104th ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois General Assembly adjourned last Friday for the week. The Senate was in session Tuesday through Thursday; Friday’s session was cancelled. Meanwhile, the House was in session Tuesday through Friday as scheduled. The Senate returns to session on Monday at 4:30 pm; the House returns on Tuesday at 11am. Both chambers are scheduled to be in session through Saturday, May 31. Just six days remain scheduled for the 2025 Spring Legislative Session, with adjournment scheduled for May 31.
Friday was the deadline to pass substantive legislation out of the second chamber. Deadline extensions are likely for items still pending on the calendar.
The Illinois Senate created and approved an Agreed Bill List to expedite the passage of 95 non-controversial House Bills. This week, the Senate passed 182 House Bills and 8 Senate Bills. In the House, 160 Senate Bills and 5 House Bills passed the lower chamber.
Several items remain on the agenda when legislators return to Springfield on Memorial Day. Although vehicle bills have been positioned for quick action, only a couple of the significant end-of-session items have been officially filed. Democratic leaders and the Governor continue to negotiate a budget deal and any associated revenue necessary to fund the budget.
The Senate Executive Committee approved by a vote of 8-4 HFA # 2 to SB 1988 (Koehler/Katz Muhl), which creates a process for community colleges to offer a bachelor’s degree. Representatives Tarver and West spoke about the House Black Caucus’s serious concerns with the legislation. The amendments are now pending before the full House.
Senator Koehler filed SCA # 1 to SB 2385 to address the 340B prescription drug issue. The amendment is currently pending in the Senate Assignment Committee.
SB 40 (Preston/Evans) has been identified as the vehicle for an energy omnibus, although no amendments have been filed at this time.
Passed Both Houses: Several bills passed both houses this week and now head to the Governor’s desk. Highlights include:
SB 1560 (Feigenholtz/LaPointe) mandates the creation of voluntary training about the Beacon Care portal for hospital social workers, clinicians, and administrative staff. The bill also requires psychiatric hospitals to inform youth or their guardians about the Beacon portal and directs that by September 1, 2026, there be available resource materials and model policies for universal mental health screenings in school. And finally, school districts must offer annual mental health screenings to students in third through twelfth grades beginning in the 2027-28 school year. The bill passed the House 72-36.
The Senate unanimously approved HB 1226 (Hoffman/Villivalam), which raises the age for mandatory, in-person renewals for driver’s licenses from 75 to 79. The bill also raises the driving test requirement from the age of 79 to 87 (or 75 and older if the individual holds a commercial driver’s license). Finally, the bill expands the list of who may submit information to the Secretary of State about the medical condition of drivers and their ability to safely operate a vehicle; the list would now include immediate family members such as a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, or child.
SB 1723 (Faraci/Ammons) prohibits carbon sequestration activity at a facility that overlies, underlies, or passes through the Mahomet Aquifer. The bill also creates a task force to conduct a five-year investigation into the safety of carbon sequestration and storage in the aquifer; the task force will be open to public input, allowing the submittal of findings and scientific results. The bill passed the House by a vote of 91-19.
Establishing protections to safeguard the health care licenses for providers of abortion care is the focus of HB 3637 (Avelar/Villa), which the Senate approved 38-19. The bill further guarantees continued access to abortion medication even if the medication’s approval is rescinded by the federal Food and Drug Administration, as long as the World Health Organization recommends it.
The Illinois House approved, by a vote of 74-37, SB 19 (Harmon/Guzzardi), which makes several changes to modernize the Prisoner Review Board and its processes.
Legislation to require insurance coverage for Alzheimer’s medication, SB 126 (Murphy/Gill), unanimously passed the House.
SB 212 (Fine/Stuart) requires employers to provide paid break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk and prohibits employers from forcing nursing mothers to use their paid leave to express breast milk; the House approved the measure 82-27.
A proposal to create the One Health Task Force, SB 291 (Morrison/Mussman), passed the House unanimously.
