This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views E-Newsletter links to the May County Quarterly Newsletter, includes a General Assembly schedule update, shares an ISACo press release on opposing cuts to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) and urges counties to take action to fight proposed LGDF reductions, makes county officials and staff aware of fiscal concerns over a proposed disability benefit expansion, highlights the state becoming top-tier in the National Emergency Preparedness Ranking, links to articles ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, conveys information about upcoming NACo webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner Nationwide, and invites counties to join ISACo.
ISACo May County Quarterly
The May 2026 County Quarterly includes an Executive Director's Report, recaps the 2026 NACo Legislative Conference, a 2026 Legislative Agenda, Five Questions with NACo 2nd VP candidate Matthew Prochaska and more!
The May County Quarterly is available by clicking on the image below.
General Assembly Schedule
The House convenes from May 12-15. The Senate convenes from May 12-14.
The Third Reading deadline for moving House bills out of the Senate and Senate bills out of the House is May 22.
The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on May 31.
The House and Senate calendars are linked below:
House Calendar
Senate Calendar
ISACo News Release Opposing Cut to State Shared Revenues - Contact Your Legislators!
On May 6, ISACo issued a news release in coordination with a press conference held by Illinois mayors to oppose the Governor's proposed cuts to Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) revenues shared with counties and municipalities. Counties and municipalities stand in solidarity on protecting critical state-shared revenue distributions. Click on the image to read the news release.
ISACo urges county officials to contact their state legislators and ask them to oppose any reductions to state-shared revenues, particularly LGDF. It's critical to communicate this opposition to legislators immediately while the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2027 budget is being discussed and crafted.
Disability Benefit Expansion Raises Fiscal Concerns for Counties
On May 6, the House Counties and Townships Committee approved SB 3076 (Representative Johnson, D-East Moline), legislation that expands the scope of the Public Employee Disability Act (PEDA)* in a way that directly increases counties’ financial costs, particularly for sheriff’s offices and county correctional operations. By explicitly including both part-time and full-time county correctional officers, as well as other sheriff’s employees, within the definition of “eligible employee,” the bill broadens the pool of personnel entitled to disability-related benefits. For counties, this means a larger number of employees could qualify for continued compensation and benefits following a line-of-duty injury, increasing exposure to long-term personnel costs. The bill would also award benefits in situations where those benefits would not be awarded to state correctional officers.
Operationally, counties may also face workforce management challenges. When an injured employee is unable to perform their duties but continues to receive pay and benefits, counties may need to backfill those roles, often through overtime or new hires, while simultaneously covering the cost of the injured employee’s compensation and benefits. This creates a dual financial strain, particularly for smaller counties with limited staffing depth and tighter budgets.
ISACo urges county officials to contact their members of the Illinois House of Representatives and ask them to oppose SB 3076. Let them know the bill would create another unfunded mandate and additional costs for counties.
*The Public Employee Disability Act (PEDA) provides salary continuation and related benefits to certain public safety employees who suffer injuries in the line of duty that prevent them from performing their job responsibilities. Under the Act, eligible employees may continue receiving their regular compensation for up to one year while recovering from a duty-related injury.
The employer or its insurer receives a credit or offset for workers’ compensation payments that overlap with PEDA salary continuation benefits, so the employee does not receive a double recovery for lost wages.
The law also requires the employing public entity to maintain health insurance coverage for the injured employee, and in some cases their dependents, during the disability period. The Act traditionally applies to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and certain correctional personnel, with eligibility often tied to injuries resulting from the inherently dangerous nature of public safety work. Counties and municipalities are responsible for funding these benefits for eligible local government employees.
Illinois Rises to Top Tier in National Emergency Preparedness Ranking
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced Illinois has been named a “high-performance” state for emergency preparedness, the highest ranking a state can receive, in a newly released report by Trust for America’s Health. The annual report evaluates states on their ability to respond to various public health emergencies using ten key indicators including incident management, patient safety, and health security surveillance, among other measures.
The press release is available via this link.
What We're Reading
Unemployment Rises; Job Totals Fall in Illinois Over Last Year (WCIA)
As Illinoisans Lose Federal Food Assistance, Independent Grocers Face Debt, Store Closure (CapitolNewsIllinois)
Illinois Cities Push Back on State Proposal to Bypass Local Zoning (SmartCitiesDive)
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.
Thursday, May 21, 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.
From Classroom to County: Leading with High-Performance Results
Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. CST
How do county leaders move from theory to transformative action? This webinar features a panel of graduates from the NACo High Performance Leadership Academy who will share real-world examples of the program's 5 essential skills.
Attendees will gain actionable insights on how to apply these high-performance strategies to their own organizations. Whether you are an emerging leader or a seasoned executive, join us to discover how to bridge the gap between leadership potential and measurable impact.
Registration is available via this link.
CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Over the past 85 years, focusing on customers and valuing people have helped Nationwide become one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world.
Even though Nationwide has dozens of affiliated companies, people are its biggest resource – and its greatest asset in providing excellent customer service to its customers. That’s why its Supply Management Services group makes sure agents and associates get the best quality products and services, at the best possible cost. It’s also why Nationwide has an Office of Customer Advocacy.
Click here to learn more about Nationwide.
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.