurers to cover pre-PrEP HIV and sexually transmitted infection screenings. The bill also removes the prior authorization requirement for PrEP, PEP and HIV treatment medication coverage. Members of the insurance industry testified that they are open to language that would eliminate prior authorization for PrEP and Pep but not HIV treatment medication due to cost considerations. No vote was taken on the matter.
The House International Relations, Tourism, and Trade Committee held a subject-matter hearing on HB 2723 (Rashid), which repeals a 2015 law requiring the state to divest from companies that boycott Israel. The sponsor calls the current policy “punitive and economically short-sighted” and further argues that it forces Illinois to blacklist companies like Ben & Jerry’s and Airbnb for what he views as human rights positions. No vote was taken on the matter. Read more here.
Key 2026 Session Dates:
May 8: Deadline — Substantive Bills out of Committee in Second Chamber
May 22: Deadline — 3rd Reading Substantive Bills in Second Chamber
May 31: Adjournment
GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
IBM Expands Jobs at Quantum and Microelectronics Park: IBM has announced the FutureNow Chicago delivery center at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP), which will create 750 full-time jobs in fields like AI, cybersecurity, and data science. The goal: to help clients address complex business challenges while providing career opportunities for local talent will hire one third of qualified graduates from a new apprenticeship program developed in collaboration with City Colleges of Chicago, supporting 500 apprentices over five years. Overall, the program seeks to prepare residents for careers in advanced technology and to benefit communities on Chicago’s South Side. IBM is partnering with Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and Chicago State University to provide internships. Read more here.
Gubernatorial Appointments: Governor Pritzker reappointed Dr. Giridhar Burra to serve as a Member of the Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Advisory Board.