Manufacturers of baby food would be required to notify parents about toxic chemicals within the food under SB 73 (Fine/Katz Muhl), which unanimously passed the House. The bill requires manufacturers to test their products for toxic heavy metals and then put their findings on the baby food label. A QR code would also be required from the manufacturers, enabling consumers to learn more about the test results as well as the FDA position on the effects of toxic elements on children.
SB 28 (Lightford/Faver Dias) reforms and modernizes the teacher evaluation process. The legislation represents an agreement between labor and management and passed the House 92-21.
The House approved SB 191 (Morrison/Morgan) on a vote of 83-27, requiring all newly purchased school buses to be equipped with seat belts starting in July 2031.
SB 1563 (Collins, J. Williams) clarifies that nothing in the eviction article prohibits law enforcement from enforcing criminal trespass laws. An attempt to target the rise in “squatters,” the bill passed the House unanimously.
The Senate approved HB 3489 (Mussman/Ventura) by 41-16, expanding the type of contraception that pharmacists can offer to include hormonal, non-hormonal, and emergency contraceptives — including Phexxi (non-hormonal), Plan B (levonorgestrel pill) and Ella (ulipristal acetate pill).
SB 1274 (Glowiak Hilton/Dueter) expands the list of expenses covered by the state’s sexual assault services voucher program to include taxis or rideshare services (such as Uber or Lyft) to return home, the transferring hospital, or a shelter. The Illinois Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Services Implementation Task Force recommended the practice, noting rideshare services as a helpful option to support sexual assault survivors. The bill passed the House unanimously.
The Senate unanimously approved HB 2409 (Kelly/Villivalam), which bans the sale of firefighter protective gear containing “forever chemicals.” The measure forbids manufacturers from selling gear containing PFAS in Illinois after January 1, 2027. In the interim, labeling requirements would begin in 2026. And by 2030, fire departments must phase out affected equipment, such as self-contained breathing apparatuses or certain rescue harnesses.
Other Bills Under Consideration: Both chambers acted on a variety of other legislation this week. Highlights include:
The House approved, by a vote of 83-28, HB 2987(Stuart), which incorporates three of the four recommendations made by the Warehouse Safety Task Force. The legislation mandates the creation and sharing of site-specific safety plans with local first responders, includes new building specifications for newly built warehouses, and requires training for building inspectors. Components related to the mutual aid box alarm were excluded from the final package. The bill moves to the Senate for further consideration.
SB 1976 (Peters/Evans) creates the Illinois Workers’ Rights and Safety Act, requiring Illinois to adopt many of the Biden Administration’s workplace regulations, including those under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. The bill also directs IDOL to restore any repealed federal occupational safety rules not already covered under state law and would allow legal actions against employers that violate them. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 38-19-1 and will be taken up by the House.
SB 2319 (Ellman/Tarver) creates the Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act; it passed the Senate 39-19 and now heads to the House.
An ISBE teacher licensure omnibus bill, SB 1947 (Loughran Cappel/Faver Dias), passed the House 84-31 and heads back to the Senate for concurrence.
HB 2516 (Rashid/Morrison) bans intentionally added PFAS from seven categories of products sold and distributed in the state: cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, children’s items, menstrual products, intimate apparel, and food packaging. The 2032 implementation date gives manufacturers time to phase out the chemicals. Having passed the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, the bill is now pending before the full Senate.
The Senate Licensed Activities Committee unanimously approved HB 1807 (Costa Howard/Cervantes), requiring the Board of Nursing at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to oversee a variety of aspects of nursing programs, including accreditation standards, program remediation, withdrawal or closure of programs, and more. The Board of Nursing would also have approval authority over program directors to ensure not only their credibility but also that they have purview over the program curriculum and faculty members. The measure now heads to the full Senate.
The Senate Executive Committee voted 9-4 on HB 3709 (Moeller/Villanueva), requiring every public institution of higher education to provide students with access to health care professionals to prescribe contraception and medication abortion. The bill now heads to the full Senate.
