103rd ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois General Assembly returns to session on tomorrow for the first of its two-week Veto Session. Veto Session is scheduled for November 12 – 14 and November 19-21. Legislators are asked to hold January 2 through 7 for a potential Lame Duck Session. Members of the 104th General Assembly will be sworn into office on Wednesday, January 8.
While the full Veto Session agenda continues to evolve, this week the Senate positioned 53 bills for possible action during the Veto Session and a potential Lame Duck Session. A listing of Senate Committee hearings is here. The House has yet to position any legislation for consideration. Note, there were no Gubernatorial Vetoes issued this year. With the results of the national elections, the Democratic
supermajorities in Illinois are expected to use the Veto and Lame Duck legislative sessions to address issues they believe are necessary to shield the state from anticipated conservative policies at the federal level.
As a reminder, legislation containing an immediate effective date that is passed during the upcoming Veto Session will require a supermajority — two-thirds vote in each chamber. However, any similar legislation considered during a January Lame Duck Session will need only a simple majority to pass.
First-term Representative Kevin Schmidt declared victory in the 114th House District. Schmidt faced former Representative LaToya Greenwood whom he defeated in 2022.
First-term Representative Harry Benton (97th House District) declared victory over his Republican challenger Gabby Shanahan.
Other House races remain too close to call. In the 76th House District, Democrat Murri Briel currently leads Republican Liz Bishop. In the 104th District, Appointed Representative Brandun Schweizer holds the lead over Democratic challenger Jarrett Clem. In the 47th House District,
Representative Amy Grant maintains a small lead over Democrat Jackie Williamson. And in the 52nd House District, Representative Marty McLaughlin leads over his Democratic challenger Maria Peterson.
The House Health Care Availability and Accessibility Committee CANCELLED a subject matter hearing on December 3 to discuss wholesalers, pharmacy service administrative organizations, and the long-term future of Independent Pharmacies.
GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
GOMB Economic and Fiscal Policy Report: A new report from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget warns of a budget shortfall next fiscal year. The report is part of the Budget office’s mandated five-year fiscal projections. While the report forecasts a slight surplus ($199 million) in General Revenue Funds for the current fiscal year, it projects a $3.16 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
GOMB warned that “the ability to fund new programs will be severely limited.” The report further notes that “[w]hile a daunting challenge to balance spending pressures in the face of a flat revenue outlook, the Governor remains committed to taking steps to further improve Illinois’ fiscal position and address any potential budgetary shortfalls that may arise…”
The report reminds that “[s]pending reductions cannot be implemented broadly across-the-board. Areas such as debt service on state general obligation bonds, pension payments, Medicaid, and areas that are covered by consent decrees reflect approximately 40 percent of the State’s General Funds spending. Education spending – primarily base school support (e.g. Evidence Based Funding and transportation reimbursements), state university operations, and need-based assistance – encompass another 24 percent of the budget.”
Read more here.
IDPH Seeks Proposals for Innovative Health Equity Zone Pilot Project: The Illinois Department of Public Health announced it is seeking proposals from local health departments and community-based organizations for a Health Equity Zone (HEZ) pilot project that will work to eliminate health disparities using innovative practices in specified geographic areas. Interested groups have until December 3 to file an application for up to $500,000 in grant funding.
The HEZ program is funded through a $1 million appropriation from the General Assembly and is an outgrowth of the department’s Healthy Illinois 2028 State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) and State Health Assessment (SHA), which include addressing racism as a public health crisis as a key priority. The effort is led by IDPH in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health.
The two projects that are approved will receive not only funding but also technical assistance – assistance that will support, within a defined geographic area, the planning and implementing of solutions to high-priority health inequities. Of particular interest to the program are proposals that combine two or more service sectors within the HEZ. This could include healthcare, public health, education, housing, labor, social services, child welfare, transportation, parks and recreation, commerce, justice, environmental protection, or other related areas.
Awarded HEZs must also support the priorities spelled out in the SHIP, the Healthy Illinois 2028 plan, and/or a local health jurisdiction’s IPLAN. IPLAN – Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs – is a certification process in which local health departments do a community health assessment and an organizational self-assessment, as well as create a community health plan.
