This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter shares a new episode of ISACo's Counties Count! Podcast discussing the major transit funding package approved during the fall veto session as well two "explainer" videos about the transit and energy legislation, links to the 2026 Illinois House and Senate session calendars, informs counties about the State Fire Marshal's Office transition to a new national emergency reporting system, includes information on funding that is available for public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state, announces open enrollment for Get Covered Illinois for 2026 health insurance plans, links to articles ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, conveys information about upcoming NACo webinar opportunities and highlights ISACo corporate partner ClearGov. 

ISACo's Counties Count! Podcast - Understanding Illinois’ New Transit Funding Solution

Click on the image below to listen.  

Click on this link to access all previous Counties Count! Podcast episodes.

ISACo "Explainer" Videos on Transit and Energy Legislation Passed by General Assembly

Click on the images below to view.  

In case you missed last week's News and Views that included the full Veto Session update, please click on this link to read the update.

2026 Spring Legislative Session Schedules 

House 2026 Spring Legislative Session Calendar

Senate 2026 Spring Legislative Session Calendar 

Funding Available for Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Director James Jennings announced on Thursday, November 6, a Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the purchase and installation of new Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) EV charging stations (Level 3) and alternating current (Level 2) charging stations to be located at publicly accessible locations in Illinois. This first-come, first-served opportunity is being made available through Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan for electric vehicle projects authorized under CEJA. Due to the first come, first served nature of this round of funding, Illinois EPA is posting the application materials on Amplifund. This round will begin accepting applications on Monday, November 17, 2025, at 9:00 A.M. Central Time.

The press release is available via this link. 

Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office Announces Statewide Transition to New National Emergency Reporting System

The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office announced on November 4, 2025, that fire departments across the state are beginning the transition to the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS)—a secure, cloud-based platform built to modernize how emergency incidents are reported and analyzed. Departments across the country are onboarding to NERIS as part of a phased national rollout led by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), and the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes.

The press release is available via this link.

Open Enrollment for 2026 Health Insurance Begins

Get Covered Illinois kicked off 2026 open enrollment and launched its “Here to Help” campaign across the state.

Open enrollment, which began on November 1 and runs through January 15, is the annual opportunity for Illinoisans to enroll in, renew, or change their health insurance plans. Nearly 466,000 Illinoisans purchased health coverage through Get Covered Illinois during open enrollment last year, a 17 percent increase from the previous year.

The press release is available via this link.

Learn more about IPRIME

Founded in 2019, the Illinois Public Reserves Investment Management Trust™ (IPRIME™) referred to as “the Fund” is an investment pool for Municipal Treasurers acting on behalf of counties, townships, cities, towns, villages, libraries, park districts, water supply districts, fire protection districts, sanitary districts, housing authorities and other subdivisions of the State of Illinois.

The IPRIME Investment Shares Series is rated AAAm by Standard & Poor’s.

The Investment Shares Series is comprised of money market instruments having a maximum remaining maturity of one year (except U.S. government obligations that may have remaining maturities of up to two years).

The primary objectives of the Investment Shares Series are to offer the highest possible investment yield, protect principal, preserve liquidity and maintain Standard & Poor’s highest local government investment pool rating of AAAm. In addition, the Fund offers access to PMA Financial Network, LLC’s Fixed Income and Deposit Programs. With the experience and expertise of PMA, the Investment Shares Series grants investors access to a powerful investment management team that functions with a high standard of vision, synergy, and quality.

What We're Reading

Federal Shutdown, Budget Cuts Challenge State Policymakers (CapitolNewsIllinois)

Black Women Mayors Are a Rising Force in City Leadership (Governing)

Illinois Awaits Word on $1 Billion in Big Beautiful Bill Cash for Rural Hospitals (CrainsChicagoBusiness)

A Food Bank Responds as SNAP Cuts Fuel Anxiety and Need (Governing)

Click on the image below to learn more about IPRIME!

 

Please contact Member Services and Communications Manager Tiffani Homer at thomer@isacoil.org if you have additional questions.

Upcoming NACo Webinars

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities. 

Checks, Balances, and Firewalls: Navigating Governance

(Thursday, November 12, 2025, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. CST)

This session explores the intersection where securing election operations meets digital realities. In an interconnected world, where officials face increased cyber threats and scrutiny, governance forms the backbone of order. This training unravels the fundamentals of governance to strengthen democracy in the digital age, with a particular focus on supply chain and data management.

Click on this link to register for this webinar.

Driving GenAI in County Government: A Collaborative, Outcomes-Focused Approach

(Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. CST)

Artificial intelligence—especially generative AI—is no longer a “future trend” for county governments. It’s here, and its impact depends on how it’s implemented. Successful projects don’t start and end with the IT department; they require strong collaboration across communications, customer service, and business units to ensure technology delivers real outcomes for residents.

Hear from Wyandotte County, KS, where a community speaking 31 languages and handling 50,000 calls a year with just three staff members needed a smarter way to serve residents. Learn how the county partnered across departments to design and deploy conversational digital agents that address real service challenges—while safeguarding data, maintaining public trust, and ensuring equitable access.

You’ll walk away with:

- Practical strategies for building AI projects around resident-focused outcomes.

- Lessons learned from cross-department collaboration between IT, communications, and customer service.

- Insights on using AI safely in diverse, high-demand service environments.

This is a candid, real-world look at how counties can responsibly adopt AI to improve service delivery—without losing sight of the people behind the technology.

Click on this link to register for this webinar.

Tackling the Child Care Workforce Crisis: A County-Led Solution

(Thursday, November 20, 2025, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. CST)

Counties across the nation are facing a child care workforce crisis that limits affordability and accessibility for families' child care needs and economic growth. In this session, King County, Wash., and its partners will share how they piloted a wage boost program that supports over 800 child care workers. The Pilot will study staff retention, program stability, worker wellbeing, and what it means to have meaningful public investment in workers serving families across the county. Join NACo to explore practical lessons, cross-sector partnerships, and strategies your county can adapt to strengthen its own child care workforce.

Click on this link to register for this webinar.

Modernizing County Infrastructure: Empowering Smart, Secure, and Resilient Communities

(Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. CST)

Counties are at the forefront of delivering essential services—from public health and safety to transportation and education. Yet many local governments are constrained by outdated digital infrastructure, siloed legacy systems, and growing security risks.

This webinar—designed for county executives, CIOs/CTOs, and operations leaders—explores practical approaches to modernizing networks, integrating cloud and on‑premises platforms, and protecting sensitive citizen data. You’ll discover actionable strategies and real‑world solutions, that enable operational agility, resilience, and compliance.
 
Learn how future‑ready infrastructure can position your county to lead in smart government initiatives and prepare for emerging capabilities like AI, digital twins, and next‑generation applications.

Click on this link to register for this webinar.

CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT    

ClearGov® is the leading planning, budgeting, and reporting solutions provider for local governments. ClearGov helps local agencies modernize and streamline their financial processes to enhance transparency and efficiency. These solutions are utilized successfully by more than 1,200 agencies across all 50 states and are both powerful and affordable enough to support local agencies of every shape and size. ClearGov is proudly endorsed by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and is a Corporate Partner with the Illinois State Association of Counties.

For more information, visit www.cleargov.com.

Become an ISACo Member! 

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