During legislative action on March 24, 2026, several bills tracked by the Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) were moved out of House and Senate committees. The approved bills are listed below under the committee where they were considered.
House Appropriations - Pensions and Personnel Committee
HB 4909 provides that individuals for whom a municipality has contributed to both the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) and a Taft-Hartley pension plan at a rate of $5 per hour or less since July 16, 2014 are deemed employees under the IMRF Article of the Illinois Pension Code for that period through the effective date of the Act. The bill also establishes that, going forward, individuals will be considered employees under IMRF if the municipality contributes $5 per hour or less to a Taft-Hartley pension plan on their behalf. The legislation includes a conforming change and specifies that it must be implemented without reimbursement under the State Mandates Act. Overall, the bill expands IMRF eligibility for certain workers based on employer pension contribution levels.
ISACo opposes the bill.
House Economic Opportunity and Equity Committee
HB 4592 requires State agencies and units of local government to accept cash as payment for transactions totaling $500 or less and prohibits charging higher prices or additional fees for cash payments. The bill also applies to retail businesses that accept in-person payments, prohibiting them from refusing cash, posting notices that cash is not accepted, or charging more for cash transactions under $500, with certain exceptions. Violations would be considered unlawful practices under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Overall, the bill ensures that cash remains an accepted form of payment for smaller transactions across government and retail settings.
ISACo opposes the bill.
HB 5263 creates the Economic Stabilization and Resilience Commission to study and recommend strategies for providing rapid financial support to businesses affected by immigration enforcement disruptions. The Commission will include specified members, meet to conduct its work, and submit a report with findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2027. Overall, the bill establishes a new advisory body focused on economic response strategies related to immigration-related disruptions.
ISACo has no position on this bill.
House Executive Committee
HB 4196 requires that if a township, park district, municipality, school district, or community college has been issued a credit card, the governing body must vote each month to verify the validity of an itemized statement of all purchases made in the preceding month. The statement must include all purchases without redaction, and the vote must be limited solely to approving the statement. If the unit maintains a website with full-time staff, the itemized statements must also be published online. Overall, the bill is intended to increase transparency and accountability for credit card use by local governmental entities.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 4545 increases the audit threshold under the Governmental Account Audit Act beginning in fiscal year 2027, allowing governmental units with less than $1,500,000 in annual revenue to forgo annual audits in favor of less frequent audits or annual financial reporting options approved by their governing board. Governmental units with revenues at or above that threshold must continue to comply with audit requirements and file financial reports with the Comptroller, with both audit and financial reports made publicly available. Overall, the bill reduces audit frequency for smaller units of government while maintaining reporting and transparency requirements.
ISACo supports the bill.
HB 4725 creates new enforcement authority within the Attorney General’s office by establishing a worker protection framework that allows the Attorney General to investigate potential violations before initiating legal action. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to issue subpoenas, require sworn written responses, inspect employer premises and records, and conduct interviews with workers during business hours, and includes additional provisions related to investigations, subpoenas, obstruction, and search warrants. Overall, the bill expands the Attorney General’s authority to investigate and enforce worker protection laws.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
HB 5187 makes changes to regional planning governance in southwestern Illinois by modifying the structure and composition of the Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan and Regional Planning Commission. The bill establishes a 34-member commission with 27 voting members and 7 nonvoting at-large members, specifies how members are appointed from counties, port districts, municipal organizations, and State and regional entities, and outlines procedures for handling Commission funds. Overall, the bill restructures regional planning governance to define representation and administrative processes more clearly.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
HB 5274 makes a wide range of changes to laws governing law enforcement, public safety, and administrative procedures. The bill designates the Illinois State Police Division of Patrol as the lead agency for enforcing motor carrier safety laws, adds training requirements related to human trafficking and sexual offenses, and allows expanded coordination with federal and State aeronautics authorities using the State Police radio network. It also revises recordkeeping requirements for juvenile delinquency data, updates provisions related to the collection of fingerprints or DNA from minors with parental permission, expands enforcement authority for Metropolitan Enforcement Groups to include terrorism-related crimes, and modifies requirements for laboratory reports in certain criminal and civil proceedings. Additional changes include allowing a designee to report drone usage to a State’s Attorney and making other conforming updates. Overall, the bill updates multiple areas of law enforcement authority, training, and administrative procedures.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 5391 creates a framework that standardizes financial reporting requirements for local governments while addressing concerns raised by counties and other local entities. The bill creates a more precise classification system based on external revenue sources to prevent intergovernmental transfers from pushing counties into higher audit categories, establishes a de minimis threshold allowing the smallest taxing bodies to seek waivers or use simplified reporting methods, and extends implementation timelines to give local governments more time to update systems. It also shifts responsibility for defining agreed-upon financial procedures to the State Comptroller to ensure uniformity, relaxes procurement requirements for smaller entities, provides liability protections for volunteer audit committee members, and maintains that the reporting standards are a matter of statewide concern. Overall, the bill reduces administrative burdens while maintaining standardized financial reporting requirements.
ISACo opposed the bill as introduced and has no position on the bill as amended.