Sharps Collection Grant Opportunity: The Illinois EPA is offering an additional $400,000 in funding to units of local government to conduct the collection and disposal of household sharps for their residents.
Grant funding of up to $35,000 per applicant is available to cover expenses incurred in collecting, storing, and disposing of used sharps. Eligible expenses include costs to obtain collection containers for use by individual residents, collection receptacles to store sharps at the sharps collection station, mobilization fees assessed by a permitted PIMW transporter to pick-up collected sharps, and disposal fees for the collected sharps. All required forms and information can be found at: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/medication-disposal/sharps/residential-sharps-collection-program.html.
Applications for the Residential Sharps Collection Program will be accepted until funding is expended or June 30, 2025. Applicants must be pre-qualified through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal.
Capital Development Board: Araceli Garza, an accomplished licensed architect and real estate developer experienced in both the public and private sectors, will serve as a member of the Capital Development Board. As the founder and principal of Obra Real Estate, Garza is dedicated to creating culturally relevant, community-focused projects that emphasize affordable, sustainable housing solutions tailored to the unique needs of the communities she serves. Prior to starting her own firm, Garza was the Managing Director at Studio ARQ.
OTHER NEWS:
AG Raoul Calls for Nationwide Ban on Price Gouging: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 15 state attorneys general, is urging Congress to pass a nationwide ban on price gouging. While price gouging is already illegal in Illinois and over 40 other states, there is currently no federal law specifically prohibiting businesses from raising prices on essential goods to boost profits during emergencies.
In their letter to Congressional leaders, Raoul and the coalition argue that a national anti-price gouging law would empower the federal government to crack down on this practice when individual states are unable to address it effectively. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have disrupted supply chains nationwide, creating opportunities for price gouging that often exceed the enforcement capabilities of individual states. A federal ban would complement existing state-level anti-price gouging measures, allowing states and the federal government to collaborate in stopping illegal price hikes within national supply chains.
Joining Raoul in sending this letter are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. The letter is here.
AG Raoul Announces Two Generic Drug Pricing Settlements: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with a bipartisan coalition of 50 state attorneys general, announced two major settlements totaling $49.1 million. The settlements resolve allegations that Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex Corp. conspired to inflate prices, reduce competition, and restrict access to numerous generic drugs.
As part of the agreements, the companies will cooperate in ongoing multistate litigation against 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives. Additionally, Heritage and Apotex have agreed to internal reforms and comply with antitrust laws to promote fair competition going forward. Read more here.
Violence Prevention and Violence Intervention Grant Opportunities: The Government Alliance for Safe Communities (GASC) announced a $100 million commitment to sustain and expand critical community violence intervention (CVI) programming across City, County, and State government partners in the region.
The GASC’s 2025 funding initiative includes two grant opportunities totaling approximately $57 million for CVI programming. These grants are available through the Reimagine Violence Prevention Services Program (Illinois Department of Human Services) and the Lead Organization for Expanding Capacity for Community Violence Interventions – Street Outreach Services (City of Chicago).
Additionally, the initiative provides a $2.5 million funding opportunity to establish a first-of-its-kind Capacity Building Network for Community Safety. Sponsored by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, this network will support community-based organizations serving vulnerable communities at high risk of gun violence.
Formed in 2021, GASC comprises leadership and representatives from state, county, and city funding agencies. The alliance aims to strengthen the community safety ecosystem in the greater Chicago area.
All funding opportunities are listed on the GASC website at ILGovAlliance.org and on each agency’s websites. Read more here.
CGFA October Report: The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability issued its October Report which shows a “mixed month for revenues deposited into the State’s General Funds in October.” Total revenues declined by $260 million (-5.8%) due to a sharp drop in federal receipts, but base receipts grew by $373 million (+9.8%). However, this base growth can largely be attributed to the timing of transfers and specific revenue sources. The Commission also warned that Sales Tax Receipts need “to see much more improvement over the final two-thirds of the fiscal year to meet budgetary expectations”. Read the full report here.