This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views E-Newsletter includes a legislative schedule and update, informs county officials and staff what counties should watch out for in the Governor's upcoming Budget Address, shares a funding opportunity for projects at wastewater treatment plants, highlights America 250’s Keepsake Illinois Passport that residents and visitors can collect, 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 Public Surplus and invites counties to join ISACo.
Legislative Schedule
The Illinois House and Senate both convene from February 17-19.
Looking ahead, upcoming events at the Capitol include the Governor’s Budget Address and State of the State Address, scheduled for February 18.
The Illinois House and Senate calendars are linked below:
House Calendar
Senate Calendar
ISACo Legislative Agenda and Tracked Bills
ISACo's 2026 Legislative Agenda and 2026 County Platform are available via this link.
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.
The County Lens: What Counties Should Watch for in the Governor's Budget Address
ISACo is launching a new column entitled The County Lens. This new feature from Executive Director Joe McCoy looks at what is happening in Springfield and Washington, D.C., and translates it into what it actually means for counties on the ground.
With Governor JB Pritzker set to deliver his budget address on February 18, this first installment of the County Lens focuses on what officials should listen for, where the real fiscal pressures are building, and how shifts in federal funding, health care policy, and the economy could affect local budgets and services. Counties don't just live with these decisions - they implement them.
The County Lens article is available via this link.
Funding Opportunity Available for Projects at Wastewater Treatment Plants
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s (Illinois EPA) Office of Energy is offering $7,000,000 in grant funding to strengthen energy resilience at publicly owned wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Through the Resilient Energy for Wastewater Infrastructure (REWI) Grant Program, communities can access funding to assess energy vulnerabilities and implement solar energy systems paired with battery storage. Individual awards will range from $200,000 to $2,000,000, with a match requirement of 25 percent or 50 percent based on population served and geographic location. The application period will close April 30, 2026.
The press release is available via this link.
America 250’s Keepsake Passport to Illinois
As Illinois communities prepare to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026, the Illinois America 250 Commission unveiled the first-ever Passport to Illinois, inviting residents and visitors alike to explore the powerful places, people and events in Illinois that have shaped the nation’s history.
Passports are free and will be available at public libraries, highway visitor centers, staffed passport sites and other locations throughout Illinois while supplies last. Pickup locations will be highlighted on the Illinois America 250 website. In addition, a digital version of the passport will be available to download from the site and print at home.
The press release is available via this link.
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.
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.
fWhat We're Reading
New Requirements for SNAP Benefits Go into Effect Sunday. What Does This Mean for SNAP Benefit Recipients? (WGN9)
Pritzker to Present 8th Budget as Illinois Faces Federal Funding Uncertainty (CapitolNewsIllinois)
Illinois Becomes First State to Recognize 'Rewilding' Wetland Protection (Governing)
Illinois Advances in Bid to Move Up 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary Date, but Hurdles Remain (Chicago Tribune)
Penny Shortage Causes Headaches for Retailers in the Land of Lincoln (CapitolNewsIllinois)
States Where Household Income Has Grown the Most (Governing)
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.
Cyber Resilience in County Finance: Protecting What Matters Most
(Friday, March 6, 2026, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. CST)
Cyber threats are increasingly targeting public sector finance teams and resilience starts with understanding the risks. In this webinar, Peter Forsgren of three+one shares real stories from ethical hackers to explore social engineering, emerging cybersecurity threats and practical steps counties can take to protect their people, data and financial systems.
Registration is available via this link.
NACo Policy Insider Webinar Series: Understanding the Federal Landscape for Counties
(Thursday, March 12, 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.
Registration is available via this link.
CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Public Surplus is an online auction platform that offers services to local government agencies. Their system was created with unique capabilities specifically for public agencies, making it much more than an auction site.
ISACo has partnered with Public Surplus to provide large discounts for our county members when it comes to doing online auctions, specifically real estate sales.
Through a partnership with ISACo, Illinois counties are eligible to list items with a reduced buyer's premium, which will encourage competitive bidding on surplus items listed. With Public Surplus, buyers are responsible for all service fees, and it costs counties nothing to use the service.
Public Surplus will also provide a 10% rebate to ISACo on each sale so that the Association can continue to offer a high level of service at minimal cost to members.
To visit the Public Surplus website, click here.
To register an account with Public Surplus, click here.
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.