House Health Care Availability and Access Committee
HB 1443 creates a new Health Care Availability and Access Board to help control the cost of prescription drugs in Illinois. The Board would review certain high-cost medications and, in public meetings, decide whether to place limits on how much can be paid or reimbursed for those drugs across the state. In doing so, it must generally align those limits with the federal Medicare Maximum Fair Price, rather than setting its own different prices. The Board would be supported by staff, advised by a stakeholder council representing various interests in the health care system, and allowed to contract with outside experts as needed. The Illinois Attorney General would have authority to enforce the law. Overall, the goal is to reduce prescription drug costs while ensuring transparency and consistency with federal pricing standards.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 5446 amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall allow for an alternative rural staffing model for vehicle service providers that serve a rural or semi-rural population of 10,000 or fewer inhabitants and exclusively use volunteers, paid-on-call, or part-time employees, or a combination thereof (now, the use of part-time employees is not an option). Effective immediately.
ISACo supports the bill.
House Human Services Committee
HB 4580 removes provisions requiring the Department on Aging to adopt rules addressing situations in which a case coordination unit cannot complete an assessment before a hospital discharges a patient age 60 or older to a nursing home. The removed provisions were intended to ensure access to nursing home care, prevent penalties for nursing homes accepting admissions, and avoid delays in hospital discharges, to the extent permitted under federal law. Overall, the bill eliminates these specific rulemaking requirements related to hospital-to-nursing home transitions.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
HB 4868 requires nursing homes to notify the Department of Public Health within 24 hours, or by the end of the next business day, after a reportable incident or accident and to submit a narrative summary within five days. The bill establishes clearer timelines and reporting requirements to ensure timely communication and oversight of incidents occurring in nursing home facilities.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Insurance Committee
HB 5001 amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires every insurer to provide in each group or individual policy, contract, or certificate of insurance issued or renewed for persons who are residents of the State, coverage for screening by low-dose mammography for all patients 30 (instead of 35) years of age or older for the presence of occult breast cancer within the provisions of the policy, contract, or certificate. Requires coverage for a baseline mammogram for patients 30 to 34 (instead of 35 to 39) years of age and an annual mammogram for patients 35 (instead of 40) years of age or older. Effective January 1, 2027.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Judiciary-Civil Committee
HB 4614 makes changes to guardianship provisions under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and the Probate Act of 1975. The bill clarifies that guardianship or custody of a minor placed with a relative or other suitable person continues until the court directs otherwise, but not beyond age 18, while placements involving probation officers, agencies, or the Department of Children and Family Services may continue until age 21. It also aligns court procedures and review standards for minors who were previously in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services, including provisions for modifying guardianship and restoring custody to a parent. Overall, the bill standardizes timelines and court procedures for guardianship of minors involved in the child welfare system.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
HB 4842 expands confidentiality protections under the First Responders Suicide Prevention Act to apply regardless of whether a peer support person or critical incident stress management (CISM) practitioner is affiliated with the same agency as the first responder receiving support. The bill provides that communications, records, notes, reports, or information shared during a CISM session are confidential and generally may not be disclosed or used in administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings, and that practitioners may not be compelled to testify about such information. However, the bill includes exceptions for threats of suicide or homicide, mandated reporting requirements such as abuse or neglect, admissions of criminal conduct, or refusal to perform duties to protect others, and allows disclosure by subpoena for good cause shown. Overall, the bill strengthens confidentiality protections for first responders receiving mental health support while maintaining specific public safety exceptions.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Judiciary-Criminal Committee
HB 5020 amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 to change how certain serious juvenile cases can be handled. It allows a State’s Attorney to request that a minor aged 15 or older (instead of 13 or older) be tried under an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution, which can result in both juvenile and potential adult sentencing. Before granting that request, a judge must hold a hearing to determine whether there is probable cause that the allegations are true. If so, the judge may approve the designation if there is clear and convincing evidence that adult sentencing could be appropriate. In making that decision, the judge must consider factors such as the minor’s age, maturity, and ability to understand consequences, as well as any mental health or developmental issues, along with the minor’s background, including family environment, education, and any history of trauma or abuse.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
HB 5383 creates the DUI Treatment Court Act, allowing the Chief Judge in each judicial circuit to establish specialized DUI court programs that follow statewide problem-solving court standards and are certified by the Illinois Supreme Court. These programs can operate in one or more counties within a circuit and may accept participants from across the circuit, but certain serious offenders are excluded. Defendants charged with DUI or aggravated DUI may be admitted with their consent and court approval. Judges overseeing these courts must have specific training and experience, and, if funded, prosecutors and public defenders would receive required training as well. The goal of the program is to provide structured treatment and supervision, with the possibility that participants who successfully complete the program could have their sentences reduced, terminated, or otherwise resolved without further court proceedings.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Labor and Commerce Committee
HB 4263 establishes that the regulation of gratuity allowances as part of an hourly wage rate is exclusively a State power under the Minimum Wage Law and prohibits home rule units from regulating gratuity allowances. The bill centralizes authority over tipped wage policies at the State level and prevents local variation.
ISACo opposes the bill.
