This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views E-Newsletter includes a General Assembly schedule update, urges county officials to contact their legislators to protect the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF), provides an update on the BUILD Act package, recaps an ISACo meeting held for Cook and the collar counties, highlights a statement from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on a positive Hantavirus case in Illinois, links to articles ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, conveys information about upcoming NACo webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner PMA IPRIME, and invites counties to join ISACo.
General Assembly Schedule
The House convenes from May 19-22. The Senate convenes from May 18-22.
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
County Officials Urged to Contact Their Legislators to Protect LGDF
The Governor's proposed State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2027 budget proposed a "hold harmless" adjustment to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) percentage. Under current law, the state shares 6.47 percent of individual income tax collections with counties and municipalities through LGDF. This money is distributed on a per capita basis. For counties, the funds are based on the total population in the unincorporated areas of the county.
For SFY 2027, the Governor proposed adjusting this percentage downward to 6.23 percent. The proposal would capture the fiscal benefit of projected growth in individual income tax receipts for the state's General Fund while keeping the actual dollar amount distributed to local governments flat relative to SFY 2026 levels.
This adjustment is projected to net the state's General Fund an additional $60 million in SFY 2027. From the perspective of county government, this proposal ensures that nominal revenues will not decline, but it effectively prevents counties from participating in the organic growth of the state’s primary tax engine during this fiscal cycle. The following table provides a full picture of revenue lost by counties and municipalities since the LGDF percentage was reduced. Click on the image to view the table in a printable format.
ISACo urges county officials to contact their state legislators to advocate for two priorities. The first is to oppose any reduction in the percentage of LGDF revenue shared with counties. The second is to support an incremental restoration of the 10 percent share that existed prior to the initial reduction in 2011.
On Tuesday, May 19, ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy sent a letter to the Governor and Legislative Leaders with this request. The letter is available via this link.
BUILD Act Package Update
Governor Pritzker's proposed BUILD Act has not advanced, with just under two weeks of scheduled session remaining. ISACo will monitor any movement of the bills or new amendments intended to add the language to other bills.
The proposed BUILD Act in Illinois represents a sweeping housing and zoning reform package aimed at increasing housing supply and affordability by overriding certain local land-use controls. The legislation would require local governments to allow higher-density residential development, often referred to as “middle housing," on parcels traditionally limited to single-family use, while also permitting accessory dwelling units and limiting local requirements such as minimum parking mandates. In addition, the proposal seeks to standardize aspects of the development process and restrict the ability of local governments to impose certain zoning and design standards that exceed state-established thresholds.
The BUILD Act package consists of seven separate bills. All seven bills impact municipalities, while two of the bills also affect counties (both opposed by ISACo). Each of the bills and their status is listed below:
HB 5626 (counties and municipalities) - House Rules Committee - ISACo Opposes
SB 4060 (municipalities) - Senate Assignments Committee
SB 4061 (counties and municipalities) - Senate Assignments Committee - ISACo Opposes
SB 4062 (municipalities) - Senate Assignments Committee
SB 4063 (municipalities) - Senate Assignments Committee
SB 4064 (municipalities) - Senate Assignments Committee
SB 4071 (municipalities) - Senate Assignments Committee
Both HB 5626 and SB 4061 would amend the Illinois Counties Code to establish a statewide standard allowing residential buildings of up to six stories to be constructed with a single stairway under certain conditions. On March 11, ISACo sent a letter to Governor Pritzker and the four legislative leaders expressing ISACo's concerns with these two bills and requesting that we be included in any formal discussions about them.
On April 22, ISACo shared testimony with the Senate Executive Committee in opposition to SB 4061 (Senator Feigenholtz, D-Chicago), one of several bills comprising the BUILD Act package of legislation seeking to preempt local control over regulations and zoning requirements related to housing. The hearing was "subject matter only," and no votes were taken. ISACo's testimony is available via this link.
ISACo's "explainer" video about the BUILD Act is available via this link.
ISACo Convenes Meeting of Cook and Collar Counties
County officials and staff from Cook and the collar counties convened on May 15 in Kane County for a meeting focused on strengthening regional collaboration on shared state and federal policy priorities.
ISACo President Matt Prochaska presided 
over the meeting and discussions centered on opposition to the Governor’s proposed reduction to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF), support for a phased restoration toward the historic 10 percent allocation level, and broader concerns regarding unfunded state mandates and local government preemption proposals.
Participants also discussed veterans assistance commission legislation, housing and zoning preemption, artificial intelligence policy, data centers, solar siting, transportation issues, water policy and local regulatory authority, while agreeing to establish ongoing regional coordination through quarterly meetings and periodic legislative briefings.
Statement from the Illinois Department of Public Health Regarding Positive Hantavirus Case in Illinois
“IDPH is investigating a potential Hantavirus case in an Illinois resident not connected to the recent outbreak pertaining to the MV Hondius cruise ship. The resident lives in Winnebago County, has not traveled internationally, and has not come in contact with individuals associated with the MV Hondius outbreak. They are suspected to have acquired a North American strain of the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present. Unlike the Andes strain of Hantavirus responsible for the cruise outbreak, the North American strains are not known to spread from person-to-person. The risk of contracting Hantavirus of any kind remains very low for Illinois residents.”
The press release is available via this link.
What We're Reading
Logan County Approves 90-Day Moratorium on Large Data Centers Amid Resident Concerns (WAND NEWS)
Pritzker Urges Feds to Release $1B in Broadband Funds to Illinois (CapitolNewsIllinois)
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.
Registration for the webinar is available via this link.
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
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 here to visit their website.
Click here to learn more about the PMA-ISACo partnership.
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.