The Senate Insurance Committee unanimously approved SFA # 3 to SB 2405 (Villivalam) which creates the Consumer Protection from Surprise Health Care Billing Act to address surprise bills for ambulance services. The bill is an initiative of the Illinois State Ambulance Association to prevent balanced billing. SFA # 3 is now pending before the full Senate.
SB 1697 (Fine) enhances protections for property owners concerning carbon sequestration; it unanimously passed the Senate Energy and Environment Committee. The measure allows for recovery of attorney fees if a sequestration site landowner prevails in a lawsuit for damages to surface property. The bill, which also says that nonconsenting pore space owners will be appropriately compensated, is pending before the full Senate.
The Illinois Junk Fee Transparency, SB 1486 (Aquino/Morgan) unanimously passed out of the House Consumer Protection Committee. The legislation cracks down on hidden and deceptive junk fees that inflate prices for everyday purchases — like hotel bookings, food delivery apps, and event tickets. The bill requires upfront pricing and gives the attorney general authority to hold violators accountable. The bill is now pending before the full House.
2025 Spring Session Key Dates and Deadlines:
May 31: Adjournment
GOVERNORS HIGHLIGHTS:
Department of Innovation and Technology: Governor Pritzker has appointed Patrick Nolan as Deputy Secretary and Christopher Britten as Assistant Secretary of the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology. Nolan brings extensive operational expertise to the role, currently serving as Chief of Staff at the Illinois Department of Central Management Services. Britten is a seasoned technology executive with over 25 years of experience in leading IT strategy, innovation, and service transformation within both public and private sectors.
State Workforce Reaches Highest Levels Since 2008: The Illinois Department of Central Management Services announced that the state’s workforce increased from 50,544 in 2019 to 55,340 in 2025, the highest since 2008. The Department of Child and Family Services saw a 44% increase in staffing, while the Illinois Department of Human Services had a 15% rise in direct care worker roles. Most gains occurred in agencies that support vulnerable residents, says CMS.
Supportive Housing Development Grants: The Illinois Housing Development Authority awarded over $50 million in funding to develop permanent supportive housing, an investment that will create 129 affordable housing units with integrated services for vulnerable populations. Seven developments were selected through a competitive process under Round XI of the PSH Development Program. Targeted housing recipients: the homeless, people with disabilities, and individuals transitioning from institutional care. Residents will benefit from customized on-site services, including case management, healthcare referrals, and employment assistance to support independent living. Read more here.
Federal Funding Halted for Digital Equity Capacity Program: The Trump Administration, via the NTIA, recently terminated the Digital Equity Capacity Program, halting the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s implementation of a Digital Equity Capacity Grant in Illinois. This cancellation eliminated over $23.7 million in funding that would have helped Illinois residents gain internet skills and resources needed for full participation in the state’s economy. Read more here.
IDOT Grants Awarded: The Illinois Department of Transportation awarded $139.2 million through the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program. Some 66 projects are supported, including bike paths, pedestrian trails, and streetscape beautification to promote safe multi-modal transportation at the local level. Under Rebuild Illinois, funding prioritized communities with demonstrated financial need, which received approximately 74% of the allocated resources. Read more here.
OTHER NEWS:
2026 Election Update: Congresswoman Lauren Underwood announced she will seek reelection to the 14th Congressional District rather than running for the U.S. Senate. State Representative Jed Davis said he will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Underwood.
Political commentator Pamela Denise Long announced she will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Matteson village clerk Yumeka Brown is running for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District seat now held by Robin Kelly.
State Representative LaShawn Ford filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission to run for the 7th Congressional District. Long-time Congressman Danny Davis currently represents the District; he has not announced his intentions for 2026.
Democrat Dylan Blaha will challenge Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski in the 2026 primary. Blaha is a 12-year veteran in the Illinois Army National Guard who served more than five years on active duty, including in Afghanistan.
Eric France, who runs The France Group management consulting firm, will seek the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 2nd District.
Morgan Coghill, a wood-products business owner from Mundelein, is running as a Democrat against Congressman Brad Schneider in the 10th Congressional District.