HB 5147 requires the Department of Labor, within two years of the bill’s effective date, to adopt rules requiring certain employers doing business in Illinois to file an annual public report detailing workforce management policies, practices, and performance. The reports must be made available on the Department’s website and include standardized data, with certain exemptions outlined in the law. Overall, the bill increases transparency in employer workforce practices through required public reporting.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 5413 provides that a first responder who suffers a serious bodily injury in the course of employment is presumed to be entitled to permanent total disability benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The bill also requires the Workers’ Compensation Commission to expedite any disputes regarding the employee’s continued eligibility for those benefits. Overall, the bill establishes a presumption of permanent total disability for seriously injured first responders and accelerates the resolution of related claims.
ISACo opposes the bill.
HB 5461 makes it unlawful for an employer to require an employee to enter into a contract that imposes financial penalties, repayment obligations, or debt collection actions if the employee’s employment ends. The bill prohibits provisions requiring repayment of training costs or allowing collection or reinstatement of debt upon termination, renders such contracts void and unenforceable if entered into after the effective date, and includes specified exceptions. Overall, the bill protects employees from financial penalties tied to the termination of employment relationships.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Transportation: Regulation, Roads and Bridges Committee
HB 2630 creates the Solar Powered Road Signs Pilot Program Act to require the Department of Transportation to develop a pilot program to test the use of solar powered LED road signs in 5 counties of varied population. After getting reports of the program from the counties, the Department shall file a report with the General Assembly that contains the complete findings of the program. Effective immediately.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 4759 creates the Green Light for Buses Act to establish the Committee on Efficient Arterial Signal Infrastructure to make recommendations to improve public transit efficiency via improvements to traffic signal infrastructure. Publishes a report to the Department of Transportation for inclusion in the Public Transportation Plan. Grants implementing authority. Defines terms. Effective immediately.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 5576 amends the Regional Transportation Authority Act. Provides that the Northern Illinois Transit Authority may not withdraw moneys from the Authority's ADA Paratransit Fund unless the Authority: (1) implements a program to collect data about the reliability of paratransit services that evaluates each driver's performance; (2) requires regular training sessions, including training to assist visually impaired and deaf riders traveling door-to-door, for drivers who received poor evaluations; and (3) requires all reservation methods to permit caregivers to book rides for visually impaired and deaf riders.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety Committee
HB 2432 allows commercial vehicle relocators to recover towing permit fees or vehicle release fees that are lawfully adopted by a unit of local government and imposed by a law enforcement agency as part of an existing relocator program. The Illinois Commerce Commission would oversee this authority and may set a maximum amount that relocators can recover for those fees. Overall, the bill is intended to ensure that relocators can recoup certain administrative costs associated with local towing programs while maintaining regulatory oversight.
This bill is presently under review.
HB 4085 removes certain equipment requirements for non-highway vehicles under the Illinois Vehicle Code, specifically eliminating the requirement for a red reflectorized warning device on the front and a slow-moving vehicle emblem on the rear. The bill reduces regulatory requirements for these vehicles while maintaining their classification under State law.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
HB 4925 allows a person under the age of 16 to ride as a passenger on a Class 3 low-speed electric bicycle if the bicycle is designed to accommodate passengers and the operator is at least 18 years of age. The bill updates current law to permit younger passengers on certain electric bicycles under specified safety conditions. Overall, the bill expands allowable use of Class 3 electric bicycles while maintaining age requirements for operators.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
Senate Criminal Law Committee
SB 3597 makes a variety of changes to laws governing the Illinois State Police and related public safety operations. It designates the Division of Patrol as the lead agency for enforcing motor carrier safety laws and overseeing the state’s commercial vehicle safety plan, while also requiring additional in-service training for officers on issues such as human trafficking and sexual violence. The bill allows greater coordination between State Police and federal or state aeronautics authorities using the police radio network, and updates how juvenile-related data is collected by maintaining a statewide system for tracking police contacts. It also changes procedures for collecting a child’s fingerprints or DNA with parental permission, expands the authority of Metropolitan Enforcement Groups to address terrorism-related offenses, and streamlines certain evidentiary requirements in drug and DUI cases. Additionally, it updates reporting requirements for law enforcement drone use and makes other technical and conforming changes, with the law taking effect immediately.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
Senate Local Government Committee
SB 3076 expands the definition of “eligible employee” under the Public Employee Disability Act to include part-time and full-time county correctional officers and other employees of a county sheriff. The bill also requires that, when an eligible employee is injured in the line of duty and unable to perform their duties, the employing public entity must continue providing health insurance benefits under the same terms and conditions that existed prior to the injury. Overall, the bill extends disability and health insurance protections to additional county law enforcement personnel.
ISACo opposes the bill.
SB 3951 allows units of local government to install blue reflective pavement markers on roads to indicate the location of fire hydrants or water supplies. The bill prohibits placing such markers on State highways without first obtaining an encroachment permit from the Department of Transportation. Overall, the bill authorizes the use of visual roadway markers for emergency response purposes while maintaining State oversight on State highways.
ISACo supports the bill.