This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views E-newsletter includes a legislative update, shares photos from the 2025 ISACo Annual Luncheon, links to the January 2026 County Quarterly newsletter, encourages county officials to attend the February 2026 National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference, includes registration information for the 2026 ISACo/UCCI Legislative Conference, invites county officials and staff to contribute an article to ISACo's County Quarterly Newsletter, links to articles ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, conveys information about upcoming NACo webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner Mahoney, Silverman and Cross, LLC. and invites counties to join ISACo.
Legislative Update
Schedule
The Illinois Senate will be in session this week, February 3-5, to conduct legislative business. Neither chamber will be in session next week. The Illinois House and Senate both convene on February 17 of the following week.
Looking ahead, upcoming events at the Capitol include the Governor’s Budget Address and State of the State Address, scheduled for February 18.
The deadline for filing House and Senate bills is February 6.
Linked below, you will find the House and Senate calendars.
House Calendar
Senate Calendar
ISACo Tracked Bills
ISACo is currently reviewing introduced legislation and populating our bill-tracking service (available via this link) with legislation that affects or is of interest to counties.
2026 Legislative Agenda
ISACo's 2026 Legislative Agenda is available via this link.
2025 ISACo Annual Luncheon Photos
Photos from ISACo’s 2025 Annual Luncheon are now available to view. It was a pleasure for ISACo to bring county officials together to connect, celebrate, and reflect on the important work happening across Illinois counties.
To view the full photo gallery, click on the image below.
ISACo January County Quarterly
The Janaury 2026 County Quarterly includes an Executive Director's Report, leadership insights from the Stoics, a 2025 Veto Session update, key federal issues impacting counties and more!
The January County Quarterly is available by clicking on the image below.
Upcoming NACo Legislative Conference
The NACo Legislative Conference brings together nearly 2,000 elected and appointed county officials to focus on federal policy issues that impact counties and our residents. The conference will be held in Washington, D.C. from February 21-24, 2026. Registration information is available via this link.
ISACo has set up a joint meeting with Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Tammy Duckworth for Tuesday, February 24. An invitation has and will be sent to current and future conference registrants from Illinois. ISACo is pleased to organize opportunities for county officials to advocate with members of our congressional delegation about county issues.
2026 ISACo/UCCI Legislative Conference Registration
For the third consecutive year, ISACo and our friends at the United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) will hold a legislative conference for county officials and staff on April 14-15, 2026. ISACo members are invited to attend the April 14 events that will include a breakfast buffet and legislative briefing at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and an evening legislative reception at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. State officials will also be invited to attend the reception. Activities on April 15 are reserved for UCCI members. Registration information and additional details are available via this link.
Call for Articles: Share Your County’s Story in ISACo’s County Quarterly Newsletter
ISACo invites county officials and staff to contribute articles for upcoming editions of our County Quarterly Newsletter. This publication is strengthened by the insights, innovations, and real-world experiences shared by counties across Illinois—and we’d love to feature your work.
Whether you want to highlight a successful initiative, reflect on a policy issue, share best practices, or showcase a community partnership making a difference, your perspective helps inform and inspire colleagues statewide.
If you’re interested in submitting, please take a moment to review our publication guidelines available via this link.
We look forward to featuring your county’s accomplishments and ideas in a future issue!
If you need help shaping an idea or want to talk through a potential topic, feel free to reach out—we’re always glad to collaborate.
What We're Reading
New Requirements for SNAP Benefits Go into Effect Sunday. What Does This Mean for SNAP Benefit Recipients? (WGN9)
Illinois Advances in Bid to Move Up 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary Date, but Hurdles Remain (ChicagoTribune)
States Where Household Income Has Grown the Most (Governing)
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.
Click on the photo 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.
NACo Policy Insider Webinar Series: Understanding the Federal Landscape for Counties
(Thursday, February 5, 2026, 2:30 p.m – 3 p.m. CST)
Last year's Inside Washington series is now NACo Policy Insider, a bi-weekly webinar offering an overview of the full federal policy landscape impacting counties, as well as deeper dives into specific policy areas, equipping county leaders with insights, context, and strategies to engage effectively on key issues from transportation and infrastructure, to public lands, to health and human services, and more.
Register for this webinar via this link.
Pre-Proposal Conference - RFP #26-6969 Government Consulting Services
(Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. CST)
Counties are invited to notify their consulting services suppliers, and both are invited to register for and attend a pre-proposal conference for a pre-proposal conference for RFP 26-6969: an innovative collaboration between Cobb County, Ga. and NACo Public Promise Procurement. Get key insights, ask questions, and prepare to submit a strong proposal.
Cobb County, GA (the “Lead Public Agency”), on behalf of Public Promise Procurement, the members of the Advisory Council and all local and state government agencies, higher education and nonprofit entities that elect to access the Master Agreement, is soliciting proposals to enter into a Master Agreement for Government Consulting Services. The resulting contract may be awarded to multiple suppliers. The RFP is subject to the Lead Public Agency’s general conditions & instructions to bidders. Proposals are due no later than 2:00 PM EST on March 12, 2026. Additional information can be found at https://www.cobbcounty.gov/procurement-services/bidding-opportunities.
Register for this webinar via this link.
NACo Public Health Leadership Academy Application Information Session
(Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. CST)
The National Association of Counties (NACo), in partnership with the de Beaumont Foundation, is launching its inaugural Public Health Leadership Academy (PHLA) to strengthen county leadership in advancing public health. This webinar will review the key information applicants should know to apply to the PHLA and provide an opportunity for applicants to ask questions.
To view more details about the Academy and review the application, visit NACo’s Public Health Leadership Initiative webpage.
Register for this webinar via this link.
CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, LLC.
The Law Firm of Mahoney, Silverman and Cross, LLC strives to provide superior legal representation with the objective of exceeding our clients’ expectations. Each member of our firm is committed to utilizing critical analysis and innovative approaches to achieve timely resolutions with the best possible results for our clients.
Become an ISACo Member!
Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?
ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.
ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.
Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.
If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Member Services and Communications Manager Tiffani Homer at (217) 679-3368 or thomer@isacoil.org. ISACo member counties are listed here. Thank you for your consideration.